300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (23 page)

Okay, now you have a choice: You can make omelets according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
, putting 1/4 cup (30 g) of cheese in first, then the clam mixture, and topping with two strips of crumbled bacon. Or you can make tortilla pizzas, layering the same way, but heating the oven might run you past 15 minutes.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 471 calories, 29 grams fat, 43 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

Microwaved Fish and Asparagus with Tarragon Mustard Sauce

Microwaving is a great way to cook vegetables and a great way to cook fish—so it's a natural way to cook combinations of the two.

10 asparagus spears

2 tablespoons (30 g) sour cream

1 tablespoon (14 g) mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon Dijon or spicy brown mustard

12 ounces (340 g) fish fillets—whiting, tilapia, sole, flounder, or any other mild white fish

Snap the bottoms off the asparagus spears where they break naturally. Place the asparagus in a large glass pie plate, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water, and cover by placing a plate on top. Microwave on High for 3 minutes.

While the asparagus is microwaving, stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, tarragon, and mustard.

Remove the asparagus from the microwave, take it out of the pie plate, and set it aside. Drain the water out of the pie plate. Place the fish fillets in the pie plate and spread 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the sour cream mixture over them. Re-cover the pie plate and microwave the fish for 3 to 4 minutes on High. Open the microwave, remove the plate from the top of the pie plate, and arrange the asparagus on top of the fish. Re-cover the pie plate and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes on High.

Remove the pie plate from the microwave and take the plate off. Place the fish and asparagus on serving plates. Scrape any sauce that's cooked into the pie plate over the fish and asparagus. Top each serving with the reserved sauce and serve.

Yield:
2 servings, each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 33 grams of protein.

This dish also packs in 949 milligrams of potassium!

California Tuna Fritters

This makes a quick and different supper out of simple canned tuna. You can make this into a few big tuna burgers, if you prefer, and cut a few minutes off the cooking time, but we really like these as little fritters.

1 stalk celery

6 scallions

1/2 green pepper

2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 egg

1 tablespoon (11 g) spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard

12 ounces (340 g) canned water-pack tuna, drained

1/3 cup (53 g) rice protein powder

4 to 5 tablespoons (55 to 70 g) butter

Plunk the celery, scallions, pepper, parsley, egg, and mustard in a food processor with the
S
-blade in place and pulse until the vegetables are chopped to a medium-fine consistency. Add the tuna and rice protein and pulse to mix.

Spray a large, heavy skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Melt 2 to 3 tablespoons (28 to 42 g) of butter in it and drop in the tuna mixture by the tablespoonful. Fry until brown, turn, and brown other side. It takes two batches to cook all of this mixture in my skillet; add the rest of the butter when you make the second batch. Serve with
Easy Remoulade Sauce
(see
page 293
), which takes all of 2 or 3 minutes to make.

Yield:
4 or 5 servings. Assuming 5 servings, and not including the
Easy Remoulade Sauce,
each will have 5 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 32 grams of protein.

4 fish fillets, about 6 ounces (170 g) each—tilapia, cod, orange roughy, what ever have you

4 tablespoons (55 g) butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic or 4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons grated gingerroot

2 teaspoons spicy brown or Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon (15 ml) water

In a large, heavy skillet, start sautéing the fish in the butter over medium-low heat; 4 to 5 minutes per side should be plenty. Remove the fish to a plate.

Add the garlic, gingerroot, mustard, and water to the skillet and stir everything together well. Put the fish back in, turning it over once, carefully, to make sure both sides get acquainted with the sauce. Let it cook for another minute or so and then serve. Scrape the sauce out of the skillet over the fish.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 1 gram of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 31 grams of protein.

This is so simple and quick—yet it's the sort of thing you'd pay big bucks for at a fancy restaurant. Salsa verde is a green salsa made from tomatillos. Look for it in the Mexican or International section of your grocery store.

24 ounces (680 g) swordfish steaks

1/2 cup (120 ml) ruby red grapefruit juice—I like to use fresh-squeezed.

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 cup (65 g) salsa verde

Cut the swordfish into 4 servings and place on a plate with a rim. Mix together the grapefruit juice and the cumin and pour it over the steaks, turning them to coat both sides. Let the swordfish steaks sit in the grapefruit juice for 5 minutes or so.

Spray a large, heavy skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil and then the fish. Sauté for 4 minutes per side. Then pour in the grapefruit juice from the plate and let the fish cook in it for another minute or two, turning once.

Place the fish on serving plates, top each serving with a tablespoon of salsa verde, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 4 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 34 grams of protein.

Truite au Bleu

This is more a method of preparation than a recipe, and it's a true classic. Expand or contract this recipe at will to serve however many diners you have.

Water

Cider vinegar

Bay leaves

Peppercorns or coarse cracked pepper

Salt or Vege-Sal

Trout, cleaned and beheaded, but with the skin still on—about 10 ounces (280 g) per serving as a main course, or 5 or 6 ounces (140 to 170 g) per serving as a first course

Butter

You'll need a pan big enough for the trout to lie flat—I generally do just one big trout, weighing about a pound (455 g), and the only pan I have where it can lie flat is my big soup kettle. Use what you have, but it should be a pan that won't react with acid—stainless steel, enamelware, anodized aluminum, or stove-top glassware.

Next, you make up a solution of water and vinegar, just enough to completely cover the trout. The proportions you want are roughly 3 or 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar. I find that 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 L) of water and 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) of vinegar are about right for my pan. Pour this solution in your pan and turn the burner to high. Stir in 1 or 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tablespoon of pepper per quart (950 ml), and 1 teaspoon of salt or Vege-Sal per quart (950 ml). Bring this mixture to a simmer.

Simply lower the trout into the simmering solution, turn the burner to medium-low, and let the fish simmer for about 5 minutes. Lift the fish carefully out of the simmering solution and serve with a pitcher of melted butter to pour over the fish.

Yield:
Servings will depend on how many fish you cook, of course. The fish itself is carb-free, and of course, most of the poaching solution is discarded—you can figure on no more than a gram of carbohydrates per serving, no fiber, and 59 grams of protein in a 10-ounce (280 g) trout.

Mock Lobster