Grilled Chicken with Edamame Skordalia

This is a fantastic, fresh-tasting recipe I found in Bon Appetit. It isn't marked 'low carb' (surprisingly few recipes are, despite the fact that they are, nutritionally, great for this lifestyle), but the nutritional analysis on the site says it's 15.15 g of carbohydrates a serving and 6.21 of that is fiber. If you use net carbs, that comes to 8.94 g of carbs in a delicious, fresh-tasting, and relatively easy to prepare meal. I was so thrilled that I discovered that the gas grills in our soon-to-be-x-apartment-complex do indeed work.

I was out of olive oil when I made this recipe, so I subbed peanut oil. I'm sure it would be as tasty or tastier with the original ingredient. I also used boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts, because I'm on a budget and I think they taste better! This cuts down a little on grill time.

Grilled Chicken with Edamame Skordalia
Bon Appetit August 2008
Serves 4

1 16-ounce bag frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
3 garlic cloves, peeled
6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves

Cook frozen edamame in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid for skordalia.

Meanwhile, combine basil, 1/3 cup oil, and garlic in processor; blend until basil and garlic are finely chopped. Transfer 2 tablespoons basil oil to small bowl and reserve.

Add edamame, 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan, and lemon juice to remaining basil oil in processor; puree until mixture is almost smooth, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if mixture is dry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set skordalia aside.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill with oil. Brush chicken breasts on both sides with reserved basil oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until chicken is just cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Slice chicken breasts crosswise.

Spoon warm or room-temperature skordalia onto 4 plates. Top with chicken.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories (kcal) 651.33; %Calories from Fat 44.7; Fat (g) 32.32; Saturated Fat (g) 5.84; Cholesterol (mg) 152.08; Carbohydrates (g) 15.15; Dietary Fiber (g) 6.21; Total Sugars (g) 0.22; Net Carbs (g) 8.94; Protein (g) 69.70 (nutritional analysis provided by Bon Appètit)

Quick Radish Chowder

Somewhere, in my search for low carb goodness, I read a post that said radishes lose their bite when you boil them, and that you could use them in place of potatoes. I am here to tell you that it is true! They have a mouthfeel just like boiled potatoes, and readily take on the taste of the broth or sauce around them. They have a faint earthy taste, but I've had potatoes that had the same flavor. In my opinion, they far exceed turnips, rutabagas, jicama, and cauliflower as a potato stand-in.

To test out the radish theory, I whipped up this chowder for lunch. It's got fantastic flavor, and definitely has the taste and feel of a great comfort food. I bet it would be tasty with cheese on top as well, but I was too lazy (and hungry) to fuss with the grater.

Quick Radish Chowder

1 bottle clam juice

1 cup water

8 radishes (more or less to taste), cut into bite-size chunks

½ onion, roughly chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

3 slices bacon

1 teaspoon dashi (Japanese fish stock)

1 bay leaf

3 peppercorns

½ to 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt

1 fillet of white fish (I used frozen flounder, partially thawed), chopped into bite size pieces

½ can condensed milk, or about ½ cup cream

Pour clam juice into medium saucepan, and place on burner turned to high heat. Add radishes. Allow radishes to boil until clam juice is reduced by half. Add water, dashi, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Reduce heat to medium. In a separate pan, cook bacon until just starting to crisp. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-covered plate to cool. Add celery and onion to pan full of bacon grease. Sauté until both vegetables are soft and onion is translucent. Scoop mixture into pot. Once radishes are slightly soft when poked, add chopped fish and Lawry’s. When radishes are entirely tender (like cooked potatoes), add milk or cream, stir, and serve.

All of these ingredients and their amounts are quite mutable. In fact, I'm mostly guessing at how much of each went into the chowder--it's very much to taste. Experiment, and enjoy!

Three Citrus Mojo

Hello all! Sorry it's been so long--I had a temporary job for a while that was from 4am-12:30pm, and that was crazy. I haven't been cooking a lot of new things, and the things I've been trying have been pretty meh.

However, I do have a tasty sauce/relish that all have agreed is absolutely amazing. It's from Brigit Binns' The Low-Carb Gourmet again. I can't wait to try more recipes from this book, but for now, it needs to go back to the library. I think I'll be purchasing it in the near future.

The mojo was originally served over grilled, cumin-marinated pork tenderloin and bacon skewers, but I think it could be used over just about anything. If you find the red onions too strong for you, try Vidalia or even shallots.

Three Citrus Mojo (serves 4)

Grated zest of half an orange
Grated zest of half a lime
Grated zest of half a lemon
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
3 gloves garlic, minced or pressed
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl. Allow to combine at least 1 hour—can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours. Return to room temperature before serving.

