Cauliflower is a really popular low-carb option these days for those who are looking to cut back on their carbs. It is one of several vegetables considered to be Cruciferous vegetables, or members of the brassica family.
The brassica family includes cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc. and I don't mind saying that I love all of them, and cauliflower is one of my favourites.
Oddly enough it is not a vegetable that we ever had when I was growing up. My dad was not fond of any of the brassicas and so my mom just never cooked them, although he will now eat them when served as he recognises that they are very good for you!
Low carb eaters eat a lot of cauliflower. They chop it up really finely and use it instead of rice . . . they mash it and use it like mashed potatoes, but I will confess. Its still just cauliflower to me. I don't get any similarity to rice or potatoes.
Having said that I like it anyways and will never turn down a plate full of cauliflower.
This is a jazzed up version of Cauliflower cheese. It has a few things added that you won't normally find in a cauliflower cheese.
Hot pepper sauce and crisp cooked bacon and sliced spring onions in the main. I like the green Tabasco sauce myself. It has a nice flavour.
Today I used a vintage cheddar for this and I like to grate my own. To be honest I never use already grated cheese. They add something to it to keep it flowing easily and I think this alters the results you get when cooking.
Bear in mind the nicer the flavour of the cheddar you use, the nicer the flavour of the finished dish.
You don't have to add the bacon. It just adds a bit of something nice that I like because lets face it . . . what doesn't taste better with bacon!
I could sit and eat a plate of this and nothing else and be quite, quite, quite happy!
Yield: 4
Author: Marie Rayner
"All Dressed" Cauliflower Cheese
This is a delicious version of Cauliflower Cheese. You can have it as a main course with a few other vegetables, or as a side dish to other dishes. You can make it a vegetarian main simply by leaving out the bacon.
Blanche your cauliflower florets in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for two to three minutes, drain well and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. When it begins to foam add the garlic, and cook for about a minute until it is quite fragrant. Whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute to cook out the flour taste, Slowly whisk in the milk, bring to a low simmer until it begins to bubble and thicken. Whisk in the cream cheese and 60g/1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, whisking until both are melted. Whisk in the Tabasco sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked cauliflower and add all but 1 TBS of the chopped bacon and 1 TBS of the chopped spring onions. Mix together well.
Butter a 7 by 11 baking dish. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the dish, levelling it out. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until bubbling and the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven, scatter the remaining bacon and spring onion on top and serve immediately.
Wrap up any leftovers and store it covered in the refrigerator. You can also pack them up and freeze them for another time. I guarantee you will enjoy this easy and delicious casserole!
I adore the flavours of Buffalo Chicken Wings. I love the heat of the sauce . . . mingled with the cool richness of the blue cheese dressing, and all of that succulent chicken wing meat. I think of all the parts of the chicken, I love the wings most of all.
And they are probably the bits that are the worst for you with all that skin and all that fat, but that's probably exactly why they are so tasty, because of that fat and scrumptious skin. There's a whole lot of flavour packed into those little wings!
I can remember when my children were growing up, and money was scarce, I used to be able to buy big packs of chicken wings for a lot less than I would have had to pay for other chicken parts. I used to just shake them with some seasoning and bake them. Everyone was happy, especially my pocket book.
Of course I am watching my waistline and cholesterol a bit more these days, and so I save things like chicken wings for a rare treat. Today I applied the flavours of Buffalo Chicken wings to chicken breasts, and quite successfully I might add!
This is a low carb entree that will have everyone smacking their lips. Chicken breasts are stuffed with a lush cheese filling . . . you combine cream cheese and cheddar cheese, and not a lot of each actually. Just enough to keep the chicken nice and moist. I also used ranch seasoning to give it a bit more flavour. You can make your own or use some from a packet of dry ranch dressing.
Stuffed into a pocket you cut into the chicken breasts, they keep the chicken moist. It also means that the chicken (because its been split) doesn't need as long to cook, which helps even more to keep it moist.
You brush the chicken pieces generously with Buffalo sauce before cooking, and again once or twice while they are cooking . . .
Once done you drizzle the cooked chicken with a lush low carb blue cheese sauce. It all sounds very indulgent doesn't it?
