Low-carb
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Recipe: Ground beef and green beans
Ground beef and green beans is a simple nutritious recipe you can make on a week night using ingredients that are easy to come by. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and low-carb. You can substitute the beef mince for any other kind of mince, including plant-based alternatives. Feel free to use other vegetables (e.g. broccolini, broccoli or Asian greens) instead of the green beans.
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Recipe: Low-carb ají de gallina (Peruvian chicken stew)
Peruvian food is delicious but can be very carb-heavy. Ají de gallina, for instance, is a chicken stew made with bread, evaporated milk and served with rice and/or potatoes. Made the traditional way, this is not a dish for those with gluten or lactose intolerance, nor for people watching their carb intake. Note that this particular recipe is not lactose-free (you can use coconut cream instead of double cream, but it will change the taste of the dish). Serve with a simple salad on the side and enjoy!
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Recipe: Dry-brined pork chops with roasted vegetables
In this recipe for dry-brined pork chops with roasted vegetables we make use of science to achieve tender and delicious meat. Dry brining is an alternative to traditional brining (i.e. submerging a piece of meat in salty water) with the goal of keeping the meat moist via osmosis. Dry brining involves covering the meat directly with salt (and optional spices), which initially draws water out of the meat. However, given enough time, the water is reabsorbed by the meat, which tenderises in the process and remains moist. This works better with thicker chops (steaks, etc.). This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and low-carb. If you don’t eat pork, you can use…
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Recipe: Ensalada de palmitos y palta (hearts of palm and avocado salad)
I make variations of this ensalada de palmitos y palta every time I cook a Peruvian-themed meal. What makes it Peruvian? The avocado, palmitos, botija olives and the fact that is seasoned with lime juice and olive oil. Serve as a side for pretty much anything.
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Product review: Peak Chocolate Bar by True Protein
Yes, this is a chocolate bar sold as a fitness supplement. This is the sort of thing that gets my coach fired up about the money-driven fitness supplement industry, but I could not resist and had to try it as soon as it got released. Given the ingredient list (80% dark choc, creatine monohydrate, BCAAs, organic caffeine, and Himalayan rock salt), I expected it to be at the very least a decent chocolate bar, even if it didn’t accelerate muscle growth and increase energy as promised. Nutrition wise, each 25g serve (1/2 bar) provides 2.5g protein, 4.7g CHO (of which 3.6g are sugar), 70mg caffeine, 1.5g creatine monohydrate and 1.0g…
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Product review: Saucisson Australia
One of the most recent stallholders at the Eveleigh farmers markets is Saucisson Australia, selling premium French pork products such as fresh and cured sausages, and pork rillettes. The saucissons come in different shapes and sizes but are essentially the same. The quality and flavour are outstanding, quite possibly able to beat your favourite Italian salame. The rillettes are also great, and while the French recommend spreading it on bread, I normally enjoy it with celery and carrot sticks. The duck fat used for sealing the product is perfect for cooking eggs or greens. We’re also big fans of the the Toulouse sausages, made with pork (97%), salt, black pepper,…
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Product review: Green St Kitchen fermented vegetables
There’s a new player in the fermented vegetable market. Green St Kitchen make kraut in 2 flavours (ginger + tumeric, jalapeno + allspice) and kimchi also in 2 flavours (white miso + dry red pepper, Thai chilli + galangal). I’ve tried the white miso + dry red pepper kimchi and the ginger + tumeric kraut ($16.95 each in Dr Earth) and loved both. Is there a difference with other brands of raw fermented vegetables? I don’t know, but my take is that it’s good to don’t stick to a single brand or flavour to get the most out of different probiotic strains and phytonutrients in the herbs and spices. I…
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Recipe: Egg & olive salad
More egg salad madness! This variation includes olive oil mayonnaise and olives, a combo that is very familiar for Peruvians. If this variation doesn’t appeal to you, try the egg & cucumber or egg pesto recipes.
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Recipe: Egg pesto salad
Another egg salad recipe. I told you there were more variations coming! (see the egg & cucumber variation here). This version includes two of my favourite sauces (pesto and mayo), which for some reason I never thought about mixing together.
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Recipe: Egg & cucumber salad
We’re not big on egg salads in Perú. Yes, we have “huevos a la Rusa” (Russian-style eggs, a spin of the classic Olivier salad) but not the typical chopped egg salad as it’s known in the anglo world. Now that I’m doing the AltShift experiment, egg salad has entered my breakfast menu. I made the mayonnaise with organic avocado oil, which gave it a very cool green colour as you can see in the photo below. This is a basic recipe with cucumber. There are infinite variations to this recipe; I’ll be posting more in the future.
