Bootcamp Recipe Thread

[BIWI]

Asparagus Frittata (serves 2)

250g/9oz asparagus, trimmed and cut into 5cm/2in pieces
4 eggs
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
225g/8oz spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

• Cook asparagus in boiling water until tender (7-10 minutes)
• Whisk the eggs and add the cheese and the spring onions
• Pre-heat the grill
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan that can go under the grill
• Put in the asparagus; stir-fry for a minute, then pour in the eaten eggs, moving the asparagus around gently to make sure the egg mixture gets right through, and that the grated cheese is well distributed
• Let the frittata cook over a moderate heat for a few minutes until the underside is cooked and lightly browned, then put the pan under a hot grill for a minute or two until the top is set and golden brown

5.5g carbs per serving

Recipe from Rose Elliot's "The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet Book"

Marking place for mor yummy recipes!!

Marking my place for recipes

Brocolli & chicken fritters makes approx 35

10 oz already cooked chicken chopped
1 cup (4 oz) grated cheddar cheese
8 oz fresh broccoli finely chopped (this was about 2 - 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 cup almond flour
4 beaten eggs (with a dash of salt and pepper thrown in)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (190C). In a large bowl, mix together chicken, cheese, broccoli, garlic and onion powders, and almond flour. Make sure these are well mixed and the ingredients are distributed well. Add in the beaten eggs and mix well. Using your hands, make balls about the size of a rounded tablespoon, and give it a firm squeeze to hold it all together. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet with just a little bit of room between them. They really don't spread or puff up much so feel free to put a lot on there. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until crisped and golden.

Carb count
Cheese 1.3g
Almond Flour 8g
Brocolli 7g
Onion powder 0.7g

17g total. I ate 8 of these with mayo as a dip for lunch, which was sufficient and works out at approx 4.3g carbs.

Enchilada Chicken Soup serves 4 (I made it last 5 for lunches)

3 tbsp. Olive Oil
3 stalks Celery, diced
1 medium Red Pepper, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
4 cups Chicken stock
1 cup Diced Tomatoes
8 oz. Cream Cheese
6 oz. Chicken, shredded
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Dice 3 stalks of celery (cut the tips off of each end) and 1 medium red pepper. In a pot, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add celery, pepper, and garlic. Let this cook until the celery softens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once celery is cooked, add 1 cup Diced Tomatoes and stir well. Let this cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add spices and additional salt and pepper if needed. Stir this up and leave for a 1-2 minutes. In the mean time, chop up the cilantro (make sure you cut the stems off). You’ll need about 1/2 cup in total. Add 4 cups chicken broth and cilantro to the pan. Stir everything together. Bring the soup up to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Let this simmer for 20 minutes. Measure out the cream cheese and add it to the pan. Stir in well and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, turn to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Shred the chicken with a fork. You can either cook this fresh as you’re making the soup or you can use cooked leftover chicken. Once simmered, add chicken to the pan. Stir together until everything is mixed. Serve up with extra sour cream! You can additionally garnish with shredded cheese, extra pepper, or fresh cilantro.

Total carbs - 31g. Per serving - 7.8g

Chicken courgette noodle soup, great if you have a cold or feel generally under the weather. Makes 3-4 servings

• 900ml chicken or vegetable stock (or Miso soup mix)
• 1 medium/large chicken breast
• 1 tsp grated/ground ginger (or fresh chopped root if you have it)
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3-4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2-3 carrots diced
• 1 courgette sliced into ribbons
• optional 1 chopped echalion shallot
• optional soy sauce

1. Pour the stock into a pan and add the chicken, ginger, and garlic.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, partly cover and simmer for 20 mins, until the chicken is tender.
3. Remove the chicken to a board and shred into bite-size pieces using a couple of forks.
4. Return the chicken to the stock with the courgette, carrots, mushrooms, shallot and the soy sauce.
5. Simmer for about 4-5 mins until the carrots are tender.
6. Serve.

Place marking!

Turnip dauphinoise

Made this evening and amazed how like potatoe it was - even my fussy 11 year old ate it all up!

Grease a medium gratin dish with butter. Oven on to 160c.
Slice up 4 large turnips (best in food processor).
Heat 250ml double with 250ml sour cream (I used single) 100ml water and a garlic clove til just boiling (keep stirring).
Layer turnips in dish with salt n pepper - you could add a little sliced shallot or herbs if you like.
Pour over warm cream mix. Place in oven for an hour.
Add about 40g grated cheese (I used mature cheddar). Bake for another 20-30 mins.
This serves at least 6 (only 3 of us do having again tomorrow).
Think it will freeze too.

I'm so thrilled with this potato replacement - I really miss them.

