At the very start of my maternity leave, pre all of this lockdown madness, a friend and I went out for lunch with the babies to a local restaurant. On the menu were the most delightful looking ‘pizza fries’ and, not being back on the WW wagon at that point, they sounded right up my street! Now I’m back at it however, I thought it would be the perfect thing to try and make WW friendly.

The result was this delightful quick and easy recipe. With minimal ingredients and prep its simple to whip up and yet still is oh so satisfying to eat. If you don’t like things spicy just leave out the chillies or, if you like it hot, hot, add a sliced red chilli when adding the cheese.

If you want to lower the points further you could replace the French fries by making your own Butternut Squash Chips. This will reduce the points to 6sp on all plans. I like using a good French fry in this myself as its exactly what I had in the restaurant that day!

Pizza Fries

Serves 4 = 11sp on all plans

Ingredients

360g McCain’s Crispy French Fries, frozen

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp each garlic powder and paprika

2 tsp mixed Italian herbs

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

¼ tsp sugar

Pinch of crushed chillies

60g pepperoni slices (I use Asda’s)

180g half fat mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 tbsp parmesan, grated

Method

Pre heat the oven to 220c. Spread a single layer of fries onto a baking tray, spray with 1kal and pop it into the top of the oven. Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, turning them every now and again, until they’re crisp and light golden.

Meanwhile, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic powder, paprika, mixed herbs, balsamic, sugar and crushed chillies (if you are having these) to a small saucepan with 100ml of water, season with salt and pepper and cook on a high heat until piping hot and then reduce to a simmer until the sauce has thickened a little.

Once the fries are ready take a medium baking dish, pop the fries in the bottom (nicely spread out), season with salt and pepper and top with the pizza sauce, then the pepperoni, then the cheese and parmesan. Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes (or until the cheese is nicely melted).

Enjoy!