Low-carb diabetes-friendly recipes | The Independent

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“These are a great supper dish and can be made in batches and kept chilled in the refrigerator for up to four days, or frozen for three months,” says cookbook author Katie Caldesi.

“We love them with a fried egg on top, or with boiled eggs if we take them for a packed lunch, for extra protein. The halloumi is salty enough that you don’t need to add any further seasoning.”

Spicy root patties

Serves: 4 (makes 12 patties)

Ingredients:

For the patties:

450g trimmed and peeled root greens (comparable to swede, carrot, parsnip, celeriac and turnip)

100g trimmed leek, cleaned and finely chopped

2 eggs

250g halloumi cheese, coarsely grated

60g chickpea flour

15g chives, parsley or coriander, finely chopped

2 tsp floor cumin

2 tsp chilli flakes or finely chopped contemporary sizzling chilli

Optional additions:

4 fried eggs

Handful of coriander or parsley

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Fill a kettle and put it on.

2. Coarsely grate the foundation greens in a meals processor or by hand. Put them right into a bowl and pour over sufficient boiling water to cowl. Leave to face for 2 minutes, stirring a few occasions. Pour the greens right into a colander and go away to empty for a couple of minutes. When cool sufficient to the touch, completely squeeze the combination in a tea towel to do away with the surplus water.

3. Drop the squeezed greens into a big mixing bowl.

4. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gasoline mark 7.

5. Now add the leek, eggs, halloumi, flour, herbs and spices and stir by to mix. Divide the combination into 12 (every roughly 70 gram) balls and gently squeeze them into burger shapes together with your arms, squeezing out any additional moisture. Lay each on the ready baking tray and flatten barely, then bake within the oven for 20-25 minutes till golden brown and simply agency to the contact.

5. Serve with a fried egg on prime in the event you like, scattered with coriander or parsley, if utilizing.

Seafood and nduja stew

“Seafood is excellent on a low-carb diet as it is high in protein for satiety and low in carbs,” says Caldesi.

The dish additionally options nduja, “a spicy, spreadable salami that has a warm heat and just makes everything it touches a little more interesting,” she provides.

“Used here for an instant hit of garlic, chilli and umami, it is a brilliant background for the fish without overwhelming them. Versions of nduja can alter, so do taste yours to see if it is very spicy or salty, and adjust the amount you use accordingly. You can always add more later or add smoked paprika to taste.

“Serve on its own in bowls or with cauli-rice and low-carb bread on the side for mopping up the sauce. If buying frozen calamari, do read the label carefully; the cooked variety simply needs warming in the sauce rather than a slow-cook.”

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

80-100g nduja

4 garlic cloves, frivolously crushed

2 onions, finely sliced

500g contemporary, or frozen and defrosted, uncooked calamari (squid), cleaned and lower into 1cm rings

200ml dry white wine

3 × 400g cans Italian plum tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp tomato purée

250g clams or mussels or a combination

1-2 tsp smoked paprika (elective)

500g monkfish, cod or coley or different agency fish, lower into bite-sized items

250g uncooked prawns, heads left intact, shells and black veins eliminated

Small handful of parsley, leaves and stems roughly chopped

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil and 80 grams of the nduja in a frying pan (with a lid) over a medium warmth for a couple of minutes, bashing the nduja with a wood spoon to interrupt it up. Add the garlic and onions, then proceed to cook dinner for round 10 minutes, stirring to stop it burning, till the onion is comfortable.

2. Add the calamari to the pan and let it cook dinner till the water is launched from the calamari, about 10 minutes. When the calamari has a ‘bouncy’ look, add the wine and permit this to evaporate for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the purée and produce the stew to a effervescent warmth. Then decrease the warmth and simmer for no less than one-and-a-half hours, partially coated, or till the calamari is comfortable.

3. Keep the clams or mussels within the fridge till you’re prepared to make use of them. Generally they’re purged and cleaned if you purchase them however to make sure, put them right into a bowl of chilly water and stir them by. Leave them for 20-Half-hour in a cool place (the fridge in case your kitchen isn’t cool), stirring a couple of occasions to encourage them to launch any grit. Pick over them, discarding any that stay open as soon as tapped. Pull any fuzzy beards off the mussels. Discard any shellfish with damaged shells. Drain and use immediately.

4. Taste the stew and add extra nduja or smoked paprika for spice or salt and pepper. The stew may be cooled and stored for one to 2 days at this level, if it makes entertaining simpler. Reheat till effervescent earlier than persevering with.

5. Just earlier than serving, drop the monkfish, prawns and mussels, if utilizing, into the new stew with the lid on and proceed to cook dinner for round 10 minutes, or till the fish is cooked by, the prawns are pink and the clams or mussels have opened (discard any that haven’t). Serve immediately with the parsley scattered over.

Chocolate, date and walnut brownies

“These brownies have minimal sweetness but are packed with flavour,” says Caldesi.

“They are also full of fibre from the nuts, chocolate and dates. Toasting nuts brings out their natural oils and gives them oodles of flavour.

“Smell them as they go into the oven and as they come out and you will see what I mean. If you are keeping your carbs very low, use erythritol instead of dates.”

Makes: 18 brownies

Ingredients:

125g walnuts, macadamia nuts or pecans, halved

60g pitted dates, roughly chopped or 100g erythritol

3 tbsp sizzling water (if utilizing dates)

125g darkish chocolate (no less than 75% cocoa solids)

75g salted or unsalted butter

Pinch of salt (if utilizing unsalted butter)

100g floor almonds

2 eggs, crushed

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gasoline mark 7.

2. While the oven is warming, put the nuts on a baking tray lined with baking paper and frivolously brown within the oven for six to eight minutes; do watch rigorously as they burn simply. Use the paper to shoot the nuts onto a plate to chill. Return the paper to the tin. Turn the oven off and shut the door to retain the warmth, as you’ll use it once more later.

3. Line a 20-centimetre sq. cake tin or similar-sized ovenproof dish with baking paper. Soak the dates, if utilizing, within the sizzling water for a few minutes. Use a fork to mash them to a purée.

4. Roughly chop the nuts; every nut must be lower into round 4 items. Reheat the oven to 220C/200C fan (425F), gasoline mark 7.

5. Place the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl and soften collectively within the microwave for a few minutes. If you don’t have a microwave, soften the chocolate and butter in a glass or metallic bowl over a pan of simmering water, making certain the bowl doesn’t contact the water.

6. Add the date purée or erythritol and stir by. If your butter doesn’t include salt, add a pinch now. Add the remaining elements, together with the chopped roasted nuts, and stir by to mix. Spoon the combination into the ready tin and bake for about quarter-hour till agency to the contact. Remove from the oven and go away to chill within the tin for 10 minutes or so.

7. Use the paper to take away the brownies from the tin, then lower into 18 squares. Serve at room temperature on their very own or with Greek yoghurt or whipped cream and a splash of vanilla extract.

‘The Diabetes Weight-Loss Plan’ by Katie Caldesi (Kyle Books, £22).