Clean the leeks and cut the little ones, into small chunks. Peel the onion and cut it in small chunks too. Finally peel and cut the apple into cubes. Leave the apple in a bowl with water and a few drops of lemon so that it does not blacken.
Brown the bacon with a few drops of oil in the pan. Remove it and let it rest on absorbent kitchen paper.
In this same pan fry the onion for a few minutes, adding a little oil if necessary, and when you see it transparent add the leek over low heat and poach it for a few more minutes. When the leek looks well poached it is time to add the well drained apple. Soak until everything looks tender and soft.
In a large bowl beat the eggs with milk, cream and cheese.
Add the leek and bacon and mix well. Salt and pepper. You can add a little nutmeg.
Pour the mixture into a previously greased mold about 25 cm long.
After you grease it put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to help the cake come out smoothly at the end.
Put it in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until you see it well curdled. If you see that the surface browns too much you can cover it with aluminum foil.
2 teaspoons Worcester Sauce (or sherry vinegar or red wine)
2 teaspoons tomato puree
500mls Guinness or other strong dark beer
300mls meat broth
2 teaspoons sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 180 degrees if you prefer to use your oven rather than the stove top for later stages of cooking.
In a large bowl mix the salt and pepper into the beef.
In a large casserole, simmer the butter and oil until the butter has melted. Add the meat in batches and brown it quickly, about a minute each batch. Set aside the browned meat.
Fry the onions and carrots for two minutes.
Put the meat back in the casserole and add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, Guinness, hot meat broth and sugar. Add more black pepper and salt and bring to a boil.
Cover the casserole, reduce the heat, and cook slowly on the stove top or oven according to your preference.
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 large sweet onion, diced 2 celery ribs, diced 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 4 large garlic cloves, minced ½ teaspoon dried thyme ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes ½ cup dry white wine 1 28-oz can whole cherry tomatoes 1 cup seafood broth 2 tablespoons capers 2 lb skinless sea bass fillet, about 1 ½-inch thick, cut into 4 pieces 8 large fresh or frozen medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 12 large sea scallops 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed ½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves stems removed
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet with a cover over medium heat. Add onions, celery/ Cook, stirring regularly until softened (about 4 minutes). Add thyme, red pepper flakes, and garlic and cook briefly until fragrant (about 30 more seconds). Stir in the white wine. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, and capers. Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat until flavors combine.
Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Insert the fish pieces into the cooking liquid, and give everything a gentle stir. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and cover the skillet. Let sit off the heat for another 5 minutes so that the fish will finish cooking. Fish should be flaky when gently pulled apart with a paring knife. Finally, stir in the chopped parsley. Ladle the hot fish stew into serving bowls.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the grill pan
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound chicken tenders, about 8
Directions
Mix the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, oregano, coriander, paprika, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until fully blended. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
Now make your cucumber sauce, Tzaziki and put it in the fridge as well.
When you are about one hour before your meal take out the chicken mini fillets and allow to reach room temperature, about 30 minutes, then fry in olive oil till cooked. They can be kept warm in the oven.
Cucumber Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 peeled and seeded cucumber, finely diced
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
1 clove garlic, grated
¼ cup feta cheese
Kosher salt
Directions
Combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, garlic, feta cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Chill, covered, for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.
1 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced) 5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 1 fresh chilli, deseeded and chopped (optional) 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp hot chilli powder ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp turmeric ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp sea salt
CREATE IT
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and use the olive oil to grease a baking sheet. 2. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade and stir in the yoghurt. 3. Coat each chicken leg evenly with the yoghurt mixture ensuring to cover the top and underneath. 4. Place the chicken on a plate in the fridge and marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. 5. Add the chicken to the prepared baking sheet and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 50 minutes. 6. Sprinkle with fresh coriander (optional) before serving. 7. Great with roasted cauliflower or wilted spinach.
My husband bought me a new pestle and mortar this week—mainly because we are watching Celebrity MasterChef on the Beeb and every time I spot one of the stars pounding their garlic, I sigh and wish out loud that I had such a big one…
Cue the delivery of a weighty package. I crushed eight cloves of garlic in it at once to celebrate. Vampire-proofed to the max, what else could I do? How about a lamb curry where I roasted whole spices and then pounded them to dust?
This lamb curry in almond sauce is a recipe I adapted from the Spice Sisters Indian cookbook. The whole spices are cumin and fennel seeds, and cardamom, all of which will scent your kitchen beautifully as you roast them. Serve your curry with cauliflower rice or this low-carb naan bread. Normal rice and naan bread will keep the carb-lovers in your family happy.
In a small pan, dry-fry the cumin, fennel and cardamom for a few minutes. Pound to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the meta in batches until it is browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and add the onions.
Fry until translucent. Add all the other ingredients (except the lamb and the lemon juice) and bring to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes and then use a hand-held blender to make the sauce smooth.
Add the lamb back in, pop on a lid and allow to gently simmer for 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice at the end.
Allow 15g carbs per portion.
The golden rule with curry is it almost always tastes better the next day.
As a one-time vegetarian, I love vegetable or pulse-based curries. I’d choose them over meat-based ones any day. I’m also a fan of tamarind paste—it adds amazing tangy flavour to any curry.
Last week, I made a veggie curry using the left-overs in the fridge and combining them in a rich sauce. Had I been the only one eating it, I would have added cauliflower but my husband hates the stuff and veggie dishes are a hard sell to him so I left it out.