Breakfast Stroganoff

This is a recipe I threw together on Saturday morning—relief from eggs! I discovered that I actually love green tomatoes during my experimentations last week. The fried recipe did not work out so well, but they tasted great even though their coating fell off. I’m looking forward to using them cooked and fresh in a lot of dishes.

Breakfast Stroganoff
½ to 1 lb ground beef (I used ¾ lb, I think, but that’s an awkward measurement)
Half an onion, sliced then roughly chopped
8 oz sour cream, more or less to taste
1 green tomato, sliced into thin strips
½ packet Goya Sazón seasoning
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, or your favorite seasoning blend
½ lb white mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons port, sack, sherry, or dry white wine in a pinch

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat. Add onions, and sauté five minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté for another five minutes. Add ground beef to the middle of the pan, pushing other ingredients to the side. Break it up with whatever you’re using to stir (you are stirring, aren’t you?). Add alcohol. Cook until meat is brown with almost no trace of pink. Add seasonings and green tomato. Cook five minutes. Take off heat, stir in sour cream, and serve.

I love this because the green tomatoes add acidity and actually work well texturally for the noodles you will not be eating. It’s not ‘real’ stroganoff, but it’s nearly as delicious, and great for a change of pace for breakfast. I suppose you could have it for lunch or dinner too!

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

So I mentioned a cookbook a while ago, and just realized I hadn't gotten around to posting any of the recipes that we enjoyed yet. With that said, enjoy this lovely chocolate cake. We've made it three or four times now, and it's definitely a favorite. It's also a lot simpler than it looks.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Serves 8

Original recipe from The Low-Carb Gourmet by Brigit Binns

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, in small pieces (I recommend Ghiradelli chocolate chips—they’re less expensive then the bars, and require less prep work)
½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 8 chunks (for American butter, that’s a stick of butter cut along the tablespoon lines—very handy)
4 large eggs, chilled

Special Equipment:
8 or 9 inch round cake pan (see notes)
Parchment paper.
Double boiler or metal mixing bowl
Roasting or baking pan large enough to fit your cake pan in flat
Electric mixer, hand mixer, or a whisk and a lot of energy

Place oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 325 F. Grease an 8 (also works in a 9, but makes a much thinner cake) inch cake pan with butter. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper (do not use waxed paper. Seriously.) Fill a small saucepan or a kettle with water, and put it on a back burner. This will be boiling water for the bain-maire, a water bath that will keep your cake moist and cooking evenly in the oven.
You will also need the bottom of your double boiler or another saucepan over which you can set a metal mixing bowl, half full of simmering water.
Melt the chocolate using the top of the double boiler or your metal mixing bowl. Make sure the water doesn’t cover the bottom of your melting vessel. Avoid getting water in your chocolate. Stir your chocolate until it’s smoothly melted. Add the butter and stir until the mixture is homogenous. Remove from heat.
Place the eggs in a large bowl and beat at high speed until doubled in volume. With electric mixers, this takes about five minutes. Do NOT do this step ahead to save time. We found the chocolate mixture needs at least five minutes to cool. It negatively influences the texture of the cake if you add the eggs while the chocolate is too hot.
Fold the egg in by thirds, mixing each time until just combined.
Scoop the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Place the cake in your roasting pan. Put the roasting pan on the rack with the rack at full extension. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up your cake pan. (or until your cake pan starts bobbing *cough*) Bake for 25-28 minutes. It will not look done, but don’t cook it longer than this. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read 150 F. The edges will be slightly dry and bubbled-looking, but the middle will still look batter-ish. Do not be deceived! This cake declines rapidly when left in the oven longer than 28 minutes. It still tastes good, but the texture, again, will be wrong.
Now is when you find your creative solution to not burning your fingers whilst taking the cake pan out of the bain-maire and putting it onto a rack. I recommend two pairs of tongs, two forks, or anything else that keeps you and your moisture-wicking oven mitts away from the boiling water. You can also use a turkey baster to bring the water to a less perilous level. Once you have accomplished the placement of your cake onto the cooling rack, leave it there until it’s room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate your cake for as long as you can. Let it come to room temperature before serving. When you are ready to serve it, invert the cake onto waxed or parchment paper, peel off the parchment from the bottom, and invert again onto its intended serving platter.

