Category Archives: Main Dish

Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood

Spice Up the Fish – White Fish With Curry Sauce

A friend in France recently sent me a recipe for Pangasius baked in a delicious creamy curry sauce. I have to say, I had never heard of this fish, but luckily the sauce goes well with almost any white fish. I have a personal preference for cod, halibut, tilapia and whatever that white fish from Africa was. Yeah, I threw the individually frozen filets in the freezer and tossed out the packaging.

My internet research indicates that Pangasius is about the 10th most popular fish in America and that may be true, but it isn’t in my grocery stores. Of course, it could be there labeled as basa or swai, or maybe even Asian catfish, channel catfish or just catfish, although it doesn’t look like the lake catfish PK once brought home in a bucket from a fishing trip to Frenchman’s Lake.

But I digress. The bottom line is this can be made with your white fish of choice. I used tilapia this time… I think, another unmarked package. No matter what fish you use, this is a low carb, delicious – and easy- meal.

White Fish Filet With Creamy Curry

Adapted from Françoise Panzani’s recipe

2 filets of white fish (cod, halibut, Pangasius, tilapia) about 4 to 6 oz each
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon low carb flour or cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C.)

While oven is heating, mix the cream and curry in a bowl to blend well. I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons because I like a strong curry flavor. Adjust it to your preference.

Lightly spray a small baking dish with cooking spray, then pour a little of the cream mixture on the bottom, just enough to cover. Put the fish filets on top of the sauce and dot with butter. Pour the rest of the cream mixture over the fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then top with parsley and chives. Just a note here, I didn’t have any parsley, so I sliced three rolled leaves of turnip greens very thinly (chiffonade) to substitute.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to lift the fish to a plate. Keep the fish warm by wrapping in foil. Pour the sauce into a small sauce pan and cook until it thickens or add the low carb flour or cornstarch to a tablespoon of water and mix well, then stir into the sauce mixture to speed up the process.

Place the fish on the serving plates, spread the sauce over top of each and top with a sprig of parsley, if you have it.

I served it with cauli-rice with mushrooms under the fish to soak up the delicious sauce and a side of Brussel sprouts and sliced cucumbers with riced wine vinegar to add a bit of coolness to the plate.

Serves 2
(and a cat – I find it odd that my Himalayan kitty Milo seems to like spicy foods. Banshee did also. Is it typical of the breed?)

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 347 Fat: 26.6 Net carbs: 3.1 g Protein: 24.5 g

Notes about the recipe: You can use milk instead of cream to lower the fat, although it might be a little higher in carbs. 1% reduced fat milk is 6.1 carbs for 1/2 cup. Light whipping cream is 3.5 g. Lactose intolerant? Try unsweetened almond milk for .3 carbs in 1/2 cup or for a touch of coconut flavor, use unsweetened coconut milk for .5 carbs. Add a drop of sucralose or a packet of Splenda if you want the sweetness. The almond and coconut milk options are much lower in fat.

I suspect, and will try it out the next time I make this, that if you add the thickener to the sauce while mixing it that it will thicken the sauce while baking in the oven.

Posted on  8/1/2013 12:02 PM

Asian Recipes, Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood

Peanut Curried White Fish with Squash

This last week I’ve been doing variations on recipes that I’ve used and this is a recent one. I tried the White Fish with Creamy Curry Sauce last week and wanted to try a couple of ideas I had on making this fish. The result was a wonderful dish that is going into my favorites. Like the other recipe, it is easy to make and elegant enough for company.

Peanut Curried White Fish with Squash

2 fish filets (cod or other white fish,) about 1 inch thick
Curry-S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix (1/5 pkg), 20 gram(s)
Chili pepper, red, dried, 6 grams = 2 tsp., .25 tsp
1/2 cup Butternut or Acorn Squash
1 teaspoon Peanut Butter
1/3 cup Coconut Milk
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C.)

Cut squash into cubes, place into a small microwavable bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, stir and microwave another 2 minutes. Check to see if they are fork-tender, easily pierced with a fork. You want them firm, but not hard.

In a pan, put 1/5 of the Golden Curry paste and turn on low heat to melt it. Add peanut butter and coconut milk. Stir and cook until blended. It will be thick. Add a little water to make it an easily spreadable consistency.

Oil or spray a baking pan and put about a tablespoon of the curry in it. Place the fish filets on top, add salt and pepper. Reserve another tablespoon of the curry, then spread the rest of the curry over the top of the fish, then pile the squash on top of that and spread the rest of the curry over the squash.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes. Remove to serving plates and use the spatula or a spoon to scoop up the curry sauce and drizzle over the fish on the plate.

Makes 2 servings

Calories: 298.8 Fat: 7.4 g Net carbs: 10 g Protein: 42.1 g

Posted on 8/5/2013

Asian Recipes, Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood

Fish and Veggies – Tempura Style

I love deep fried fish, especially cod, but I haven’t had it in over three years. After a week or so on the East Coast and passing up several opportunities for fish and chips, I finally decided I needed to do something about it. So, I adapted a tempura recipe to low carb flours and gave it a whirl. The oil needs to be hot enough to fry quickly but not so fast that the food doesn’t get cooked. If it’s too cool, the tempura batter won’t stay on the vegetables while they’re cooking. But it’s easy enough to make the batter and it’s worth the effort for the wonderful meal. If you don’t like my vegetable selection, then substitute in your favorites, like cauliflower, broccoli, or asparagus. Just try to stick to the lower carb options.

