Tag Archives: keto

Braised Cauliflower in the Instant Pot

I came across a recipe in the “Mediterranean Instant Pot” cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. The recipe looked pretty good, and used a spice blend I hadn’t heard of before called ras el hanout. I changed the recipe a little due to my own preferences and the unavailability of one ingredient.

The result was delicious, and I’ll definitely be making this again!

Braised Cauliflower with North African Spices

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 head Cauliflower trim leaves and stem, keep whole
  • 1 can Whole San Marzano tomatoes drain (keep liquid), and coarsely chop
  • 2 tsp Ras el hanout
  • 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 1/4 cup kalmata olives pitted and coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro coarsely chopped

Instructions

  1. Turn on Instant Pot to Saute, high setting, and add olive oil, garlic, and ras el hanout

  2. Saute for about 2-3 minutes, until spices become really fragrant, then turn Instant Pot off

  3. Add the reserved tomato juice and chopped tomatoes to Instant Pot, stir well, and then reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture

  4. Insert trivet then steaming basket into Instant Pot

  5. Complete preparation of the head of cauliflower by making a deep criss-cross slice into stem, then place head into steaming basket, stem side down.

  6. Pour reserved tomato/spice mixture over top of cauliflower.

  7. Cook in Instant Pot using high pressure, for 3 minutes, doing a quick release when cook time has completed.

  8. Set cauliflower head aside in serving dish, and cover with foil

  9. Set Instant Pot to Saute, add olives and golden raisins to tomato mixture. Cook this down to thicken a bit. You can salt & pepper this if you like (I didn't)

  10. Cut the head of cauliflower into quarters, then eights. Spoon more of the tomato mixture over top, and then sprinkle cilantro over when serving. Provide the rest of the tomato/spice mixture alongside so people can add more as they wish.

Recipe Notes

The original recipe called for green olives, anchovies, and pine nuts (which I couldn’t find at our grocery store).  Omitted the anchovies to make the dish vegan, and I prefer black olives over green 🙂

Bulletproof Coffee – A Non-Dairy Variation

espresso shot, mct oil, cashews and cinnamon

We’ve adopted a ‘largely’ Keto way of eating for about 8 months now, and I’ve gotten used to blending my morning coffee with MCT oil and butter, and a pinch of cinnamon for fun. Took a little getting used to being a creature of habit – my habit being over a decade of pulling a double shot every morning and making an Americano to start my day – no cream, no sugar.

Well, after our old blender gave up and replacing it with a Vitamix, I thought I’d try something a little different. I came across a site using cashews as a milk replacement – and thought perhaps I would see how it fared replacing the butter in my coffee. I was very pleased with the result, and with hile there are a few carbs, it’s still a Keto-friendly drink with 8 carbs, 42g of fat, and 5 grams of protein. It’s has more of a milk feel in the mouth as well – butter seems to have an slicker or oilier feel.

Filling my mug…

Keto Cashew Bulletproof Coffee

Course Drinks
Keyword coffee, Keto, vitamix
Prep Time 3 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1 double shot espresso
  • 2 tbsp MCT oil
  • 1/4 cup unsalted cashew nuts (optional: soak overnight in water)
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water (just off the boil, or from the espresso machine)
  • 1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

  1. add MCT oil, espresso, hot water, cashew nuts and salt to the blender

  2. starting on low, start the blender, slowly turning the speed to max.

  3. blend at max for 20-30 seconds

  4. Pour into your favourite mug and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Adjust the amount of hot water to the size of your mug.  Also, you might try adding a pinch of cinnamon, and/or a half-dime sized piece of 85% cacao dark chocolate to the blender…trust me 🙂 

If you choose not to soak your cashew nuts overnight, extend the blend time to 30-60 seconds.  This will pulverize the cashew nuts more, so there is virtually no solids left at the bottom of your drink.

Cilantro-Lime Sauce

Clilantro-Lime Sauce

A delicious topping for pan-seared salmon.

Course Condiment
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 6 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author admin

Ingredients

  • 1 ea lime juice only
  • 1/2 cup cilantro
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 ea golden berries
  • 1/2 ea jalapeno pepper
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise

Instructions

  1. Add lime juice, olive oil, mayonnaise, cilantro, golden berries and jalapeno to blender

  2. Blend for 30-45 seconds, pushing cilantro down if necessary.

Zucchini Walnut Lasagna

Zucchini Walnut Lasagna

Zucchini Walnut Lasagna

A Keto-friendly, vegetarian lasagna
Course Main Course
Keyword Keto
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 can diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 white onion finely diced
  • 2 carrots shredded
  • 3 cups mushrooms chopped
  • 2 large zucchinis
  • 1 cup toasted walnuts chopped in blender
  • 2 tsp thyme dried
  • 2 tsp oregana dried
  • 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp black pepper med-coarse grind
  • 750 g ricotta
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg ground
  • 2 cups chopped spinach
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1/2 cup parmesan reggiano grated
  • 10 grape tomatoes sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Prepare Zucchini

  • Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/8" – 3/16" thick slices.  Lightly salt & pepper both sides of each slice. Let sit for a few minutes then dry slices with a paper towel.
  • Lightly oil a cookie sheet, or line sheet with a silicon cooking mat, and arrange zucchini slices in a single layer.
  • Setting oven rack so that cookie sheet will be 6 inches or so from broiler.
  • Broil on high for 5 minutes, remove from oven, flip slices and pat dry, then return to oven for an additional 3 minutes.
  • Line a cooling rack with paper towel, and place zucchini slices on it.  Repeat these steps until all slices have been broiled, and set aside.

Prepare Ricotta

  • Mix ricotta, 1/3 of the chopped spinach, and nutmeg in a medium size bowl.  You can add a little salt & pepper if you like.  Set aside.  (I intended to add an eqq to this as well but forgot – the lasagna turned out fine without it.)

Prepare Sauce

  • In one skillet, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and saute the onions and shredded carrot until translucent. 
  • In a larger, deep skillet, heat up two tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of butter, and fry the chopped mushrooms along with the thyme.
  • When mushrooms are turning golden, clear a space in the pan and add the tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano. and stir well.
  • When the tomato paste starts to deepen in color, add the drained tomatoes, and the sauteed onion and carrots, and toasted walnuts.  Stir well.
  • The sauce is ready when most of any liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Assembly

  • Set cooking rack to middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees.
  • Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  • Put a very thin layer of sauce across the bottom of the dish.
  • Arrange one layer of zucchini slices
  • Spread one third of the sauce over the zucchini, followed by one third of the ricotta mixture followed by one third of the remaining chopped spinach.
  • Repeat the previous 2 steps.
  • Spread the shredded mozzarella, followed by the grated parmesan.
  • Arrange sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves over top.
  • Place lasagna into oven, and bake for 30 minutes, or until top starts to turn golden around edges.
  • Remove from oven when ready, and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.