For a low carb meal I served it with my favourite Little Gem Salad and steamed yellow wax beans.
I adore Baby Gem lettuce and wax beans. Altogether this was one of my favourite low carb meals ever!
Yield: 2
Author: Marie Rayner
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken for Two
This delicious low carb chicken dish can easily be doubled to serve more people.
ingredients:
For the chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
4 TBS cream cheese
4 TBS grated strong cheddar cheese
1 TBS ranch seasoning
60ml buffalo sauce (1/4 cup)
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
For the Blue Cheese Dressing:
2 1/2 ounces blue cheese crumbled
6 TBS Greek yogurt
4 TBS mayonnaise
1 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
heavy cream or water to thin
instructions:
How to cook Stuffed Buffalo Chicken for Two
First make the dressing. Whisk all of the ingredients together, mashing the blue cheese until it is finely crumbled. Thin as desired with either cream or water. Set aside for the flavours to develop while you cook the chicken. This will keep for several days in the refrigerator in a covered container.
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Lightly spritz a baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Using a sharp knife make a pocket in the edge of each chicken breast, taking care not to cut all the way through. Mash together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and ranch seasoning. Stuff half into each chicken pocket. Place into the baking dish and brush generously with Buffalo sauce. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, brushing with more buffalo sauce every 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Drizzle with some Blue Cheese Dressing and sprinkle with parsley to serve.
For Todd who is not trying to lose weight, I added a baked potato. We were both very happy. I think you will be too. You can also easily double the amounts to serve more than two people. Trust me when I say, this is so, so, SO delicious!
It was so lovely and sunny today that I decided to make us a salad for our supper. I loosely based the flavours on a traditional Nicoise Salad (which uses Tuna), but used chicken instead and added some potatoes for my Carb Loving husband!
My version was low carb, which meant no potatoes. Instead I had some leftover steamed asparagus that I used and some sliced cooked beetroot. In all truth I could not finish it, and it was delicious!
I have only recently discovered that you can roast frozen beans on a baking tray at the same time you roast other things like potatoes or meat. They come out beautifully. A bit caramelised on the edges, perfectly cooked, and the flavour is fantastic!
To be honest I have never been overly fond of frozen beans, but this way I love them. We are funny in our family, we like tinned beans . . . that's what we were brought up on.
I had some leftover Rotisserie Chicken from one we had bought at Costco. This is the chicken I used. You could could a couple of chicken breasts if you don't have any leftover. But the Rotisserie Chicken is lovely.
Roasted fingerling potatoes . . . just tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and roasted along with the beans. Perfect.
Ideally you should use Nicoise Olives, but I didn't have any. I did have a mix of Kalamata and Green with small cubes of feta cheese. This is what I used. Yum!
Hard boiled eggs . . . I always use free-range eggs. Its the least I can do. I refuse to support an industry that is inhumane, and if I can find them I use RS PCB approved. Then I know for sure that they are really produced humanely. Want to know my secret to perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs. Its a electric egg boiler just like this one. They turn out perfectly no matter the degree of doneness you wish, every single time.
The dressing is a very simple one. Just lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, seasonings and fresh herbs. A simple vinaigrette. The original used 1 tsp of granulated sugar, which if you are not bothered you can use. I am bothered so I used a tsp of sugar substitute. Without it, the dressing would be very tart.
My low carb salad was every bit as visually appealing as Todd's full carb one, and just as delicious. Its very easy to leave out the carbs for on without affecting the other!
Yield: 2
Author: Marie Rayner
Chicken Nicoise Salad Platter
I have two ways of doing this. One is full carb and one is low carb. Both are delicious. Simple, easy and very pretty on a plate.
prep time: cook time: total time:
ingredients:
You will need:
Leftover Roast chicken
2 hard boiled free range eggs
1/2 (4 serving size) bag of haricots verts (I used yellow wax)
5 or 6 fingerling salad potatoes, washed and halved or quartered lengthwise (use only half the potatoes or leave out altogether if you are doing low carb)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil to drizzle
a mix of nicoise olives and feta cheese (or kalamata) (about 1/4 cup)
about 6 cherry tomatoes, halved (I forgot these)
For the dressing:
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 TBS white wine vinegar
3 TBS finely chopped herbs (I used parsley and dill)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sweetener or granulated sugar
1 TBS Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper to taste
instructions:
How to cook Chicken Nicoise Salad Platter
Preheat your oven to 230*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with foil. Place the frozen beans on one side of the baking tray and the potatoes on the other side. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with some salt and black pepper. Toss each to coat. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are golden and the beans are beginning to caramelise just a bit. Remove and set aside.
