1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (67 page)

¾ cup (115 g) crumbled feta

2 scallions, thinly sliced, including the crisp part of the green

½ cup (10 g) fresh spinach, chopped

2 skinless salmon fillets of roughly equal size and shape, totaling ¾ pound (340 g)

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).

Combine the cream cheese and feta, mashing and stirring with a fork until well blended. Add the scallions and spinach and combine well.

Spread the mixture evenly over one salmon fillet. (The filling will be about ¾ inch [2 cm] thick.) Top with the second salmon fillet. Brush both sides with olive oil, turning the whole thing over carefully with a spatula.

Place the loaf on a shallow baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Slice carefully with a sharp, serrated knife.

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 45 grams of protein.

12 ounces (340 g) salmon fillet, in two or three pieces

1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning (page 485 or purchased)

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, minced

Sprinkle the skinless side of the salmon evenly with the Creole Seasoning and thyme. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat and add the salmon, skin side down. Cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning carefully. Remove to serving plates, skin side down, and stir the garlic into the butter remaining in the pan. Cook for just a minute and then scrape all the garlic butter over the salmon and serve.

Yield:
2 or 3 servings

Assuming 2 servings, each will have 2 grams of carbohydrates and a trace of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 35 grams of protein.

1 pound (455 g) salmon fillets

¼ cup (60 g) plain yogurt

2 tablespoons (30 g) mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon orange extract

1 tablespoon (1.5 g) Splenda

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

2 scallions, finely minced

1 tablespoon (3.8 g) parsley, finely minced

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7).

Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, orange extract, Splenda, lemon juice, scallions, and parsley. Set aside.

If your salmon fillets have skin on them, remove it and cut the fish into 4 serving-sized pieces.

Tear 4 large squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place each piece of salmon in the center of a square of foil and spoon 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the sauce over it. Fold the foil up over the salmon, bringing the edges together, and roll the edges to make a tight seal. Roll up each end as well.

When all your salmon fillets are snug in their own little packets, bake them for 15 minutes. (You can put your salmon packets in a roasting pan if you’re afraid they’ll spring a leak, but I just put mine right on the oven rack.)

Place on individual serving plates, cut open, and serve. If you have a little sauce left over, serve it on the side.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with less than 2 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 24 grams of protein.

1½ pounds (680 g) salmon fillet

¼ cup (60 ml) sesame oil

1 teaspoon orange extract

cup (80 ml) lemon juice

4 teaspoons Splenda

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried tarragon, crumbled

Cut the salmon into serving-sized pieces and lay it in a glass pie plate or any big plate with a rim.

Mix together everything else and pour it over the salmon fillets, turning them to coat. Stick the plate in the fridge and let the fish marinate for at least 30 minutes (an hour’s fine).

Spray a big, heavy skillet with nonstick cooking spray and put it over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the fish, reserving the marinade. Cook the salmon about 4 minutes on each side—you want it opaque almost all the way through. Then add the marinade and let the two cook together for another couple of minutes. Serve with the liquid from the pan scraped over the fish.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 34 g protein; 2 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 2 g usable carbs.

Of all the ways I’ve cooked salmon, this drew the most praise.

12 ounces (340 g) salmon fillet, cut into 2 or 3 serving-sized pieces

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda

1½ teaspoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

1½ teaspoons rice vinegar

¼ teaspoon blackstrap molasses, or the darkest molasses you can find

Mix together the Splenda, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, and molasses in a small dish. Spoon out 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of this mixture and set it aside in a separate dish.

Place the salmon fillets on a plate and pour the larger quantity of the soy sauce mixture over it, turning each fillet so that both sides come in contact with the seasonings. Let the fish sit for a few minutes—just 2 or 3—with the skinless side down in the seasonings.

