Category: Recipes

Jovina cooks from the Med: Versatile vegetable dips

kaitiscotland2 Comments

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Marinated Olives

Ingredients

1½ cups mixed black and green olives, a combination of Sicilian green olives, Greek Kalamata olives and Spanish green olives
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 sprig fresh rosemary,
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, sliced thin

Directions

Remove the needles from the rosemary sprig. Discard the stem and chop the needles.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove the olives from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving to allow them to come to room temperature. Store any leftover olives in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week.

Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
15 oz canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)—rinsed and drained
½ cup tahini
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup jarred or homemade roasted red peppers, chopped
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally. Pour into a serving bowl and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil.

Tzatziki

Ingredients

1 cucumber, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
2 cups Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill or mint
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Scrape the seeds out of the cucumber halves using the pointy end of a teaspoon and discard.

Grate the cucumber flesh into a bowl then squeeze out any excess moisture using your hands,(a small handful at a time.

Place the grated cucumber into a large bowl and add the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Place the tzatziki in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and preferably overnight) to let the flavors blend.

All-Purpose Dressing

Ingredients

2½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar
½ clove garlic, grated
¼ teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Shake together all the ingredients in a jar until well combined.

Tapenade

Tapenade can be used to season grilled fish or chicken. It is also delicious spread on toasted baguette slices and topped with chopped tomatoes or simply serve it with crackers or crusty bread and vegetable crudités for dipping.

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup pitted black olives
1 tablespoon capers
2 anchovy fillets
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Serve at room temperature.

Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

6 bell peppers, a variety of colors
2 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 thinly sliced medium onion
1 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for cooking
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

To blister the peppers, place them on a hot grill or under the broiler. Turn on all sides until the skins are completely blackened.

Immediately transfer to a large resealable plastic bag or place in a large bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap to seal. Let sit for 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

Working with one pepper at a time, transfer to a work surface. Remove the skin, stem, and seeds.

Cut the peppers into 2-inch strips.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan (over medium-high heat).

Add the sliced onions and sauté until the onions soften. Reduce heat to low heat and add the garlic and the sliced peppers. Add the salt and black pepper

Cover the pan and let the mixture stew together for about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a storage bowl.

Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Toss with the olive oil, vinegar and parsley just before serving.

Sautéed Greens

Ingredients

3 lbs fresh greens, stems removed and washed in several changes of water
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (chili)
Sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.

Directions

Place the greens with the washing water still clinging to the leaves in a large pot.Cook on low until completely wilted and tender, depending on the type of greens used.

Drain and cut the leaves into smaller pieces.

Place the olive oil, garlic and chili in the empty pot and heat over low until the garlic is tender but not brown.

Add the drained greens and cook just until hot. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in salt to taste and the lemon juice.

Fit to serve: Cinnamon coffee cake

kaitiscotland4 Comments

coffee cake

Low Carb Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake

by fittoservegroup

 

Low Carb Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients

2 cups of almond flour finely milled

1 ¼ cup of sugar substitute

2 tablespoons of baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of sea salt

¼ teaspoon of baking soda

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup (1 stick) melted butter cooled

1 cup of sour cream

2 eggs

Low Carb Crumb Topping

Ingredients

1 cup of almond flour (I used finely milled)

½ cup of coconut flour

½ cup of sugar substitute (I used Swerve)

½ cup of your favorite low carb nuts (I used pecans)

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter sliced thinly

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of sea salt

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch spring-form cake pan.
  2. Make the crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar substitute, almond flour, coconut flour, pecan nuts, salt and cinnamon. To the dry ingredients add I thinly sliced cold butter and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
  3. Cake batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, sugar substitute, spices, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt. In a small bowl, stir the cooled melted butter, sour cream, and eggs until they are well combined. Fold the butter & sour cream mixture into the batter dry ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. Spread the batter into the spring-form pan and sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake.
  4. Bake the cake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the crumbs are lightly browned and until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 15  3.6 net carbs per slice

Enjoy in good health!

 

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

Emma2 Comments

In need of something warm, spicy and comforting as the nights draw in? Let me introduce the spicy tomato and lentil soup.

Just as in July and August we were in un dated with courgettes that morphed into marrows because we couldn’t pick ‘em fast enough, now the green house is giving up its goodies. Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes – they keep on coming.

Nice as they are to eat in salads, I needed a recipe that would use up a lot of them so I hit on tomato and lentil soup. Yes, there are lentils in it and they do contain carbs, but they thicken the soup up marvellously and make it so delicious, they are worth it.

If you like your soup to be more of a main course than a starter, do as I always do and serve it topped with a poached egg or two. Some cooked chorizo would work too.

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 400g tomatoes, halved
  • 75g red lentils
  • 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
  • 1tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
  • 1tbsp ground cumin
  • 1tsp dried chilli flakes (more or less, depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 600ml boiling water
  • Salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan/stock pan. Add the onion and pepper and cook for five minutes, until softened but not browned.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, cumin and chilli and cook for another five minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Add the lentils and boiling water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cover. Leave to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Use a hand blender to puree the soup. Add salt to taste – you should be generous with the salt, as lentils can take quite a bit of it.