Have ready two large dinner plates. Slice some roast chicken and put a portion on each plate. Peel and halve the eggs. Place two halves on each plate. Divide the potatoes between the two plates (Not if you are doing a low carb plate, then just put half the potatoes on one). Divide the beans between each plate also, as well as the olives, cheese and the tomatoes.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. (You will have plenty. You can store any leftovers for a few days in the refrigerator for another time.) Drizzle some of the dressing over each and serve immediately.
If you are doing low carb, leave off the potatoes and replace with something else. Today I sliced myself up some cooked beetroot and had some leftover chilled asparagus. In all honesty I couldn't finish it all.
NOTES:
If you haven't got any leftover roast chicken (I used the breast meat of a Rotisserie Chicken), then you can always cook two chicken breasts to use in its place.
I hope you are enjoying these new recipes I am sharing. I would really love your feedback. I promise you there will be something deliciously sweet tomorrow. I am trying to stay away from those things as much as possible, but its not fair to punish Todd for my sinful ways.
I received a beautiful box of fish the other day from Seafresh Quality Foods. I had been contacted by them and asked I would like to try some of their products and review their service, etc. I am wanting to eat more fish at the moment, so I said sure.
Seafresh is an online fish monger, which sells quality fish, seafood, poultry and meat. They have access to some of the best quality products from Britain and around the world, largely due to the good relationships they have fostered with their suppliers since 1996, when they began with the very simple concept of selling high quality frozen foods to their customers right in the comfort of their own homes.
I have to say right from the outset I have been extremely impressed with their customer service. Rhoda their Customer Service Rep was in touch with me through the whole process of ordering and delivery, and checked back afterwards to make sure that it got to me in a timely manner and was up to standard. I was given a one hour delivery slot (delivery is by DPD) and it arrived bang on time, and was really packaged well.
I was really impressed with the packaging all together. Not only was it in a very sturdy box, but inside it was packed inside a woolcool bag which is completely reusable and recyclable. Woolcool is made from excess sheep wool and it can go straight into the compost bin or if even better it can be re-used for things like hanging baskets, potted plants, insulating, even cushion fillers! It was also packed with dry ice, which was clearly labelled for safety.
There were cooked Shrimps, raw King Prawns, Undyed Smoked Haddock, Cod Loins, Haddock Loins and Salmon Fillets. I was so impressed with the packaging of everything. All arrived frozen solid and ready to pop into the freezer. Each fish package was double bagged as well, and perfectly labelled not only with the contents, but also with basic cooking instructions!
I am really impressed. This is a quality product, responsibly & sustainably resourced, and it shows.
There is more to fish than most people know like the cut, portion size, the glaze on the fish ( amount of water glaze added), how it’s frozen. Their fish is all individually quick frozen, right at sea. Air Blast frozen within four hours. The amount of time it takes to freeze fish can really affect the taste, with some places taking up to 48 hours before it is frozen at the docks. Being quick frozen means that this fish tastes really fresh, and I can say that it is fabulously tasty fish! I also really love that each piece is individually frozen so that I can take out only as much as I need at any one time.
Today I wanted to cook Low Carb Fish Pies for us. One each and so I only needed small portions of fish as altogether it comes to a lot of protein. I used one smoked haddock fillet, one each cod and haddock loin and one salmon fillet. Then for Todd I added some King Prawns. The fish loins are perfectly sized and meaty, as is the salmon. I cooked each piece according to the package directions. Todd was really excited about the King Prawns, as it is not something we have very often in our home.
