Salt and pepper chips

PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOKING TIME: 20 MINS CALS PER SERVING: 311 VEGETARIAN FREEZABLE GLUTEN FREE

A CHINESE takeaway dish popular in northern England, these spicy salt and pepper chips are a Pinch of Nom classic. They have a really authentic flavour but with far fewer calories. You can even keep the par-boiled and seasoned chips in the freezer for a snack emergency.

SERVES 2

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky chips

Low-calorie cooking spray

1-2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced 1-2 chillies, deseeded and sliced ½ green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

½ red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

FOR THE SPICE MIX

1 tbsp sea salt flakes 1 tbsp granulated sweetener ½ tbsp Chinese five-spice Generous pinch of dried chilli flakes 1 tsp ground white pepper START by making the spice mix. Toast the salt flakes in a hot dry pan until they start to brown. Mix the toasted salt and all the other spice mix ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Preheat the oven to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the chips and simmer for 10 minutes until they start to soften but are still quite firm. Drain. (You could allow the par-boiled chips to cool, season with the spice mix, then freeze. They will be ready to cook from frozen at a later date.) Spray a baking tray with low-calorie cooking spray. Spread the chips out on the tray and spray with more low-calorie spray. Sprinkle with a little of the spice mix, place in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until soft and starting to colour. Spray a frying pan generously with low-calorie cooking spray, add the spring onions, chillies and peppers and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the chips to the pan and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the spice mix (or as much as you like). Keep stirring and tossing the ingredients so they do not catch and burn. You may need to add more low-calorie cooking spray. Continue cooking until the chips are golden brown, then serve.