Building on the demand for carb-conscious, sugar-free and grain-free meals, Inè’s recipes put the emphasis on nutritionally upgraded, healthy eating. Her dishes don’t require speciality ingredients or expensive food substitutes. Living in a small Boland town, Inè has learnt to be creative with what she has to hand: good quality meat and dairy, and the freshest vegetables and herbs. Her dressings, dips, sauces and gluten-free flour mixes form the basis of a superb selection of recipes that will take you from breakfast to dinner and from weekday family meals to weekend entertaining, all with a focus on improving general health and wellbeing.
JUMP TO RECIPE
Broccoli, mozzarella and bacon bites
Cauliflower rice with broccoli, baby spinach and peas
Broccoli, mozzarella and bacon bites
“You’ll find plenty of occasions to enjoy moreish little bites – from sundowners and light lunches to party platters, lunchbox treats and picnics. Just beware; they can disappear in seconds, so make plenty.”
Clean keto
Makes: 20–22 bites
200 g broccoli rice
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2–3 bacon rashers, fried until crisp, then finely chopped
3 Tbsp coconut flour
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan-style cheese or nutritional yeast
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp psyllium husk powder
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or fork until the mixture can be easily shaped into a ball. Scoop tablespoons of the mixture and roll between your palms into ping-pong sized balls. (Add a dusting of coconut flour if the mixture is too sticky.)
Spread the bites on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 18–20 minutes, turning once, until they are golden and crisp on all sides. Serve warm or cool.
Cauliflower rice with broccoli, baby spinach and peas
“Cauliflower rice is a great fibre-filled, detox-supporting, grain-free alternative to rice, couscous, bulgar or tabbouleh. It is easy to make and its granular texture makes the perfect base for stews or curries.”
Low carb
Serves: 4
400 g cauliflower florets
300 g broccoli florets
2–3 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
½ cup frozen peas, thawed
2–3 Tbsp grated Parmesan-style cheese or nutritional yeast, optional
1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Place the cauliflower, broccoli and spinach in a food processor and pulse until they resemble grains of rice. Do this in batches if necessary.
Heat the oil and butter in a pan on medium. Add the cauli-rice mixture and stir-fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring continuously to ensure it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and tip into a serving bowl. Add the peas, grated cheese or nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to combine.
Serve warm with your choice of meat, chicken or fish, or leave to cool and serve as a salad with chicken or grilled tuna, with something like an Olive Pesto Yoghurt Dressing on the side.
LEKKER TIP
Thaw frozen peas at room temperature, or place them in a sieve or colander and pour over some boiling water. Drain before adding to the cauli-rice.
Sweet potato snacks
“For easy entertaining, prepare the bases and your choice of toppings in advance. Build the snacks a few hours ahead and leave them in the fridge, removing them 10–15 minutes before serving, so they are not too cold.”
Smart carb
Makes: 20–30 rounds (8–10 smart carb servings)
SWEET POTATO BASE
1–2 large sweet potatoes, skin on, washed and dried
2 Tbsp avocado oil or melted coconut oil
½ tsp salt
Slice the sweet potato into rounds ± 1 cm thick. Place in a shallow bowl. Add the oil and salt and toss gently until evenly coated. Arrange the rounds in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking tray.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. Turn with a spatula or fork and bake for a further 8–10 minutes, until crisp and golden. Leave to cool to room temperature before topping each sweet potato round with 1–2 tsp of your chosen topping (see below).
TOPPING: CREME FRAICHE & SMOKED SALMON WITH DILL
1 tub (250 ml) crème fraîche
80–100 g smoked salmon ribbons, cut into small pieces
4–5 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp fresh dill
Dress the sweet potato rounds with 1–2 tsp crème fraîche, a piece of salmon, 2–3 capers, and a few sprigs of fresh dill.
LEKKER TIP
Make the potato bases thick enough to support the topping, and ensure the toppings are firm enough to ‘stick’ to the base and not fall off.
For savoury snacks, spread each round with 1–2 tsp crème fraîche, guacamole, thickened sour cream or whipped coconut cream before you add your choice of topping.
If you are only making savoury toppings, toss the potato rounds with 1–2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves before baking.
Chicken skewers
Clean keto
Makes: 4 skewers each
BBQ CHICKEN SKEWERS
400–600 g chicken strips
½ cup (125 ml) BBQ Sauce
8–12 cherry tomatoes
2–3 large baby marrows, cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 green pepper, cubed
4 metal or wooden skewers
MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SKEWERS
400–600 g chicken strips
½ cup (125 ml) Mediterranean Marinade
8–12 cherry tomatoes
2–3 large baby marrows, cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 green pepper, cubed
4 metal or wooden skewers
Combine the chicken strips and BBQ Sauce or Mediterranean Marinade in a bowl. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes.
To assemble the skewers, start with a tomato, followed by a chunk of baby marrow and a wedge of red onion. Fold a chicken strip around a cube of green pepper before adding it to the skewer. Add another onion wedge.Repeat the ingredients, ending with a cherry tomato.
Arrange the completed skewers on a baking tray lined with foil or baking paper. Place in a preheated oven on the highest setting (± 250°C) for 17–20 minutes, turning frequently to ensure they do not burn. To add some char put the cooked skewers under the grill for 2 minutes, taking care that they don’t burn.
Serve with Cheesy Cauliflower Naan Bread, page 166, a green salad and your choice of dressing, see Tips below.