This fish pie recipe is quick and easy. You cook all of the fish first and then break it up into individual casserole dishes. I did only two servings, but you can easily double everything up to serve more people.
The sauce is a simple one, requiring only minimal cooking. It is basically just cream, cream cheese, half an egg yolk, Dijon mustard and some seasonings. This cooks quickly in less than 2 minutes in the microwave.
This gets poured over the fish in the casseroles . . . you might not think it is much, but trust me when I tell you it is ample.
Most low carb fish pies will use cauliflower mash for the topping, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted something crunchy and so I used filo pastry.
I brushed it with an egg wash (using the other half of the egg yolk) and scrunched it up, putting one scrunched up sheet on top of each casserole.
I lightly dusted it with some Parmigiana Reggiano Cheese which gives you a lot of flavour from only a tiny bit.
10 to 15 minutes is all the time you need to cook it, in a hot oven, which crisps up that filo pastry really well and gets the sauce bubbling. Because it is such a short time, the fish doesn't over-cook. It is in short . . . perfect!
Perfectly delicious! I served it with a mix of steamed vegetables . . .
Asparagus and broccoli . . . both of which go really well with fish. I added some boiled new potatoes for Todd because he isn't on any kind of diet and loves his potatoes!
Just look at how perfectly that fish is cooked . . . not dry in the least.
And that sauce is amazing. Just the right amount of flavour without taking anything away from that beautiful fish!
Yield: Serves 2 generously
Author: Marie Rayner
Low Carb Fish Pies
Delicious, low carb and easily doubled to feed more people. Quick and easy as well.
ingredients:
For the fish:
1 piece of smoked haddock (6 ounces)
1 cod loin (5 ounces)
1 haddock loin (5 ounces)
1 skinless salmon fillet (5 ounces)
several king prawns (optional)
For the Sauce:
60g full fat cream cheese (1/4 cup)
60ml double cream (1/4 cup)
2 TBS water
1 large free range egg, beaten and divided in half
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and black pepper to taste
To finish:
2 sheets filo pastry
finely grated Parmigiana Reggiano cheese
instructions:
How to cook Low Carb Fish Pies
First prepare the fish. Simmer the smoked haddock in some water for about 5 minutes until done. Remove and set aside to cool. Poach the remaining fish fillets in a clean pot of water until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Add the prawns(If using) to the water and cook until pink. Scoop out and set aside to cool.
Have ready two buttered individual casserole dishes. Remove the skin from the smoked haddock and discard. Break the haddock into the buttered dishes, dividing it between the two. Likewise, break the remaining cooked fish into large bits and divide between the casseroles. Top with prawns if using.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
To make the sauce, put the cream cheese, double cream and water into a measuring beaker. Warm in the microwave on high for 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Remove and whisk. Add half of the beaten egg yolk, tempering it with a bit of the warm mixture if necessary. Return to the microwave and cook on high for 30 second intervals, whisking well after each, until smooth and thickened. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, onion powder and salt and black pepper to taste. Divide between the two casserole dishes, pouring half over each to cover the fish. Press lightly so that it reaches the bottom.
Unroll two sheets of filo pastry. Beat a bit of water with the remaining egg yolk and brush over each sheet. Crumble the sheets and place one on top of each casserole dish. Grate a bit of the cheese on top and place the casseroles onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and the pies are heated through. Serve hot.
I worked out the calorie count for the 800 fast diet. It comes in at 487cal per serving, which means I was bang on eating only half the serving myself. (approx 245cal) The carb count per full serving 10.37g. All told (for a full serving) it was 64% Protein and 5 % Carb. So not too bad. And it was delicious!
Overall I am very impressed with Seafresh. Their products and service are outstanding. I would highly recommend them to anyone. I see a Kedgeree in our future with some of that smoked Haddock, which is something I haven't done on here yet, but have always wanted to. Watch this space. There is still a whole lot of goodness to come!
A few things about Seafresh:
Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
All packages are carefully hand packed.
Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount.
Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
Note - Although I was gifted with product free of charge for the purposes of review, I was not required to write a positive review in exchange, nor would my integrity allow me to recommend anything if I did not truly like it. Any and all my opinions are my own entirely.
