how to enjoy cherry tomatoes...in the dead of winter

Last night, all by myself, I could eat as a pleased. No worries of what my other half would think. I wanted simple. I wanted clean, I wanted fresh. I wanted tomatoes.

But January isn’t exactly the best month for tomatoes. Fresh ones, that is. For tinned tomatoes, however, it’s a different story. And if you’re lucky enough to have a local shop that carries tinned cherry tomatoes, there’s a delicious dinner just waiting to be heated up.

This recipe is actually much easier in winter than summer, when I’d prefer to use fresh tomatoes, which need more preparation.

Cherry tomato and courgette soup
(serves 1 generously)

1 tin of cherry tomatoes with juice (Tesco’s Finest and La Belinda are good brands)
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 courgette, sliced into rounds and quartered
1 healthy-sized clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
5 sprays of olive oil
water

Heat a medium saucepan. Spray with the olive oil and add the onions and courgettes. Add the splash of water to keep them moist. Then sauté for about 5 minutes, turning down the heat if necessary to prevent burning.

After 5 minutes, add the garlic and sauté for a further minute. Add the cherry tomatoes with juice and season well. Add another half tin of water (some of it will boil off). Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to bubble away for about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Bang – it’s ready so quickly! That’s what I love about simple suppers.

What’s more, it’s under 200 calories. But should you want to jazz it up, here are some of my favourite ways to do so:

• add a tablespoon or so of parmesan to the top
• should you need a protein boost, chickpeas are fabulous in this soup – I often add them.
• for a fiery kick, add a chilli to the mix or creole seasoning
• during the summer, freshly torn basil leaves bring the soup alive.
• add other Italian seasonings, such as oregano (your soup will taste like pizza!)
• a dollop of reduced fat crème fraiche never hurt anyone

another summer salad

I humbly present yet another salad for your consideration. The thing is, although many eschew the salad as rabbit food, I really enjoy salads. And it’s not just a former-vegetarian-aching-to-return thing, as others enjoy salads too. Even men, and even my husband. The trick is (surprise, surprise) to make it full of flavour and have loads of complimentary ingredients.

This one was inspired by the leftover olives from the penne puttanesca night. Here’s a quick and tasty greek salad, which, if the fridge is kept stocked of its staple ingredients, should be a flash to prepare:

greek salad
(serves 2 equally)

10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, chopped
10 sprays of Fry Light olive oil spray
100 g cucumber, sliced lengthways
10 black olives, chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
50 g (2 oz) reduced fat feta, crumbled
½ a tin of chickpeas
Lemon juice, to taste
Seasonal salad leaves

To prepare, just add all of the ingredients in a bowl. If you have a bit of time ahead, marinating the peppers in the olive oil and lemon is nice, but if you don’t it’s still great.

Serve with fresh fruit if you desire (I used plums – they’re just starting to come into season. But strawberries are a great June choice as well.

Calories (per serving): 273.

A quick note: the protein in the cheese and chickpeas is vital to this lunch dish holding you over until the late afternoon.