Category: Recipes

Delicious low-carb recipes, tried and tested.

Jovina Cooks Italian: Sage meatballs with Marsala wine sauce

kaitiscotland1 Comment

real-sage-115351_640 From Cooking The Italian Provinces – Trapani | jovinacooksitalian

Sage Meatballs with Marsala Wine Sauce

4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1/4 cup soft unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves (about 20 leaves), very finely chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • All-purpose flour for dredging
  • 1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the meat, Parmigiano, half the butter, the sage and salt until they are very well blended, using your hands. Form small meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter using cold wet hands to keep the meat from sticking. Roll the meatballs in the flour and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium heat, then cook the meatballs until brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Shake the skillet often so they don’t stick.

Remove the excess fat from the skillet with a spoon and discard. Once the meatballs are brown, pour in the Marsala wine and continue cooking until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Trout with Kale

Emma6 Comments

diabetes dietInspired by the Diet Doctor – if you ever need low-carb recipe ideas this site is amazing – I created my own version of one of their recipes this week.

And, whisper it, I think mine’s better! I swapped salmon for trout fillets which brings down the cost substantially, replaced spinach with crispy kale and gave the dish an overall Mediterranean feel with some basil.

You end up with an extremely low-carb dish – about 3g net carbs – that’s also delicious and really filling. I bought my trout from Costco where I was able to buy a giant fillet that I cut up into eight 150g portions.

Kale is packed with vitamins and minerals – including beta carotene, and vitamins K and C – while trout has plenty of Omega 3s and B vitamins.

Mediterranean Trout with Kale

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 2 x 150g trout fillets
  • 4tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 1tbsp tomato puree
  • 200g kale
  • 2tbsp butter
  • Salt and pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees C. Season the fish and place them on a baking sheet lined with grease-proof paper or foil, skin side down.

Mix the mayonnaise, tomato puree and basil and spread the mixture evenly over the two fillets. Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Five minutes before the end of the fish cooking time, heat a large saucepan or work with the butter. Add the kale and plenty of seasoning and cook until softened.

Serve with the fish.

 

Jovina Cooks Italian: Pork tenderloin in mushroom wine sauce

kaitiscotland1 Comment

pork tenderloin.JPG

Fall Dinner

by Jovina Coughlin

This dinner serves four but can easily be doubled for a company dinner.

Pork Tenderloin in Mushroom Wine Sauce

Pork

·         1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)

·         1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

·         ¼ cup porcini dried mushrooms

·         ¾ cup boiling water

·         1 medium onion, chopped

·         1 garlic clove, minced

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

·         1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Wine Sauce

·         1 cup dry red wine

·         Porcini broth

·         1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

Combine the porcini and boiling water in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large oven proof skillet. Add the chopped onion and saute until the onion is soft.

Add the garlic and fresh mushrooms and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.

Strain the porcini in a fine mesh colander and reserve the drained mushroom water. Add the porcini to the skillet with the fresh mushrooms.

Season with salt and pepper and stir in the oregano and thyme. Set aside.

Butterfly the pork, by cutting the pork down the center, without completely cutting through, so when the two halves are opened they resemble a butterfly.

Use a meat mallet to flatten the meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread the mushroom filling down the center of the pork and bring the 2 sides up. Use butcher string to tie around the roll at 1 inch intervals.

Season the stuffed pork with salt and pepper and in the same ovenproof skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Sear the pork on all sides and place the skillet in the preheated oven.

 

Roast uncovered for about 20 minutes or until done to your preference.

Remove the skillet from the oven and place the pork on a platter.

 

Place the skillet back on the stovetop. Add the red wine and the strained porcini water and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce until it is reduced by half.

Remove the pan from the from the heat and stir in the butter.

Cut the strings off the pork and slice into thin rounds. Arrange the pork on a serving platter and pour the wine sauce over the slices.

 

Jovina cooks Italian: Meatloaf

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minced-meat-74241_960_720

Meatloaf Tonight

by Jovina Coughlin

Italian Style Meatloaf

This dinner can serve 8. Less and you have plenty of leftovers.  I add lots of vegetables to my meatloaf and, of course, lots of Italian flavors. Meatloaf freezes well and I usually cut extra slices off the loaf to freeze individually to use at a later date. Just defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

·         Half a sweet onion, finely chopped

·         1 celery rib, finely chopped

·         1 tablespoon minced garlic

·         1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

·         1/2 cup shredded carrot

·         1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·         1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

·         2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

·         2 cups tomato (marinara) sauce, divided

·         2 pounds lean ground beef (I use grass-fed beef)

·         1 cup Italian flavored dried bread crumbs

·         2 large eggs, beaten slightly

·         1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

·         1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, 1 cup of the tomato sauce, seasonings and parsley with your hands until thoroughly mixed.

Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides.

Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour. Pour the remaining 1 cup of tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Return the dish to the oven just until the cheese melts.

Jovina cooks Italian: Cheese stuffed celery, salmon and crab rolls with salad

kaitiscotland2 Comments

 

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Southern Pimento Cheese Stuffed Celery

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
  • 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
  • 8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 2 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons drained chopped pimientos
  • 1 teaspoon grated onion
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch ground cayenne pepper
  • Celery stalks, cut into 4 inch lengths

Directions

Process cream cheese in a food processor until smooth. Add Cheddar, Monterey Jack, mayonnaise, pimientos, onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper and pulse to combine.

Scrape into a serving  bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Use the spread to fill celery stalks and serve immediately.

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Grilled Crab Stuffed Salmon Rolls

  • 1 Salmon Fillet, about 8 oz, skin removed

Crab Stuffing

  • ½ cup shelled, fresh  lump crab meat
  • 1 tablespoon minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced celery
  • 1 tablespoon minced green bell pepper
  • 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
  • ¼ teaspoon seafood seasoning (Old Bay)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground garlic
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

For the stuffing

Mix the crab meat with the vegetables and seasoning.

For the salmon rolls

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Cut the salmon fillet in half lengthwise. Divide the stuffing in half and spread on the skinned side of the salmon fillet. Roll up tight and secure with metal skewers or Butcher’s string.

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Refrigerate until time to grill.

Preheat the grill to medium hot.

Place pinwheels on a sheet of heavy-duty foil that has been coated with olive oil cooking spray. Poke a few holes into the foil.

Slide the foil onto the hot grill and grill with the lid closed for about 10 minutes.

To cook indoors

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Place pinwheels the pan. Brush pinwheels with butter, cover loosely with foil and bake 15-20 minutes..

An August Dinner For Two | jovinacooksitalian

Tomato Cucumber Arugula Salad

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Ingredients

  • 1 large tomato cut in half and sliced
  • 1/4 of a cucumber, cut in half and sliced
  • 2 scallions, finely diced
  • 2 cups arugula
  • Italian vinaigrette

Directions

Combine the salad ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough salad dressing to just moisten the ingredients and toss, Serve immediately

Creamy Leeks & The Moggie Sous Chef

Emma4 Comments

wp-image-1732445482jpg.jpgI’ll ‘fess up. The real reason I wanted to do this blog was so I could post a cute picture of my cat acting as the sous chef.

As cat owners will know, moggies love supervising in the kitchen. They get to sit up high with a bird’s eye view of everything, it’s nice and warm and there’s always the chance their owner might not pay full attention, allowing for the stealth theft of meat or cheese.

Non-cat owners might balk. This doesn’t look hygienic, I grant you. But pets are brilliant for your immune system as it gets to practise fighting germs on a small scale and makes it better prepared for bigger assaults.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

The recipe is for creamy baked leeks, based on a Jamie Oliver recipe I adapted. It goes well with a roast chicken leg or on top of a steak.

Creamy Baked Leeks

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 1 large leek, washed and sliced
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 150ml double cream
  • 100g extra mature cheddar, grated
  • Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the onions and leeks. Turn down the heat and cook gently, stirring from time to time, for seven minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another couple of minutes.

Tip the lot into a bowl and add the grated cheese, cream and some salt and pepper. You won’t need much salt as the cheese is salty.

Pop in a shallow, oven-proof dish and cook in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) for 20 minutes.

Recipe contains about 10g net carbs per serving for three.

 

 

Clean Food for Thought: Shrimp with Avocado Salsa

kaitiscotland6 Comments

 

maxresdefault (3)Shrimp  with Avocado Salsa | Food For Thought
https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/themes/pub/blissful-blog/js/html5.js

Shrimp  with Avocado Salsa

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Avocado Salsa

  • 2 ripe avocado, diced
  • ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
  • ½ jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • 3 tbsp cilantro, minced
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the Shrimp

  • 24 medium shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  • Optional Toppings: red cabbage

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp, 1 tbsp olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt and lime juice. Let sit in the fridge for 5-10 minutes before cooking.
  2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the salsa. Set aside.
  3. Heat a small to medium skillet on medium with the rest of the olive oil. Once hot, add in the marinated shrimp. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp is not opaque.
  4. Put some chopped cabbage on a plate, put6 warm shrimps  on top with the salsa on top of this.

