A Spring Lamb Saute for the 5:2 Diet
I’m the proud owner of a brand new Saute Pan from Swiss Diamond. And, although I am only home for a few days before I set off on my travels again, I was itching to try it. Swiss Diamond pans are, by reputation, excellent quality. And for those of us trying to follow the 5:2 diet they have the advantage of being capable of frying without any additional oil or fat. Perfect for a 5:2 diet recipe like this spring lamb saute I thought!
Now, having been following the 5:2 diet on and off for the last seven months, I’ve learnt a few things about how to cook and prepare low calorie healthy dishes without compromising on taste.
- If you are using meat, use very good quality, lean meat and reduce the quantity you might normally anticipate needing by about a third. Add in plenty of green vegetables to bulk up your dish (in this case fennel and asparagus)
- Avoid too many high GI ingredients. That includes white rice, potato, white bread, pasta and dishes with a high sugar content. It’s not just about the calories. If you eat a rice or potato based meal as part of your 5:2 fast day, you will feel hungry faster because the food causes sugar spikes (please excuse my very non-scientific explanation). Of course that doesn’t mean NO rice or potato, just that you should consider the proportion of any high GI food to the other ingredients. There’s a very good explanation of why this might matter on the NHS site
- Avoid sugar, oil and fat where possible as they will simply ramp up the calorie content of your dish.
So, the idea of a pan that allows you to fry without oil is great for 5:2 diet recipes! You can see my rather messily trimmed shallots and fennel gently caramelising without a drop of oil in the pan!
This particular dish did come about partly because of a yearning for lamb. In my case, there were some tiny cutlets on special offer, but I think this 5:2 diet recipe would also work with lamb fillet cut into fine ribbons. Of course once you add in the meat there is a little fat, but, by using the saute pan without any extra oil this whole dish came in at well under 300 calories a portion
- 1 Lemon
- 1 handful Fresh Rosemary or Thyme
- 200 g lamb fillet or four small lean cutlets
- 2 Shallots peeled and finely sliced
- 250 g Asparagus trimmed
- 50 ml Dry white wine substitute stock or bouillon if you prefer
- 1 head Fennel trimmed and sliced finely
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Dry fry the shallots and fennel over a low heat until the edges start to caramelise and the vegetables are softened
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Add in the lamb and seal on all sides
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Add in the white wine and lemon juice and cover the saute pan
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Cook for 8-10 minutes on a gentle heat
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Add the asparagus, cover and cook for a further 2 minutes
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Serve
On a non 5:2 diet fast day or even if I was very hungry and had some spare calories I might add in some new potatoes (77 calories for 100g – two or three of the tiny ones), but, I found this perfectly filling without. And those flavours of fennel, asparagus and lamb just sum up spring and early summer for me.
Are you still following the 5:2 Diet? Do you have any great tips to help us all along? Do leave me a comment and let me know. And remember you can win one of the Swiss Diamond Saute pans in my giveaway.
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This sounds like a really tasty recipe that is also very healthy for the whole family. 🙂
What a lovely way to do my Lamb, I am a kiwi and always looking for new lamb dishes 🙂
easier if you had the Slica! for the finely sliced shallot and fennel
I love that this recipe is so quick and easy to make. It looks fab.
This would work well in the Swiss Diamond Saute Pan
This would be ideal for your giveaway.
Watch out lambs – I’ll cook this if I win!
This lamb is making me soooo hungry!
Ive never thought of putting lamb with asparagus – looks delicious though! xoxo
My husband would love this dish, Lamb is his favourite meat
this recipe looks amazing! if i won the pan i definitely would have to try this. im salivating as i type
This does sound very nice. I do like lamb and to be able to fry without oil is brilliant!
This looks very tasty.
Yum! this is what I’d cook in my pan if I win thanks!
This sounds brilliant! 🙂 This would work great in the pan
Wow, this sounds delicious. I love lamb, it has to be my favourite meat.
The Swiss diamond saute pan would be perfect for this
It’s amazing how lamb never comes to mind when you think of a recipe like this, we’ve become so ingrained to think beef or chicken. I feel like the victim of a marketing plot! It does look delicious.
The recipe looks fab.
And the pan amazing … I am still using my grandmother’s Swiss NSN pans. They are 60 years old !!! Unfortunately NSN no loungers exist.
I am on the lookout for some great new pans as good as my old ones.
This does look like a great saute pan! It’s amazing how having a GOOD pan can make such a difference in the cooking experience…I had been using cheap ones for years, and finally upgraded to a nice NON-STICK pan that made my life SO much easier:-)
I love lamb.. (some might not like me for saying that) . it’s not always easy to cook but this looks great!!
You should have been on Masterchef (USA) season 4, episode 3 for the lamb challenge. 🙂