Taken from 'low carb & gluten free vegetarian' by Celia Brooks. States carbs at 10g/ portion (without cheese or shallot added).

Chicken thighs in a lemon grass and ginger sauce

2 stalks of lemon grass ( i used the tube stuff, 3 supermarkets with none in)
2 garlic cloves
5 sp onion
knob of ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
i veg stock cube
1 tin coconut milk
1 green chilli
8 chicken thighs

Roast the bone in chicken thighs in the oven until done. Drain off excess fat but leave brown chicken - ey bits in the bottom of tin.

Cook the ginger, garlic,chilli, sp onions and lemon grass in a little groundnut oil for 2-3 mins. Add the coconut milk, stock cube and soy sauce, bring to boil. Pour over chicken and scrape bits from bottom of the pan.
Put back in oven for 10-15 mins.

I served this with coriander cauli rice and roasted broccoli

Butter Chicken or Murg Makhani in the slow cooker

Serves 4

You can leave out some of the spices if you don't have all of them, I just like to have a mix of spicy and fragrant so as long as you have a few of each in there it will be fine

Ingredients:

• two large chicken breasts cut into chunks (could use boneless thighs)
• 2 tbl sp butter or more if you wish
• 1 shallot
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• half a tsp cayenne pepper or more if you want it spicy
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 stick cinnamon and 5 cardamom pods tied up in muslin or ground version
• 1 cup tomato sauce (lowest carb content you can find)
• 1 cup of ff greek yog
• quarter cup of cream
• fresh coriander to garnish if you wish

1. Saute the shallot in the butter until soft
2. Add the lemon juice, garlic, ginger and ground spices (put the whole ones in the slow cooker), cook for 1 minute
3. Add the tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes, stir a few times
4. Reduce the heat and add the yogurt and cream, stir and simmer for about 10 minutes
5. Blitz the sauce in a blender and turn the slow cooker on high
6. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker and stir in the chicken
7. Cook on high for between 4-6 hours, turn down for the last few hours if it is too bubbly. Could cook on low if you need to leave it for longer.

I served with pilau cauli rice and aubergine chunks fried in coconut oil and a splash of water and fresh chopped coriander sprinkled on top

Smoked Haddock Gratin

Really Cheery Salad
Serves 2

Place bag os washed watercress in a wide flat bowl
Chops 3" of cucumber and scatter over watercress
Peel and slice a whole avocado and scatter over watercress and cucumber
4 cherry tomatoes sliced and scatter over
Slice two chicken breasts and 4 rashers of steaky bacon and one finely sliced chilli, sauté and scatter over salad while warm. Finely slice two spring onions or one shallot and scatter over. Serve drizzled with good olive oil with a big dollop of mayo.

It is really cheery and very low in carbs.

Chicken Shawarma

This is an Ottolenghi recipe, intended to be served with flat breads but obviously leave that bit out for us.

Chicken marinade:

2½ tbsp lemon juice
3 small garlic cloves, crushed
20g fresh ginger, finely grated
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¾ tsp sweet paprika
1½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tbsp sumac
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp ras el hanout;
8 chicken thighs, boneless, skin on (800g net weight)
90ml olive oil
25g chopped coriander, stems and leaves
Salt and black pepper

Method

First make the marinade.
-Combine the lemon juice, garlic and ginger in a large bowl.
-Dry-fry the spices on medium heat until their aroma is released and then add these to the bowl, along with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¾ teaspoon of black pepper.
-Pat dry the chicken pieces and place them in the marinade along with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil and the fresh coriander.
-Massage the mixture into the chicken well, cover the bowl and leave in the fridge to marinade for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

-Preheat the oven to 180C.
-Place a large ridged griddle pan on high heat.
-Once red hot, cook the chicken pieces for 3 minutes on each side until nice and brown.
-Transfer to an oven tray to cook the meat through in the oven; about 6 minutes. [I think it takes much longer than this, more like 15-20 minutes]
-Allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting the chicken into 1 centimetre thick slices.
-Any remaining juices from the pan can be drizzled over the meat.

Serve with a middle eastern style salad dressed with finely chopped parsley/mint/coriander, oil and lemon juice.

There's a salsa and chilli sauce recipe on the original recipe page here at www.ottolenghi.co.uk/chicken-shawarma-sandwiches-shop

Honestly, this recipe is BLOODY GORGEOUS and will be entering our weekly repertoire.