Enjoy!

(originally published on cleanfoodforthought and reproduced by kind permission)

 

 

Jovina cooks Italian: Shrimp and tomato salad and Sausage with Peppers

kaitiscotland2 Comments

What To Make For An Outdoor Summer Party | jovinacooksitalian

Salad Course: Grilled Shrimp Tomato Salad

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This is a popular dish, so I often divide the salad onto smaller serving dishes, so I can have them available in several areas.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil for the grill
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, mint, and/or chives
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 2 pounds peeled and deveined large raw shrimp
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds tomatoes,  quartered
  • Parsley sprigs for garnish

Directions

Oil the grill grates and preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Whisk together the ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

Arrange tomatoes on a large serving platter or in a large bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette.

Mix the shrimp with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

Grill the shrimp, covered with the grill lid, 2 minutes on each side or just until shrimp turn pink.

Mix the grilled shrimp with the remaining vinaigrette and arrange over tomatoes. Garnish with the parsley sprigs. Serve at room temperature.

Main Dish: Italian Sausage and Peppers

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This dish is always a big hit with everyone.

Serves 6

For the sausage:

  • 1 ½ lb. Italian sausage

Directions

Prepare an outdoor grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).

Keep a third of the grill indirect heat. On a charcoal grill, this means spreading the coals over two-thirds of the firebox and leaving one-third coal-free.

On a gas grill, leave one burner off. Sausages should be grilled over indirect heat.

Lightly brush or rub the sausage with olive oil. This prevents sticking and makes them extra crisp. Use tongs and don’t break the sausage skin when turning.

Grill the sausages over the indirect part of the grill until crusty and golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes.

The safe internal temperature for ground meats—sausages included—is 160 degrees F.

Cut the sausages into two-inch lengths and set aside.

For the peppers and onions:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 6 sweet bell peppers or 20 Italian frying peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2 to 3-inch long strips
  • 2 large sweet onions, halved and sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano or 1 teaspoon of fresh oregano leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To finish the dish:

  • 2 cups Marinara (tomato) sauce

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, the peppers, garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, until crisp tender.

Add the tomato sauce and heat.

Add the grilled sausage links to the skillet with the peppers and onions. Heat until the sausage is warm.

Low carb store: Meatball bombs

kaitiscotland2 Comments

 

meatballs

This recipe makes four bombs and they each have 4g of carbohydrate.  We have meatball recipes separately on this site.

 

Ingredients

  • 120g grated mozzarella
  • 65g almond flour
  • 2 tbsp full fat cream cheese
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1/2 tsp dried herbs
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 4 cooked meatballs
  • 8 tbsp passata

Pre-heat the oven to 180c and prepare a baking sheet with a layer of greaseproof paper. Put the mozzarella and cream cheese in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds – stir. Add the egg and almond flour and mix to a dough. Divide into 4 equal parts and flatten out gently with the palm of your hand. Place a meatball in the centre of each circle and top with a good dollop of passata and a sprinkle of mozzarella. Bring the sides up and around the meatball and squeeze together at the top to form a parcel. Crush the garlic clove and melt with the butter. Spoon the butter over each of the bombs and sprinkle with herbs. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Devour immediately.

Jovina cooks Italian: Fresh tomato sauce

kaitiscotland4 Comments

Summer Tomatoes | jovinacooksitalian

Fresh Tomato SauceIMG_0009

Ingredients

  • 4-5 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes, quartered and seeded retaining as much pulp as possible
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large sweet onion, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
  • 1-2 teaspoons honey, if needed

Herbs

Place the following  herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth closed.

  • 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 1 sprig of fresh oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 sprigs of parsley

Directions

Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.

Add the onions, celery, garlic and carrots.

Saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the tomatoes and sea salt.

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Simmer on low heat, covered, for about an hour until the tomatoes cook down.

Remove the pot from the heat and using an immersion blender, process the mixture until smooth.

Return the pot to the heat and add the herb cheesecloth package.

Taste the sauce to see if the tomatoes were too bitter. Add the honey, if needed.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook  until reduced and thick, an hour to an hour and a half more. Remove the cheesecloth package and discard.

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Pour the sauce into a refrigerator container and store the sauce up to 1 week, or freeze in batches.

This sauce can be used with courgette or squash spiralised  “spaghetti” or with chicken and pork.