Now, you get to choose how you want to cook the salmon. I do mine on a stovetop grill, but you can broil it, cook it in a heavy skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, cook it on an electric tabletop grill, or even do it on an outdoor grill. However you cook it, it will need about 5 minutes per side (or just 5 minutes total in an electric grill). If you choose a method that requires you to turn the salmon, turn carefully!

When the salmon is cooked through, remove it to serving plates and drizzle the reserved 1 tablespoon (15 ml) seasoning mixture over each piece before serving.

Yield:
This makes 2 generous servings or 3 smaller ones

Assuming 2 servings, each will have 3 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 35 grams of protein.

This was amazingly popular with friends when I served it at a dinner party. Feel free to double this!

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (60 ml) sugar-free pancake syrup

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar

1 pound (455 g) salmon fillet

Start a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

Mix together everything but the salmon and set aside half the mixture. Cut the salmon into 3 or 4 serving pieces (if you didn’t buy it in serving-sized pieces), lay them on a plate, and brush both sides of each piece of salmon with half of the pancake-syrup mixture. Grill the salmon over well-ashed coals or over a gas grill set to medium-low about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Place on serving plates, drizzle with the reserved half of the syrup mixture, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each serving will have 1 gram of carbohydrate, not including the polyols in the sugar-free pancake syrup; a trace of fiber; and 23 grams protein.

These are quick, easy, and from-the-pantry-shelf convenient. If you don’t have scallions in the refrigerator, use a tablespoon or so of finely minced onion.

1 can (14¾ ounces, or 415 g) salmon

¼ cup (25 g) oat bran

1 egg

2 scallions, finely sliced

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

Drain the salmon, place it in a mixing bowl, and mash it well. (Don’t worry about any skin that may be in there; mash it right in.)

Add the oat bran, egg, and scallions and mix everything well. Form into 4 patties.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the patties in the butter, turning carefully, until they’re quite golden on both sides (7 to 10 minutes per side).

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 9 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams usable carbs and 47 grams of protein.

Not only do these patties have lots of healthy fish oils, they also contain half your day’s requirement of calcium.

16 ounces (455 g) swordfish steak

¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

½ teaspoon orange extract

2 teaspoons Splenda

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

2 tablespoons (15 g) slivered almonds

Put the swordfish in a resealable plastic bag. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, orange extract, and Splenda. Reserve some of the marinade and pour the rest into the bag. Seal the bag, pressing out the air as you go, and turn the bag once or twice to coat the fish. Throw it in the fridge. Let your fish marinate for an hour, turning it when you think of it.

Now, spray a skillet with nonstick spray and add half the butter. Melt over low heat and then add the swordfish steak. Pour off the marinade. Let the fish cook for 5 minutes and then turn it over and let it cook for another 5.

While the fish is cooking, melt the other half of the butter in a small skillet. Add the almonds and sauté, stirring frequently, until golden. If they’re done before the fish is, remove from the heat.

When the 10 minutes of cooking time for the fish is up, add the reserved marinade to the pan. Let the fish cook another 2 to 3 minutes, turning once. Remove to a serving plate, pour the marinade over it, and top with the almonds. Serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 31 g protein; 3 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 3 g usable carbs.

This dish is simple, fast, and elegant. And do you know how much you’d pay for this at a restaurant?

1 pound (455 g) swordfish steaks

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

¼ cup (60 ml) water

¼ cup (60 ml) dry vermouth

2 or 3 cloves garlic, crushed

3 to 4 tablespoons (11.4 to 15.2 g) minced parsley

Sprinkle the swordfish steaks lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place a heavy skillet over high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the swordfish and sear on both sides (about 1 to 1½ minutes per side). Then add the water, vermouth, and garlic and turn down the heat to medium. Cover and let the fish simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the fish to a serving platter or individual serving plates and keep warm. Turn the heat under the skillet to high and boil the pan juices hard for a minute or two until they’re reduced to about ¼ cup (60 ml). Pour over the fish and top with parsley.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 2 grams of carbohydrates, no fiber, and 32 grams of protein.