Low carb bread. Contains no 'fake' ingredients. In the early days of BC i would still avoid it, not because it contains anything you shouldn't have, but because it's quite good to get out of the habit of basing meals around bread, iyswim. But very useful e.g. when you have to fit in with other people who are all eating sandwiches / cheese and biscuits etc. It keeps for several days in a sealed box in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 cup milled flaxseed (you can substitute part of them for chia seed for a change)
1/2 a cup ground almonds
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
3 tablespoons water

• Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
• Beat eggs and water together a bit in a separate bowl
• Mix the dry and wet ingredients together
• Pour into a small loaf tin, spread it out so it's fairly level and bake for 20-25 minutes at 200 celsius.

I find it works well in my silicone loaf tin without needing to grease the tin. My friend who has a metal tin complains it sticks a bit so if using metal you'll probably need to line the tin / grease it.

Let it cool (or at least cool a bit) before you slice it. You can toast it too.

Flaxseed pancakes

This is an adaptation of a recipe, but it worked out fine.

1/4 cup coconut flour (originally 1/4 whey protein powder)

1/4 cup milled flaxseed

3 beaten eggs

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 cup coconut milk (I used unsweetened from a tin, mine was very creamy; the original recipe says double cream)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

I also added a teaspoon of xylitol

Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl; in another beat the eggs, coconut milk/cream, and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients.

I used a whisk to beat it all smooth, and let sit for about five minutes. Then I used coconut oil instead of butter on the griddle, but you could also use butter.

The pancakes were lovely, quite 'rustic' in texture but fluffy, and I don't think I would use the coconut flour again, just the flaxseed. I did add a bit of almond milk to make the mixture more runny, and I think if you left out the coconut flour, that would not be necessary.

Adobe Beef
1 beef brisket
2 dried smoked chipolte chillies
2 cloves garlic (smoked if you can get it) 1 can tomatoes
125mls red wine
1-2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 tsp smoked paprika
3-4 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
Start this recipe 24 hours before you want to eat it. Remove the brisket from the packaging and sprinkle with ground cumin, smoked paprika and oregano all over. How much you need will depend on the size of the brisket.
In a tub place the dried chillies and garlic and the tin of tomatoes to re hydrate and infuse the tomato with lots of flavour.
Leave both in the fridge over night.
Seal the beef well in a frying pan and add the red wine. Add a tsp of oregano and smoked paprika and the tomatoes. Transfer to an oven proof casserole or the slow cooker and pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the beef. In the slow cooker this will take all day on medium or 2.5-3 hours in the oven @180. Turn the beef occasionally if you can (don't worry about this in the slow cooker, just put a big spoonful of the tomato on top of the beef)
taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary
Before serving remove the beef and blitz the sauce with a stick blender. Slice the brisket and serve with a spoon full of sauce and rice for carb eaters and fried cabbage for the low carb brigade.

Parmesan Chicken
Adapted for LC from a recipe here:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11800/crisp-parmesan-chicken-with- garlic-and-lemon-brocc
Really satisfies that coated chicken craving. Should serve two.
Ingredients
4 Boneless/ skinless chicken thigh fillets (or two large breasts sliced lengthways in two)
75g parmesan, finely grated (could substitute grana padano)
Teaspoon smoked paprika
1 egg, beaten
1 small head broccoli, broken into florets
25g butter
1 tsp Garlic puree
1?2 lemon, zested and juiced
Method:

1. Season the chicken. Mix the parmesan and smoked paprika. Coat each piece of chicken in egg and then press into the parmesan cheese, thoroughly coating the pieces both sides. Fry in a hot non stick pan for approx 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
2. Steam the broccoli until tender, drain. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the lemon juice / zest and garlic and season. Toss with the broccoli and serve with the chicken.

Celeriac Bravas
1/2 celeriac (about 200g), in cubes approx 1 cm
1/2 chorizo ring (about 125g), in cubes approx 1 cm (best to use a ring rather than the slices, you want cubes for this)
2 spring onions snipped up finely
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 red chilli finely sliced
1 tbsp garlic oil
2-3 tbsp pre made tomato sauce (tinned tomatoes, reduced with some garlic and basil oil and blended. 1 400g tin makes approx 300g sauce)
50g mozzarella cheese to serve (don't bother with the expensive buffalo stuff here, you really just want the creamy coolness and melting texture)
Fry the chorizo in a dry pan until it releases it oils and is crusty brown on all sides. Remove to one side. Into the pan put the garlic oil, bring up to temperature and add celeriac. Fry for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. At this stage add the chilli, paprika and chorizo back in. Warm the chorizo through for 1-2 minutes. Add the sauce and stir through until hot.
Just before you serve mix the cheese through so it starts to melt.
Serve in a bowl with a spoon or in baby gem lettuce cups as finger food.

Distant version of Jamie Oliver's fish pie:

Put a layer of fresh spinach or nuggets of frozen stuff on the bottom of a rectangular oven dish. No need to faff around with wilting it.

