In our search for the ‘interesting & different’, we sometimes overlook the classics. The joy of this dish is that it’s so incredibly straightforward, yet tastes as if you’d been slaving for hours! Use any cut of chicken you like, but chicken breasts are by far the quickest. On a week-night, that can be a real blessing!

The addition of double-cream makes the sauce velvety smooth; so professional that people will think you’ve graduated from the Cordon Bleu school of French cookery! No carbs, no guilt. Just pleasure.

In a thick-based sauté-pan, melt a little butter then add your chicken. Seal on both sides until it’s golden brown and caramelised. I say the following again and again… do not poke at it or move the food around in the pan until it’s ready to be turned. No-one likes to be mothered and the same goes for your dinner! Don’t fuss at it. If you attempt to move it too early, you risk ‘tearing’ the meat’s surface, and you’ll never develop the caramelised, seared-on crust that de-glazes from the bottom of the pan & adds richness and depth to the sauce. Touch it gently with your finger; if it comes away from the pan’s surface with no resistance, then it’s ready to be turned. If it stays put, then the surface hasn’t sufficiently sealed / caramelised & it needs to cook a little while longer. Equally, never ‘crowd’ the meat in the pan. If it’s too close together, you lower the temperature in the pan and the food starts to steam not sauté. Trust me and try it; the results will speak for themselves!

Lecture over (sorry). Add sliced onions and some finely-chopped / crushed garlic a minute or so later. Cook on a medium heat, ensuring that the onions don’t brown; rather go soft and translucent. Then crank up the temperature and de-glaze the pan with a little white-wine to release the flavour. I always love the big, heavy ‘sigh’ it gives, as the liquid comes into contact with the hot metal and evaporates. Italians call this ‘il sospiro’, literally ‘the sigh’; it’s the perfect word for it, and the sign that you can finally relax after a long day…!

Pour in chicken stock (or water and stock cubes) until the contents are waist-deep in liquid. Add chopped tarragon and season. Leave to cook on a low heat until the sauce has reduced to half its volume. You can do this on the hob, or in the oven.

Meanwhile, roughly slice your courgettes. Throw on some chopped garlic and mix in a roasting-dish with a thick coating of olive-oil. Season and roast for half an hour until the courgettes are soft and unctuously delicious. Grate on a good whack of strongly-flavoured hard-cheese (I used cheddar), then place until the grill until golden brown.

Whilst this is browning, stir a generous amount of double-cream into the chicken. Cook on the hob for a minute or so, stirring occasionally until it thickens. Serve up the chicken & gratin side-by-side, piling the onions and sauce all over the dish in ‘generous, luxurious lashings’. Finish with a final flourish of chopped herbs and dig in! There’ll not be an ounce left on the plate!

Thanks for reading and bon ap!

Adam.

It’s not often than low-carb & vegetarian go hand in hand. I thought I’d buck that trend with this recipe, and show that it’s not all about red-meat and dairy! This recipe has always been one of my favourites. I love Quorn, and these ‘chicken-style’ pieces are a brilliant freezer staple!

You have to read the packets carefully, as some Quorn products can be high in carbs due to the ‘shaping process’ (it needs a bit of starchy glue to stay together).  These chicken-style pieces are only 1g total carbs per 100g; and that doesn’t include the fibre, which is sky-high!

Curry always needs something ‘bulky’ to spread the intensity and mop up the sauce. Rice or nann have been evicted from the keto-kitchen; so in their place we have cauliflower & scallion mash. It’s warm in flavour and provides that all important ‘fill-factor’!

This recipe is perfect for diabetics, as well as low-carbers! You can naturally substitute the Quorn for meat, and make the dish to any intensity your heart desires (my heart desired scotch-bonnet chillies!).

Chop chilli and garlic, then sauté in a little oil. Add thinly sliced onion and continue to cook on a medium heat for about a minute. Roughly chop green and yellow peppers, plus any other carb-friendly vegetables which take your fancy (comprehensive keto-friendly list available on a separate post). Carry on cooking the mix for a further minute, to ensure that the contents are thoroughly heated through.