Recipes often specify coconut milk, which is fine if you need a whole tin of it. I keep packets of creamed coconut in my store cupboards (fridge in the summer) as it’s much more versatile. You can use however much you need without waste, and it can be a thickener or made into a cream.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Strictly speaking, you should put the onions in first, fry till translucent, then add the peppers, courgette and carrot, cook for five minutes and add the mushrooms last. I’m too lazy to add the veggies one by one so I threw them all in at once and cooked for about six minutes.
Add the curry powder, tamarind paste and chillies and cook for another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil. Mix in the creamed coconut and turn down to a simmer. Cook for about five minutes. The creamed coconut will thicken the sauce. Add seasoning to taste.
To make it more of a main meal, You could add some fresh chicken stock to this and turn it into a sauce for chicken thighs or throw in a good handful of cooked prawns and cook for a minute to warm through. Another worthy addition is two or three balls of frozen spinach. Defrost and warm through beforehand, obvs.
Allow about 15-18g of carbs per portion. Serve with naan breads (low-carb version here) or rice for the carb-lovers in your life.
Who was the first person to look at a cauliflower and a bowl of leftover cheese sauce and think—“My goodness, this will be a match made in heaven?”
Whoever he or she was, I’d like to shake them by the hand. If someone said to me, “Okay it’s your last meal on earth, what do you want?”, I’d say, “Cauliflower cheese, please, and don’t stint the cheese.” As it is my last meal, I’d ask them to top it with crispy breadcrumbs and some grilled bacon rashers for crunch.
[Conversation to the side. HUSBAND: Seriously, that’s your last meal? Not steak, or lobster or even a good burger with all the trimmings? Jeez. Who/what did I marry?]
On Friday night, I was at the Tron Theatre (get me) with friends and noticed the bar menu included curried cauliflower cheese. That set the neurons firing. The world’s best dish made even better?
The Tron’s version would have been made the conventional way—a white sauce with milk and flour to thicken it. Low-carb versions use variations of cream and cream cheese to thicken the sauce. Where would the curry bit come in?
One of the ways to cook cauliflower often recommended to those who hate the stuff* is to roast it in the oven with cumin and coriander seeds and chilli. That takes care of the curry bit. Then, if you combine it with a creamy sauce and grated cheese and pop it back in the oven you have the perfect low-carb cauliflower cheese.
You can serve this as an accompaniment to cold meat such as sliced ham or cooked sausages. Or do as I did—serve yourself a super-big portion with a lightly-dressed green salad. Yum.
The best veggie dish in the world made even better
One large whole cauliflower, broken into even-sized florets
One tbsp turmeric
One tbsp rapeseed oil
One tbsp cumin seeds
One tbsp coriander seeds
One tsp black pepper corns
½ tsp chilli flakes (or more…)
250mls double cream
100g grated cheese (extra mature to vintage cheddar is best)**
1tbsp wholegrain mustard
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Bring a large saucepan of well salted water to the boil, add the turmeric and cook the cauliflower florets for two minutes. Drain well so they are very dry.
Toast the cumin, coriander and pepper in a dry frying pan until the smell of them hits your nose like a sledgehammer and grind to to a powder in a pestle and mortar.
Take a large roasting pan and tip your florets in there. Add the oil and the spices and mix well so the florets are well coated. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the cream gently in a pan and add the mustard and most of the grated cheese. Blend well.
Remove the cauliflower florets from the oven. Place in an oven-proof serving dish and pour over the cheese sauce. Top with the rest of the grated cheese and put back in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Allow about 5-8g carbs per serving
Note—the number of servings depends on the size of cauliflower you started with. Mine was teeny, so my dish made two. If I’d served it as a side dish, three-to four. But we are in glutton territory here. Maybe I pretended the dish above served two and ate the whole lot in one go… no-one else in my household wanted to eat it, after all. Another idea is to prepare the roasted cauliflower as a side dish for any roast meat.
*Didn’t work on my husband. Cauliflower is up there on his list of the Devil’s Foods, along with broccoli, sprouts and blue cheese.
**This is a rough guide. If you choose to double it up, who am I to judge?
The marinade used for this chicken recipe makes the chicken really delicious.
Ingredients
One 3-4 pound chicken, wing tips removed
Marinade
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs ( I used oregano, basil, sage, parsley, rosemary, chives and thyme because that is what is growing in my garden.)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Combine the marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl or measuring cup.
Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the chicken backbone; remove the backbone (Save it for broth).
Turn the chicken, breast side up, and press down firmly on the breast bone to crack and flatten it. Tuck the wings under the back.
Transfer the flattened chicken to a medium glass baking dish. Loosen the skin a little and rub the marinade under and over all the skin of the chicken.
My comment: for the less surgically adept (including me!) you can use pre-cut chicken pieces.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator one hour before cooking.
Heat an outdoor grill to high with all the burners on, then, turn one or two burners to the lowest setting to create a low heat area.
My comment: Or use your usual kitchen grill
Grill the chicken, skin side down over the hot side of the grill, until the skin is browned and crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Turn the chicken skin side up and move to the low heat side of the grill.
Cover and grill over low heat until cooked through, about 20 – 30 minutes. Internal temperature should be around 170 F.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Internal temperature should rise to 180 F. Carve the chicken and serve.
As a one-time vegetarian, I love vegetable or pulse-based curries. I’d choose them over meat-based ones any day. I’m also a fan of tamarind paste—it adds amazing tangy flavour to any curry.
Diabetes Diet 