Pineapple for Skinny Girls

Skinny Meals in Heels: Figure-friendly dishes for girls on the move, Jennifer Joyce 2011 Sydney, Illustrated by Megan Hess

Both of these recipes really are delicious! Anne

Thai pumpkin curry with pineapple, beans and tomato

Serves 4

1 tblsp vegetable oil; 3 tblsp red curry paste; 1 x 400ml (14 fl oz) tin low-fat coconut milk; 250g (9oz) butternut pumpkin (winter squash), peeled and cut into 3cm (1 ¼ inch) chunks; 1 tblsp fish sauce; finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes; 100g (3 ½ oz) green beans, trimmed and halved; 100g (3 ½ oz) cherry tomatoes; ½ small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 3cm (1 ¼ inch) pieces; coriander (cilantro) leaves and steamed rice, to serve

Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and heat until just boiling. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the pumpkin, fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork tender. Add the green beans, tomatoes and pineapple and cook for 2 minutes. Scatter with the coriander and serve with the rice.

Pineapple and mint granita

Makes 1.5 litres

“Granita is brilliant because you don’t need an ice-cream maker. The fruit purée and sugar syrup are poured into a shallow pan and scraped three times during the freezing process. The result is granular pieces or fruity ice.”

300ml(10½ fl oz) water; 250g (9 oz) caster (superfine) sugar; 1kg (2lb 4oz) chopped pineapple flesh; 4 tblsp lime juice; 1 large handful mint leaves, finely chopped; tropical fruit such as mango or papaya, chopped to serve

Bring the water and sugar to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly syrupy. Allow to cool completely.

Purée the pineapple in a food processor, then push through a fine sieve to create a smooth puree. Discard and pulp in the sieve. Mix the cooled syrup, lime juice and mint with the purée. Pour into a shallow metal or glass tray (about 33cm x 23cm/13inch x 9inch) and place in the freezer.

After 2 hours, scrape the mixture with a fork. When breaking up the ice crystals, make long scrapes, raking the fork down the mixture repeatedly. Avoid mixing it up, which will result in a smooth texture more like sorbet. Freeze again for another 30 minutes, then repeat scraping and freezing two more times until grainy crystals have formed.

Serve with the tropical fruit.

Prep ahead: This will keep for 2 weeks in the freezer in an airtight container.

A perfect summer dessert!