300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (31 page)

Add protein to this fabulous side dish salad and it becomes a very posh summer lunch or supper.

1 batch
Not-Quite-Middle-Eastern Salad
(see
page 242
)

1 pound (455 g) cooked crabmeat, lobster, or tiny shrimp

Make the salad according to the instructions and then toss in the shellfish. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 7 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 22 grams of protein.

Egg Salad Francais

This is completely different from any egg salad you've ever had and quite wonderful! This is actually a French tradition.

8 ounces (225 g) bagged European style salad*

2 scallions, sliced

1/3 cup (80 ml) bottled balsamic vinaigrette—I like Paul Newman's.

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup (20 g) shredded Parmesan cheese**

1 tablespoon (15 ml) vinegar

4 very fresh eggs

* The mixture should include some frizee, so read the label! If you can't find one with frizee, you can still make the salad, but it will be less authentic.

** It is very important to use good-quality shredded (not grated) Parmesan with no additives. Regular Parmesan in the round green shaker won't work; the cellulose in it messes it up for this.

First put 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water in a largish saucepan and put it over a burner set to medium-high. Ignore that for a minute while you put the greens and scallions in a big salad bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over the whole thing, add salt and pepper as desired, and toss well. Set aside.

Spray a microwaveable plate with nonstick cooking spray and spread the Parmesan on it. Microwave on High for 1 minute.

While the cheese is nuking, let's get back to that water. It should be good and hot by now; turn it down to barely a simmer, add a tablespoon (15 ml) of vinegar, and poach the eggs in it. It helps to break each egg into a small cup or dish first to make sure that it's good and fresh and that the yolk doesn't break. (If it does, keep it for something else and use another egg for poaching.) Then slide each egg gently into the water and poach to the desired degree of doneness.

While the eggs are poaching, remove the Parmesan from the microwave—it will now be a crispy, lacy sheet. Break it up. Pile the salad on 2 serving plates and top each one with crispy Parmesan bits. Lift the now-poached eggs out of the pan with a slotted spoon, place 2 on each salad, and serve.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 10 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 20 grams of protein.

Artichoke~Egg Lettuce Wraps

I just love lettuce wraps! Add some eggs and artichokes, and I'm a very happy girl.

1 jar (12 ounces, or 340 g) marinated artichoke hearts

1/4 cup (40 g) diced red onion

1/4 cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons (28 ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and pepper

4 hard-boiled eggs

10 lettuce leaves—I like butter lettuce with this, but romaine would be fine

Drain the artichoke hearts and chop coarsely. Throw them in a mixing bowl. Dice up the onion, chop the parsley, and throw them in, too. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice, plus salt and pepper to taste.

Peel your hard boiled eggs. Now mound half of the artichoke mixture on each of two plates and arrange 4 to 5 nice big lettuce leaves and two sliced hard boiled eggs next to it.

To eat, spoon artichoke mixture into a lettuce leaf, top with egg, wrap, and eat.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 442 calories, 33 grams fat, 20 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams dietary fiber, and 10 grams usable carb.

Egg and Avocado Salad

The key to this is to use an avocado that's just a little underripe and to mix gently.

3 hard-boiled eggs

3 tablespoons (30 g) minced red onion

10 sugar-free bread and butter pickle chips

2 tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (11 g) brown mustard

1 avocado, the little black kind

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop the eggs and throw them in a mixing bowl. Mince your red onion, chop your pickles, and throw them in, too.

Add the mayo and mustard and stir the whole thing up.

Now peel and dice your avocado and stir it in gently; you're trying to keep it in cubes. Salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve this a number of ways: wrap it in lettuce leaves, use a low carb tortilla or Lavash, or stuff it into a tomato. Or you can do what I did: Eat it with a fork. It's yummy.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 396 calories, 36 grams fat, 13 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

I tried making a really authentic Vietnamese Chicken Salad, and it was delicious—but it also took forever to make—including an hour and a half to poach a whole chicken! I was determined to streamline the process so you could enjoy this wonderful treat. Here it is.

1 pound (455 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast or precooked chicken breast slices

6 cups (540 g) bagged coleslaw mix

4 scallions

1 batch
Nuoc Cham
(see
page 292
)

1 ruby red grapefruit

2 tablespoons (16 g) sesame seeds

2 tablespoons (12 g) chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons (2 g) chopped fresh cilantro

If you're starting with raw chicken breasts, you'll want to start cooking them first. I do mine for about 6 minutes in my electric tabletop grill, but you could sauté them, if you prefer. If you're sautéing them, you may want to take a minute to pound them thin so they cook through within our 15-minute time limit. If you're really in a hurry, feel free to use precooked chicken breast slices instead, although you'll pay a premium for them.

Put the bagged coleslaw mix in a bowl and slice the scallions into it. Make the
Nuoc Cham
—this is very quick to do—pour it over the cabbage, and toss well. Set aside.

Cut the grapefruit in half and loosen the sections by running the tip of a knife around each one.

Put the sesame seeds in a small, dry skillet and shake them over a high flame for about 2 minutes or until they start to jump around in the pan and make popping sounds. Turn off the burner and set the pan aside.

Okay, the chicken is ready now! If you're using unsliced breasts, put them on a cutting board and thinly slice them.

Now, toss the cabbage one more time to make sure the dressing is evenly distributed. Mound it on 4 serving plates. Top each serving with sliced chicken. Spoon 1/4 of the grapefruit sections around each portion. Scatter 1 tablespoon
each of (6 g) chopped mint and (1 g) chopped cilantro over each serving (or easier yet, use kitchen shears to snip the herbs directly onto each serving), scatter 1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds over each plate, and serve.

Yield:
4 generous servings, each with 18 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber, for a total of 13 grams of usable carbs (virtually all of them from vegetables!) and 30 grams of protein.

This has less than 250 calories, too!

Cajun Chicken Salad

Make the
Cajun Dressing
on
page 300
first. Even with the two recipes to get through, you can do this in 15 minutes.

1/4 cup (28 g) chopped pecans (I bought mine already chopped.)

1 teaspoon butter

1 celery rib, diced

3 scallions, sliced, including the crisp part of the green shoot

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 cups (210 g) diced chicken

1 medium tomato diced

Cajun Dressing (See recipe on
page 300
.)