For gluten free, I would try replacing the CarbQuick with rice flour. You don’t need to use the coconut flour if you would prefer all rice flour. But rice flour is extremely high in carbohydrates, 123 net carbs in 1 serving. You could try all coconut flour or a combination of coconut flour and almond flour. If you use more coconut flour, use about 6 tablespoons and two eggs. It absorbs liquid, so you will probably have to add additional ice water.

Tempura Cod and Vegetables

Tempura
1/4 cup CarbQuick Baking Mix
2 tablespoons oconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup ice water
Oil for deep frying

Fish and Vegetables
3 1/4 lb pieces of cod cut into three chunks each
1/2 cup zuchinni, cut into large cubes
1/2 cup kohlrabi, sliced into 1/4″ slices
1/2 cup Acorn squash, cut into 1″ pieces
12 cleaned fresh green beans

Wash fish off and cut into chunks. Cut all the vegetables into 1″ to 1 1/2″ chunks. Mix the tempura batter. Add ice water until it has a thick, but not too thick consistency. It needs to stick to the food, but not make too thick a coating. When using coconut flour, it will absorb liquid, so it will use at least double and possibly three times as much water as the recipe calls for.

Pour oil to about 1 1/2 inch deep in a deep skillet (I use cast iron) and heat to 375 degrees, or until a bit of batter sizzles and browns quickly. Lower the heat slightly. Try to keep an even heat.

Dip about six vegetables in the tempura batter, then place gently in the oil to fry. It will take just a few minutes for them to brown on one side. Turn with a slotted spatula and brown on the other side. Remove to a paper towel covered plate to cool. Continue to cook vegetables, about six to a batch. You can keep the drained vegetables warm in a 225 degree oven on a baking tin. Fry the chunks of fish last. They will take about 3 to 5 minutes a side, depending on thickness. Check to be sure the fish is cooked all the way through.

Serve as soon as possible. You can sprinkle with rice vinegar or any favorite flavor of sauce you like. Left over vegetables and fish don’t reheat very well, but you can put them on a baking sheet and warm them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 300 degrees.

Nutrition Info per serving:
Calories: 568.5 Fat: 46.7 g Net Carbs: 8.8 g Protein: 46.2 g

Posted on 6/3/2013

Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood

Shrimp and Asparagus — Colorful and Delightful

This week, I decided to adapt an enticing recipe that was on Fine Cooking by Jennifer Armentrout. To be honest, not a lot of adjustment was needed to make it low carb, except for the one key item of “grits” with cheddar cheese. I am not a huge grits fan, so it doesn’t bother me to lose this, but the substitute should be something similar. In my mind, this was another job for my favorite combo, cauliflower and daikon radish riced to the texture of grits. It came out deliciously wonderful and as the roomie put, “that’s a keeper.” Try it for yourself.

Shrimp and Asparagus with Cauli-grits

1- 1/2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
1 clove Garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups homemade or sodium free Chicken Broth
2 cups riced Cauliflower
1 cup riced Daikon
freshly ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1/2 tsp. Tabasco or other hot sauce; more to taste

1/2 lb. medium-thick Asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 to 2 Scallions (green parts only), thinly sliced (optional)

Heat 1/2 Tbs. of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until you can just smell it, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the riced cauliflower and daikon and 1/4 tsp. salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and most of the liquid is absorbed or evaporated, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the Cheddar and 1/4 tsp. of the hot sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside in a warm spot.

Heat 1 Tbs. of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, sprinkle with a little salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is opaque and the asparagus is tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the shrimp and asparagus over the grits. Top with sprinkled scallions.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Info: Calories: 305.7 Fat: 18.4 g Net Carbs: 3.9 g Protein: 28.8 g

TIP: No asparagus at the market (or the cost is just too dear)? Try this dish with broccolini (baby broccoli). It will be colorful and the young spears are perfect.

Posted on 4/24/2013

Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Chicken with Tomatoes and Zucchini

My challenge this week was to use up the tomatoes my friends left behind when they headed off to France on holiday and to work on their house there. These were vine-ripened tomatoes and the skins were already starting to shrivel, so I wanted to do something to remove the skins and cook them into a tomato-based dish.  I had chicken thighs on hand, so it was a logical step to make a chicken with tomatoes dish. This takes a little time to cook, but the actual process is pretty easy.

While a base of pasta would be lovely, it’s simply too high carb’d so I would suggest you use spaghetti squash or shredded cabbage, lightly steamed or raw, as the base to put this on. I just ate it as is with a side salad.

1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves Garlic
4 large Chicken Thighs, bone and skin removed
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 cup Zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup Sweet Peppers,sliced
1 1/2 cups Red Ripe Tomatoes  or 1 1/2 cup canned stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1/4 cup chicken stock or cooking wine

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatoes. Let them boil for about 5 minutes, then run cold water over them and drain. Let them cool until easy to hold, then use a sharp knife to cut the skin around the stem end and peel the skin off. It should slide off easily. Cut the tomatoes into pieces over a bowl so you can any juice that runs out as you cut them.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Remove to paper towel on a plate. Add garlic, additional butter, peppers and onions to the skillet and sauté until the onion is tender. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini and seasonings to the pan and stir together over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of cooking wine if you would like or add 1/4 cup chicken stock for extra flavor. Stir the mixture together well, then arrange the chicken pieces in the pan. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, checking a couple of times to be sure there is liquid in the pan. Then stir the mixture around, add any liquid if it is getting low and turn the chicken pieces over, covering them with the tomato sauce. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 163 Fat: 8.7 g Net Carbs: 5.1 g Protein: 14.8 g