20g carbs and 5g fibre per serving.

 

 

Fit to serve: Lasagne using spaghetti squash

kaitiscotlandLeave a comment

ricotta

 

Fit to serve: Pecan shortbread cookies

kaitiscotland1 Comment

shortbread

Low Carb Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ cup of sugar substitute (I use Swerve)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 ½ cups of finely ground almond flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup of coarsely chopped pecans (you may omit or substitute other nuts of your choice)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or leave un-greased.
  2. In a stand-up mixer cream the butter, sugar substitute and vanilla until well incorporated.
  3. Add the almond flour, sea salt, baking powder and blend till mixed. Once combined add the chopped pecans and mix again.
  4. Spread the dough in a 10×10 square pan or drop cookie dough by spoonful’s onto a ungreased cookie sheet. Place pan or cookie sheet in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes. This will ensure that the cookie has the traditional crisp texture in shortbread.
  5. I like to score and add fork tine marks on my bars before placing in the oven to allow for easy cutting afterwards. This is not necessary if you are making individual cookies.
  6. Bake in a 325 degrees’ oven until they are lightly golden brown about 25-30 minutes
  7. Allow the shortbread cookies to cool before eating and storing.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies at 2.5 net carbs per cookie

 

Fit to serve: Bacon carbonara casserole

kaitiscotland5 Comments

Mush-shrimp_cream_sauce_step_2

Once we made eating a low carb keto diet a lifestyle change, we really thought we would never have anything that even remotely looked like pasta again. This of course was until I discovered spaghetti squash. Although not devoid of carbs, it’s certainly a much healthier lower in carb option.

Using spaghetti squash as a pasta alternative is great because of its mild flavor. It simply takes on the flavor profile of whatever sauce you choose to use. In addition, it has an amazing pasta-like texture that has you questioning if you aren’t just have a real bowl of pasta and cheating. You can actually even twirl the spaghetti squash around your fork, like you do with real spaghetti. Now that’s when I was sold.

Unlike zucchini and other vegetables that are spiraled into a pasta-like texture, spaghetti squash does not give your dishes extra moisture. Don’t get me wrong I use zucchini all the time to make a low carb lasagna, but if not eaten right away the extra moisture the zucchini releases can turn some people off.

I finally decided to sit down and share a recipe using spaghetti squash after getting a few family requests. Although it’s a very popular pasta option in our low carb keto community, it’s still has not been discovered by many.

My creamy bacon carbonara sauce with spaghetti squash is filling enough to stand as a meal, which is why I opted not to add any additional protein in the form of chicken.

Low Carb Bacon Carbonara Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash (cooked)

3 eggs

¼ cup of butter

1 small onion finely chopped

½ pound bacon (reserve ½ cup for topping)

½ cup of chopped mushrooms

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 ½ cups of grated cheese parmesan cheese (reserve ½ cup for topping)

dash of nutmeg

¼ cup of finely chopped parsley (for topping)

½ teaspoon of sea-salt

1 clove of crushed garlic

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

½ teaspoon of sea-salt (or to taste)

dash of red pepper flakes

Spaghetti Squash Cooking Instructions

Cook your spaghetti squash sliced in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes. Or if you prefer you can do what I do and cook it whole in the microwave oven. I pierce the skin of the spaghetti squash several times and microwave at a high temperature for about 6 minutes. Once cooked and allowed to cool, I slice the squash in half and take out the center seeds. Using a fork, scrap the inside of the squash to get the spaghetti-like strands. Place the squash strands in an oven-proof bowl in preparation for the sauce.

Low Carb Bacon Carbonara Sauce

  1. Cook in a large frying pan over medium-high heat the bacon, once slightly crispy set aside. Reserve ¼ up of the bacon grease to cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender.
  2. Remove the sautéed mushrooms, garlic and onions and add the butter to the pan.
  3. Reduce the heat to low-medium and add the cream, parmesan cheese, and spices minus the parsley. Cook on low until the sauce starts to thicken. Turn the stove off and allow to cool. Whisk in the 3 whole eggs, making sure that the eggs are fully incorporated. Note: It’s important that you don’t add the raw eggs to the sauce if it’s really hot, to avoid scrambling the eggs.
  4. To the now thickened sauce add the cooked mushrooms, onion, garlic and bacon and stir to combine well.
  5. Pour the carbonara sauce over the cooked spaghetti squash and transfer into an oven-proof casserole.
  6. To the casserole add the reserved parmesan cheese, bacon and parsley as a toping.
  7. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35  minutes.

Makes 6 servings at 9 net carbs.

Enjoy in good health!

Fit to serve: Brown Butter Cake

kaitiscotland8 Comments

sponge cake 2

Low Carb Brown Butter Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups of (4 sticks) unsalted butter melted and lightly browned

6 large eggs

2 cups of finely milled almond flour

2 cups of sugar substitute

1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of sea salt

Directions:

1.    Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch spring-form pan with butter.