At this point, add your spice powder. This can be home-made or bought-in; depending on your preference. A good blend of cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, paprika, cardamom & fenugreek is always my mix of choice. It’s so easy to do; plus you can adjust the mix however you like (I’m a huge fan of cumin, so always err heavily on that).

Give the pan a good stir to mix in the powder, and cook for a minute more. Strain a can of tomatoes and add the flesh to the mix, followed by your frozen Quorn and sufficient water to ‘just about cover’ the contents. Crumble in a couple of stock-cubes and leave to reduce the sauce to half is volume. If you have any quick-cook vegetables which you wish to retain their crunch (e.g. mange tout), add them now.

Meanwhile, make the cauliflower & scallion mash. This couldn’t be easier. Chop the cauliflower into large chunks and boil until soft. Add a good whack of butter, cream and chopped spring-onions. Mash with a potato-masher (or a cheating blender); season thoroughly and fine-tune to taste.

Lastly, stir a little natural full-fat yoghurt, butter and double-cream into the curry, plus a little sweetener. The hotter the chillies you use; the greater the requirement for sweetness. The dairy additions have a ‘cooling effect’ plus add richness.

Serve alongside the mash, and garnish with chopped almonds and plenty of chopped coriander. This is one of those dishes where you can’t help but have seconds. And one of the great joys of a ketogenic diet, is that you can do this without the slightest pang of guilt! Enjoy!

With thanks for reading and bon ap!

Adam.

This dish was previously part of another post: a ‘starter & main course combo’. I was asked if I could separate the two, to make it easier to search the recipes. This seems like a very good idea, so thank you for the suggestion!

The great thing about this dish, is not just that it’s low carb; the korma can very much stand on it’s own as a main course, or be accompanied by any number of other things. If you’re not a huge fan of seafood; don’t let this stop you giving this a go; you can equally use chicken, pork or lamb to equally stunning effect! All low carb, all diabetic-friendly & delicious!

So start with the korma. Peel and slice an onion, which you then sautee in butter or oil (to your preference). If butter, control the heat so that the butter doesn’ brown. Add chopped garlic and chilli, volume dependent on how strong you like things.

Soften these until the onions are translucent. Then add spices (curry powder if easier). I used cumin, ground coriander, a pinch of ginger, turmeric & fenugreek.

Whilst these are filling the kitchen with a heady aroma, chop your cauliflower and throw into the pan. Do the same with your celery. Pour on a centimetre depth of water and season. Whilst the water is reducing, open a can of coconut milk (make sure it’s full fat) and add half of it to the pan. I then crumbled in a couple of chicken stock-cubes, for ‘warmth’; but these are not essential.

Leave the pan on a low heat for 10 minutes or so, until the coconut milk starts to thicken (see below). Add a tablespoon of ground almonds for texture and body, then stir and give it a good taste.

Depending on how much chilli you’ve put in, the dish will probably need a little sweetening. Xylitol is very much the low-carb, diabetic-friendly sweetener of choice. It’s 100% natural, doesn’t lose its sweetness in cooking (unlike tabletop sweetener) and behaves to all intents and purposes like granulated sugar. I couldn’t praise it enough! Finish off with a handful of chopped herbs (coriander or basil are just perfect).

Whilst the korma is finishing, have your scallops and crevettes marinating in a little olive oil. You can add some garlic to this, if you like.

Place your griddle pan onto the heat and wait until it’s piping hot. First add the prawns and cook for a couple on minutes on one side. Then turn them over and add the scallops. These only take a minute on each side, so the prawns should be cooked to perfection at just the same time as the scallops.

A squeeze of lemon-juice and these are ready to be piled next to your korma and demolished! Delicious and nutritious in every way!

Thanks for reading & bon ap!

Adam.

A good Cajun spice-mix is a store-cupboard essential! Shop-ones do the job, but there is nothing like making your own! Feel free to use either for this recipe. I include a quick note below on how to do the mix, should you wish to try it yourself.

I never measure the spices (I’m not that kinda guy!) but it always turns out well. I just judge the volumes as roughly equal by eye. If you like one thing more than the other, adjust accordingly. It’s the small variation in taste each time that makes it a joy to make, and every batch different.