LEKKER TIP
Instead of buying ready prepared strips, slice 2–3 skinless, deboned chicken breasts lengthways into strips ± 1-cm thick.
Serve the Mediterranean skewers with pesto, Yoghurt Mustard Dressing, or Olive Pesto Yoghurt Dressing. The BBQ skewers go well with chutney or smoky chilli mayo.
Avocado seed bread
“I call this my Goodness Gracious Loaf! It’s perfect for making during avocado season and an absolute star when it comes to busting carb cravings. Packed full of seeds, it’s cleverly constructed to disguise the taste and texture of coconut flour and, as a bonus, incorporates healthy monounsaturated fats and fibre, to boost gut health and hormone health.”
Clean keto
Makes: 1 loaf (± 16 slices)
DRY INGREDIENTS
½ cup coconut flour
3 Tbsp psyllium husk powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
1½ cups mixed seeds (flax/linseed, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin)
wet ingredients
220 g avocado flesh, see Tips
4 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk or plant-based milk
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup (160 ml) boiling water
Sieve the dry ingredients, except the seeds, into a mixing bowl. Add the seeds and mix thoroughly to combine.
Scoop out the avocado flesh and weigh on a kitchen scale. Place the avo in a jug blender or bullet blender with all the wet ingredients, except the boiling water, and blend for 30–60 seconds, until combined into a smooth puree, with no lumps. Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients and stir through.
Add the boiling water to the blender container, then close the lid and shake to loosen any remaining avo mixture, before tipping the water into the mixing bowl. Using a hand whisk, quickly mix everything to form a light batter (don’t overwhisk it).
Let the batter rest for 1–2 minutes, to absorb all the liquid, then scoop into a standard loaf pan lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 45–55 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before tipping out onto a rack and removing the baking paper.
LEKKER TIP
Store the bread in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze individual slices.
A ‘palm sized’ avo should yield about 100–110 g flesh, so you’ll need 2–3 avos for this recipe.
For individual bread rolls, scoop 6 equal portions of dough onto a lined baking tray and, using damp hands, gently shape into rounds. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 25–30 minutes.
Khachapuri
“Known around the world as Georgian Cheese Bread, this loaf is almost a meal in itself. Traditionally, dough ‘boats’ are stuffed with a mixture of cheeses and then partially baked before being topped with an egg and returned to the oven until the egg is just set. The crust is torn off and dipped into the cheesy filling.”
Low carb
Makes: 4 khachapuri
DOUGH
4 Tbsp olive oil
500 g cauliflower rice
1 cup coconut flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp psyllium husk powder
1 Tbsp dried herbs
4 large eggs
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
FILLING
1 cup each grated mozzarella and Cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
Pesto or freshly chopped herbs, optional
Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium-high and fry the cauliflower rice for 4–5 minutes.
Sieve the coconut flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. Add the psyllium husk powder and dried herbs and stir well.
Place the warm cauli-rice, flour mixture, eggs, cheese and apple cider vinegar into a food processor and process for 1–2 minutes, to form a smooth dough.
Dust a work surface with coconut flour and turn out the dough. Sprinkle with more flour and knead gently until it comes together in a ball and is no longer sticky. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to a rough oval, ± 1 cm thick, and shape into a ‘boat’, with a raised edge and a flattish hollow in the centre (deep enough to contain the filling).
Place the boats on lined baking trays and bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for ± 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and divide most of the cheese among the boats. Return to the oven and bake for 3–4 minutes, until the cheese bubbles. Remove from the oven, make a well in the cheese with the back of a spoon and crack in an egg. Return to the oven for 2–3 minutes, or until the egg whites are just set but the yolks are still runny. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese (avoid getting cheese on the yolk) and return briefly to the oven to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and drizzle with pesto.
Serve hot, dipping pieces of crust into the melted cheese and soft egg yolk. For a light meal, serve with crispy bacon, fried mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, or top with 1–2 Tbsp cooked beef mince and serve with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.
Happy Heart‘beet’ Cupcakes
“Your heart will thank you for supporting it with these cupcakes, which are full of the goodness of beetroot.”
Makes: 12 cupcakes
DRY INGREDIENTS
½ cup coconut flour
1½ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp psyllium husk powder
Pinch of salt
WET INGREDIENTS
200 g beetroots, steamed, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup (250 ml) milk or milk alternative
4 large eggs
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
3–4 Tbsp natural sweetener
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup nut butter or peanut butter
RED BERRY SWIRL ICING
1½ cups Sweet Amasi Cream Cheese
3 Tbsp powdered natural sweetener
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2–3 Tbsp Berry Jam with Fresh Rosemary
Fresh berries, dark chocolate shavings, edible flowers and/or leaves, for garnish
Sieve the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Place the wet ingredients in a jug blender or bullet blender and blend to a smooth batter, making sure the beetroot is well incorporated. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk with a hand mixer until well combined. Leave to rest for 30 seconds.
Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups and divide the batter equally among them. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 16–18 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before tipping out onto a rack. When cool, spread with Red Berry Swirl Icing.
RED BERRY SWIRL ICING
Place all the ingredients, except the jam, in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Gently swirl in the jam, using a spoon (don't over mix it). Spread the icing on the cupcakes and decorate with your choice of berries, chocolate and/or flowers and leaves.
Extracted from Low Carb is Lekker Three, out now.
OOK BESKIKBAAR IN AFRIKAANS