Raspberry Sauce
8 oz raspberries (you may use frozen, but at least a carton of fresh is nice for garnish)
2 tablespoons Splenda (or a packet of stevia, or sweetener of your choice)
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Special equipment
A blender
A fine mesh sieve (tea strainers work well)

Puree your raspberries, making sure to leave some berries for garnish. Add sweetener, lemon juice, and Cointreau. Then pour your lovely sauce through the sieve to de-seed it. It’s worth it, I promise! This is best accomplished by pressure from a spoon or a pestle, which gets as much pulp through the screen as possible. The raspberry seeds left over are tasty—try them before you throw them away.

Slice your cake onto plates, drizzle with raspberry sauce, and garnish with fresh raspberries and leftover chocolate chips.

Syrian Lamb with Green Beans

So today's post was supposed to be about the little fish-packets I made last night, but they turned out very meh. And I refuse to post anything less that wonderful on this blog.
So I thought I'd introduce you to a dish I discovered during my semester in Wales a few years ago. You can make it with minimal equipment, and it's absolutely marvelous. Keep a lookout for lamb on sale, and remember that this takes a relatively small amount of meat for a really big flavor. If you live where lamb is cheap, I am wildly jealous. :)

The original recipe was found on Food Network, apparently the work of a lady called Katherine Dickenson

Syrian Lamb with Green Beans

4 to 6 shoulder lamb chops, fat removed and bones in for flavor
OR
2 or 3 lamb shank pieces
3 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 bay leaf
1 sweet red pepper--the 'Italian' kind if possible (long and skinny and fabulously sweet)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano, crushed between your hands (please, please don't use ancient flavorless oregano that has lived in your cupboard for decades, because you will make me cry)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, ends snapped off and cut into bite size pieces
2 cans diced tomatoes or a big can of fire roasted whole ones, cut into pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste

Saute your meat in butter until brown on all sides. Saute the onion until translucent. Add garlic, bay leaf, red pepper and seasoning and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green beans and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 1 hour on medium to medium low heat. Check it every now and then to make sure you're not boiling the water away. Unlid and serve!

You could serve this over riced cauliflower or something if you really wanted to, but I prefer eating it as a soup/stew, and don't think it needs a thing. We have used it as both a side and a main dish, and it serves both purposes admirably. You can add more green beans for further tasty servings, but I just don't have a pot that will hold that much comfortably.

You might be able to use lamb ribs and such for this as well, but you'd likely have to cool the finished product and scrape off the fat. It's pretty oily using the original cuts, albeit a delicious lamb fat kind of oily. If you have a problem with that, then cool and skim away!

And come to think of it, I bet that you could dump it in a slow cooker after the initial saute, and waltz away for a few hours. The flavors would have intermingled further, and long low heat makes for more tender lamb.

Wild Mushroom Ragout

So, I'll admit it, I'm something of a geek. A D&D, Warcraft, DragonCon kind of geek. But that can come in handy every now and then, as well as being darn fun. For example, in the nifty book More Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, which is a collection of short stories, essays, and fun tidbits from the Dragonlance books, there is a fabulous recipe for Kender Wild Mushroom Ragout. And it has minimally-carby ingredients. I am too lazy at the moment to plug in the numbers, especially since the ingredients can vary so much, but I'm pretty sure it's a normal recipe that's perfect for low carb without any weird substitutions. And I love that!

Kender Wild Mushroom Ragout
1 cup thinly sliced white onions
2 pounds fresh, wild mushrooms
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1+1/2 tsp fresh minced rosemary
1/4 cup stock (chicken, mushroom or vegetable)
3 tbsp dry sherry
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp brandy (optional)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute onions, mushromms and garlic in butter until tender. Add herbs, stock and sherry. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half.
Add cream and simmer until slightly thickened. Add brandy and lemon juice. Simmer 2 more minutes. Add salt, pepper, parsley and serve over Dreamfield noodles, riced cauliflower, or sop up the juices later with an Oopsie (full recipe here, can't find the measurements and stuff on Cleochatra's site!).

Now you can substitute a lot of things in this recipe. We most often use a lot of soaked dried mushrooms, because there just aren't a great deal of fresh wild mushrooms around. However, I'd recommend getting a few cartons of regular white mushrooms, and at least some baby bellas/cremini and shiitake if you can get them. The dried mushrooms have great flavor, but they're pretty tough, so cut them up small if you do use them. And if you can get some other varieties, get them! Even the expensive ones make your dish better in small, affordable portions. I will admit that the best version of this we made was with at least six kinds of fresh mushrooms.

You can also substitute port or sack for the sherry, or dry white wine in a pinch. And although the brandy claims it's optional, don't believe it. It pairs gorgeously with the mushrooms, and it would be a crime to leave it out.

By the way, for any other nerds, geeks, or fans out there, the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books will cease being published at the end of the year, according to my sources. Buy what you can. Hopefully, more worlds with such wide appeal will spring up in their place.