2.    Melt and lightly brown the butter in a saucepan and allow to cool completely.

3.    Beat all the eggs and sugar substitute in a stand-up mixer on high until mixture is thick and a shade of pale yellow, about 6 minutes.

4.    Add the almond flour by ¼ cup increments into the egg and sugar-substitute batter folding gently with a rubber spatula. *Do not over stir, mix only to combine

5.    Once the batter has been mixed add the now cooled melted brown butter gently fold into the batter until fully incorporated.

6.    Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

7.    Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8.    Allow this cake to cool completely before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy in good health!

Cake makes 16 servings at 3.2 net carbs per slice

Fit to serve: Ludicrously decadent brownie/shortbread cookies

kaitiscotland1 Comment

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Low Carb Brownie Shortbread Cookies

by fittoservegroup

I love the rich buttery taste that shortbread cookies offer. It reminds me of those Danish cookies that come in a tin can. I must admit, I probably kept those people in business single handedly until I learned to bake. Frankly, I don’t know why it took me so long to sit down and create a low carb option. All I can say, is you’ll be glad I finally did.

This particular cookie has a layer of brownie on top. Why? Because you know what’s better than a low carb shortbread cookie? One that has a low carb brownie layer. It’s perfect for those times you can’t decide what you prefer.

Low Carb Brownie Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

Low Carb Shortbread Base:

1 cup of finely ground almond flour (it needs to be finely milled)

¼ cup of sugar substitute

½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter allowed to soften at room temperature.

¼ teaspoon of sea salt

Low Carb Brownie Topping:

3 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate bar

½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter

2 large whole eggs

1 cup of sugar substitute

½ teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of sea salt

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 11 X 7 pan or a 10-inch round spring form pan like I did.
  2. Create the base of this cookie by mixing the almond flour and sugar substitute in a stand-up mixer. Once combined add the softened butter until dough forms.
  3. Place the layer of this dough into the bottom of your pan. dough so it doesI use wet hands to pat the dough so it doesn’t stick.  Bake until light and golden brown for 20 minutes and then allow to fully cool before proceeding.
  4. Leave your oven on and prepare the low carb brownie topping: Melt the chocolate and butter in a double-broiler or use the microwave in 1 minute intervals. Make sure to mix well and then set aside to cool.
  5. To the melted and cooled butter and chocolate mix, add the 2 eggs, baking powder and sea salt. Whisk well until fully combined.
  6. Spread this low carb brownie mixture to the low carb shortbread base evenly.
  7. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top rises slightly. The center will drop once it cools. You don’t want to over bake them so that they maintain a rich fudgy texture on top. Allow them to cool completely before slicing and enjoying. Makes one dozen bars at 3.1 net carbs each

Enjoy in good health!

 

Thank you very much, we don’t get these in Scotland!

Courgette, Feta and Mint Soup

EmmaLeave a comment

Heaven only knows what my husband fed those courgette plants this year, but the monsters keep on coming…

To this end, I have needed to come up with a LOT of courgette recipes. I don’t really fancy them spiralised (which is the trendy treatment de jour), so this week I made soup instead.

It’s a very summery soup – courgettes, feta and mint – and you could always make it more substantial with some shredded chicken, or a poached egg on top. Another idea is bacon ‘croutons’. Cut a rasher of bacon into small pieces, fry in a little butter until crispy and use to top the soup.

Courgette, Feta and Mint Soup

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 4-5 courgettes (or one ginormous one)
  • 2tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 600ml chicken stock
  • 1tbsp fresh mint, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 75g feta cheese
  • 60ml sour cream
  • Salt and pepper

Chop your courgettes into even-sized chunks. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and add the courgettes. Cook over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes until they are browned and softened.

Add the stock and the garlic and bring to a simmer. Cook for another ten minutes. Turn off the heat and add the mint, feta and cream. Stir well, so that the cheese melts.

Puree the soup till it’s smooth and season generously with salt and pepper.

15g net carbs per serving.

 

 

Leoni from Low Carb Store: Sauces for meat, fish and vegetables

kaitiscotland1 Comment

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Parsley and Lemon Sauce 

 

This goes well with fish or vegetables

1/2 shallot
75ml double cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Lemon juice
1 tsp butter
Salt & pepper

Finely chop the shallot and cook gently in the butter until softened. On a low heat add the cream and parsley and cook until hot, stirring. Add a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Add a dash of milk if you prefer a thinner sauce and pour over your fish and green vegetables.

 

Creamy Mushroom and Garlic Sauce

This goes well with white or red meat

100g mushrooms
75ml double cream
1 tsp butter
1 garlic clove
Salt & pepper

Crush the garlic and add to a pan with the butter. Cook gently for 1 minute then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms soften then pour in the cream. Heat gently until hot. Season with salt & black pepper and serve over white or red meat.