Spice mix: onion-powder, garlic-powder, smoked-paprika, black pepper, dried oregano, dried chilli-flakes, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, salt. Dry-roast in a pan on the hob for 30 seconds to one minute. Grind up to a powder in a coffee-grinder or pestle and mortar if you’re a purist!

Dust the pork-belly slices liberally with your spice-powder and rub it in. Add a little salt to the pork to encourage it to go crisp. Place the pork on a baking-tray and roast in a medium oven for 40 mins to an hour, until the fat has chiefly contracted, and the meat is brown and caramelised all over.

Finely chop garlic, chilli & coriander. Fry briefly in a large pan with a lid. Wash and slice your kale, then add it to the pan. Stir in a stock-cube (veg or chicken) then place the lid back on and cook for a couple of minutes until the kale starts to soften. At this point, throw in your beansprouts, some chopped spring-onion and some finely sliced yellow pepper for colour. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes with the lid on. Adjust seasoning if required then serve up next to the pork, garnished with flaked almonds and more chopped coriander.

Perfect for diabetics and those on a low-carb diet. If your ketogenic tendencies err on the side of ‘paleo’, you could even eat this with your fingers! Either way; enjoy the dish and thank you for reading.

Bon ap!

Adam.

Late home from work again, so needed something I could just ‘let cook’ whilst I unwound and forgot the tensions of the day!

This meal has ‘comfort’ written all over it. The classic combination of garden sage & chicken marries beautifully with the saltiness of smoked bacon and richness of double-cream. Al dente green-vegetables finish it off perfectly, providing that all-important variation in texture & bite. Low-carb, low effort, maximum taste!

So how to make it…

Salt the skins of the chicken with a good quality sea-salt. Add pepper and chopped sage (fresh or dried), then place into a hot oven for minimum one hour until the skins are golden and crisp.

In a sauté pan, brown your diced smoked-bacon / lardons. When they start to caramelise, add a thinly sliced onion and crushed garlic (quantity to preference, I used x2 cloves for 4 portions). You can then stir in some sliced mushrooms. You may need to add some butter / oil to prevent the mix from sticking. Cook on a low heat until all is soft.

Once softened, turn up the heat and de-glaze the pan with a little white-wine or dry vermouth. Why vermouth? It has a strong taste, so you don’t need as much (better for the carb count), plus it can stay in the cupboard and only come out for cooking purposes. Opening a bottle of wine means you need to drink it; and white wine is NOT GOOD on a low carb diet!

Crumble in a chicken stock-cube and pour in enough water so that the vegetables are ‘shoulder-height’ in the pan. Allow to reduce to half its volume.

Meanwhile boil some water for your broccoli and peas. Blanch / steam these for circa 2 minutes then drain. Take the chicken out of the oven and serve alongside the vegetables. Finish the sauce with some double-cream and chopped herbs. Et voila! The perfect low-carb dinner that just begs for seconds!

Thank you for reading & bon ap!

Adam.

Low-carb comfort food at its best!

Coarse-ground pork sausages with a hint of sage; matched perfectly with buttery garlic peas & spinach. The sharp, tangy taste of feta ‘lifts’ the dish & freshens it; whilst retaining the all important ‘richness’, that lies at the heart of all comfort-food.

Quick, easy and ‘eat-in-an-armchairable’! Just perfect for those long autumn evenings with a chill in the air.

Slice your aubergine lengthways. Season well & glug on some good quality olive oil. Bake in the oven until soft & caramelised (40-ish mins). 10 minutes into the cooking time, put your sausages into an oven-dish and ‘loosen’ with a little oil to stop them sticking. Place in the moderate oven for half an hour.

Meanwhile, slice an onion & soften in butter until translucent. Add garlic and peas, plus a little water; and cook until the peas lose their resistance. I tend to stir in a stock cube for ‘warmth’ & background flavour, but this is not essential. Add some washed spinach and leave on the hob until wilted. At the very last minute, stir through some double-cream, season and crumble on the feta.

When the aubergine is cool enough to touch, add a slice of ham (or salami), then cheese, and roll into neat butterfly tongues. Place back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the surface & melt the cheese.

Once all is cooked, pile onto a large plate & dig in! Make sure you prepare enough for everyone to have seconds!

Thanks for reading & bon ap!

Adam.