Sat Bains Eat To Your Heart’s Content
By Chef Sat Bains
Introduction By Dr. Neil Williams
Review by Louise Cannon (Lou)
As we now reach the end of any leftover chocolates and other treats from Christmas and look towards a different lifestyle, Eat To You Heart’s Content is great. It is full of healthy foods for your heart and body, easy to buy ingredients, simple to prepare and cook recipes.
I am delighted to be closing the Random T. Tours blog tour with a review of chef Sat Bain’s new cookbook – Eat To Your Heart’s Content.
Cookbooks absolutely still have their place in the era of the internet and just looking up a recipe that include things in your kitchen. They feed the curious and they make you more adventurous in your cooking. A good cookbook will take the fear out of trying something new and that, in part is what this does.
I’ve been cooking up a storm in my kitchen as I decided in-order to give a fair review, I would try out the recipes in just an ordinary, everyday kitchen. I am just a very ordinary home cook. Nothing fancy about me. So, time to perhaps make you hungry.
Check out the blurb and then my full review, with some pics of what I tried out. Here are also a few photos from the book. These are recipes I will try out as look delicious, but this time I tried some different ones and you’ll see some pics of those too.
Blurb
Sat Bains worked out, always maintained a reasonable weight and considered himself fit and healthy, so it was a shock when, in March 2021, he had a massive heart attack and underwent an emergency triple heart bypass operation.
During recovery, Sat consulted his friend, nutritionist Dr Neil Williams, who guided him on a revised diet to help maintain heart health. Having two Michelin Stars and a three-decade long obsession with flavour, Sat was not willing to sacrifice great food just because his diet now had to be heart healthy. This collection of recipes is made up of those he devised following surgery and focuses on lean protein, a mix of legumes, good fats – such as avocado, nuts and olive oil – and vegetables and fruits.
These delicious, simple dishes are designed for every day, they use supermarket-friendly ingredients and are accompanied by nutritional advice highlighting the ingredients rich in heart-healthy vitamins and minerals.
Review
I reckon I was first conscious of Sat Bains when I saw him on Saturday Kitchen and liked watching him show what he can do. He also holds Michelin Stars. Don’t be intimidated by this. I say this as I know sometimes some recipes seem so complex and involved, the recipes in this book are easy enough to cook. I am just an ordinary home cook and found it all to be straight-forward and not overly time consuming.
It was written out of Sat Bains having a health condition, explained in the introduction, so also sets out informative and interesting paragraphs alongside recipes about nutrition of the ingredients used.
There’s everything from vegetables to meat; starters, mains, desserts and sides are all covered, along with suggestions with what each goes with, although, of course you can easily mix and match. There are also alternative suggestions, which expand what you can use certain ingredients for ie changing cod for salmon etc.
Buying The Ingredients
Ingredients, even those I wouldn’t use everyday, nor ever bought before, such as chai seeds was easy to get from just an ordinary, everyday supermarket. This gets points from me. It made shopping easy. I wasn’t having to hunt things down from specialist places that may not be local to me.
Following The Recipes
Easy to follow, step-by-step recipes, including what is essential equipment. I love that some state air-fryer. I found that there are other ways to do something if you don’t have a particular piece of equipment, so don’t let that concern you.
It states how an ingredient needs to be ie chopped, toasted etc.
Trying Out The Recipes
There are a good choice of recipes using easy to source ingredients.
I chose 4 recipes to try for the purposes of review, although I wholly plan to try out more.
What was great was cooking times were pretty accurate and it seems like a book you could actually use most or everyday.
Please note photos are of Sat Bains perfect outcomes to recipes on the left and my attempts on the right.
Nut and Seed Crispy Chicken Escalope
It was a resounding success in my family. It uses various seeds, nuts and panko crumbs all mixed together with harissa and cooked in the air fryer. The crunch was amazing and it felt and tasted healthy. The nutritional notes were interesting. The time was in the preparation, perhaps because I couldn’t buy everything pre-crushed, but but so easy to do myself.
The really impressive thing is, even my rather fussy dad, who reckoned he wouldn’t eat anything I made from the book, ate this, enjoyed it and said he would have it again. Almost unheard of when it comes to something new!
The recipe even made more than what I needed, which was perfect as it stores really well.
I also tried this out to put a supermarket through its paces, what with so many different seeds and nuts, but sure enough, it truly did deliver.
I decided to serve it with:
Broccoli with Spring Onions. Chilli, Soy and Sesame Seeds.
It was so lovely to find a tasty alternative to just the plain broccoli I would normally have. I couldn’t get tenderstem broccoli, but the purple sprouting variety proved a good alternative. I was amazed at what just a small bit of the mixed seasoning, that takes seconds to make, did when broccoli was tossed in the mix. A little bit truly went a long way.
I would definitely be making these again.
I then made:
Cod In Baking Parchment
It had a lovely lemony spiciness to it, but not too overpowering. It says about alternative fish options. I definitely plan to try it out with salmon some time. I served it with the broccoli side dish again as this is the dish it suggests to serve it with, and I added carrots as I had to use them up. Still works beautifully well.
I then tried out:
Butternut Squash, Olive Oil and Parmesan
This makes handling butternut squash easy as it suggests keeping the skin on. It cooked well and there’s a pork dish it suggests to serve with, that I didn’t try on this occasion. I added a bit less parmesan cheese, just for my tastes though.
I may not try this again, or I’d have a small amount, but that’s only because I discovered I wasn’t massively fond of butternut squash. Brilliant trying it out though and absolutely would be great for fans of this vegetables.
About the Author
Sat Bains is best known for being chef proprietor of the two-Michelin starred Restaurant.
Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, England. It also holds one Green Michelin Star. He won the Roux Scholarship in 1999 and worked in France before returning to the UK and opening his own restaurant.
Sat won Great British Menu in 2007 and has continued making regular appearances on television.
England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that ‘poetry is not the business of a lady’. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That’s what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 