It a wide shallow pan, gently fry a chopped onion and a finely diced carrot (not essential, but I like the colour it adds). Take off the heat and mix in the zest and juice of a lemon, about 250ml of cream, grated cheese and some chopped parsley if you have it. Any odds and ends of cream cheese also go well in this. Allow to slump, then add chunks of fish and mix around (whatever is available - Lidl do good frozen salmon fillets - I would use about 4 fillets).

Pour the mixture into the oven dish, on top of the spinach. I sprinkle quartered boiled eggs over the top, then top with either more grated cheese, or some chopped feta, or a combination. Cook in the oven for about 1/2 hour until the top is golden & crispy.

I tend to serve with cauli mash on the side.

Serves about 4 - 6.

Almond Flax crackers
1 1/2 cup ground flax
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 egg
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Optional 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
Optional sprinkle of sesame / flax seeds/ salt / pepper for top

Mix ground almonds, flax meal, salt, rosemary and pepper in a bowl. Add the egg and oil and mix with a fork until it comes together in a dough.
Lay dough on a sheet of grease proof paper or silicon mat, cover with another sheet and roll over the top with a rolling pin or wine bottle. Use a small cutter to cut out rounds ( I got 48 about the size of a ritz cracker) or just slice into squares.
Sprinkle some seeds , pepper or salt on the top and press down gently. Bake for 25-30 minutes on a gentle heat (150 fan assisted) or until golden brown and crunchy. Leave to cool.

if the dough isn't sticking together add some warm water
About 1/2-1 tbsp hot out the kettle.

Quick Saag Paneer
White of 1 small leek or a shallot, sliced finely
8-10 pellets of frozen spinach
1 tbsp each of garlic/chilli oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
Crushed clove garlic
1 tsp garum massala
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
150g cottage cheese, lightly rinsed and drained or paneer if preferred

Heat the oils in a small frying pan.
Fry the leek for 1-2 mins, sprinkle in the spices and toast for a minute.
Add in the puree and the spinach.
Stir and allow the spinach to defrost, dry out and get coated in the spices.
Add the cheese and stir through until warmed through.
If a bit dry add a wee drop water and make sure piping hot before you serve.
This is by no means authentic but is really quick and yummy.
I used cottage cheese instead of paneer as an Indian friend in the past had recommended it and said it was more like the paneer her mum makes at home than the stuff you get in the supermarket but use what you have handy.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza (serves one)

(I know this has probably been done to death, but I was asked on another thread for tips on getting a decent crust)

Ingredients for pizza:
400g cauliflower
1 medium egg

Method:

1. Chop the cauliflower coarsely and roast it in the oven until done.
2. Remove cauliflower from oven and either rice it in a food processor or blend it with a hand blender (this is what I did).
3. Put your cauliflower mush into a tea towel or muslin cloth and squeeze as much of the moisture out as you can.
4. Mix cauliflower and egg into rough paste. Add seasoning and herbs if wanted.
5. Dollop "dough" onto a baking tray or pizza stone. If you use a baking tray, covering it with greaseproof paper, foil, or a bit of oil is very helpful.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until browned.

Take a metal spatula and carefully lift the pizza base from the oven and flip it over. Bake it for a further 5 minutes.

Add sauce and toppings. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, depending on what you're using.

Enjoy!

I like a white pizza sauce, but obviously the flour in a normal one doesn't work for me. This time I made one up using 50g of plain natural yogurt and a bit of Gorgonzola I had. You could easily sub with Parmesan for a less... Intense taste.

I topped mine with wild boar salami and brie.

(Photos to show the slice held up, even though they reveal the fact that I shamefully ate this in bed).

(Naughty) Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Ice Lollies.

These do have a few carbs in, but not too many, and they're great to have in the freezer for snacks. They also take a while to eat, to draw out the illicit carby pleasure .

Ingredients (12 mini servings)
380g Total Fat Free Greek Yogurt
50g Smooth Peanut Butter
15ml Sainsbury's Runny Honey
3tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
12g (4 squares broken up) extra dark choc.

(Chocolate chips would be better but I didn't have any in).

Method:
EITHER mix all ingredients together OR mix yoghurt, peanut butter, vanilla bean paste and chocolate chips together and add honey to taste.

Freeze in mini ice lolly moulds. I got two of these mini six packs from the 99p store for, well, 99p .

Oh, silly me, at my estimate from using My Fitness Pal and being quite militant with my scales, each lolly should be about 64 calories and 5.1g of carbs.

Yours might be more/less if you used a different brand of dark chocolate, or less/more honey.

Oh! And I struggled to get the mix into the mould so ended up using a piping bag.

That sounds lovely - but why fat-free yoghurt?!