Vovo's Portuguese Fish Soup

I'm sitting in my grandmother's kitchen in Sintra, Portugal. On Saturday we went to a tiny village on the coast called Azanhas do Mar - which translates poetically to "Windmills by the sea". There are no more windmills and most of the houses are in need of a good paint or are literally disintegrating. Vovo has her eye on a ruin right on the cliff that she'd like to lovingly restore... but jokes about being the first to end up in the sea in the next Lisbon earthquake. Frankly, the restaurant on the edge of the water is so amazing that it might almost quell any neurotic thoughts about an apocalyptic-style end. 

At the restaurant, where the waves crash against the salt-encrusted walls and window panes, we spent the afternoon safe and warm next to a blazing fire. The seafood soup was so delicious and coupled with Portuguese wine is close to perfection, really. It arrived with the usual pre-lunch array of olives, a fantastic soft sheep's cheese (from the Serra Estrela region - it's incredible. You cut of the top with a knife and then scoop out the gooey centre) and a basket of bread (which I had to stoically ignore). Vovo said that everybody makes it slightly differently but I have no doubt that her's is excellent. On my dad's side of the family (the slightly more exotic lot with Portuguese passports) everybody knows that Vovo is the best cook by far. 

I wrote down the recipe as we made it because I had a feeling she'd just wave her hands later as we were eating it and tell me she doesn't use a recipe. I was right. Still, as she says, everybody makes it slightly differently so this is really more of a rough guide for anyone to adapt should they get the urge. Leave comments if you find interesting ways to improve the recipe.

Bom ano!

Sofia

Recipe
1 medium pot (preferably with a thick base)

2 large tomatoes (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
3 large cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
squeeze of lemon juice
one segment of lemon rind
1 tsp paprika (or saffron)
1/2 tsp dried peri peri powder (for a more Mozambican taste)
a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of salt to season

Cook all the above ingredients on a low heat in the pot so the onion's become soft and translucent. Stir periodically.

Next, put a combination of frozen (or fresh if you can get it!) baby calamari, prawns, baby clams (cockles) with shells and without, and cod. 

Add water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer until all the seafood is cooked through. Keep tasting!

Prof Tim Noakes' Pork Fillet Stir-Fry with Green Chilli Paste and Coconut Milk

I was so excited to hear that Professor Tim Noakes (from the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town) had collaborated with Sally-Ann Creed, Jonno Proudfoot and David Grier to publish a cookbook. Finally, a cookbook that we don't have to quickly and regretfully skim through to find the spattering of recipes that are low carb! So I dashed out immediately to buy it from Exclusive Books. It's hard to miss really. Spot the revolutionary red cover. It's entitled "THE REAL MEAL REVOLUTION" and packed with real food, great writing and mouth watering photos for each recipe. There is also very accessible information on the reasoning behind the LCHF diet or "banting". 

I think the delicious recipes in this book will be more persuasive in terms of getting people to eschew carbs with a firm hand than any educational expose on their evils (no offense intended, Gary Taubes). I'll make an honest attempt to critically review as many of the recipes as I can. So far it looks to be a promising and invaluable resource for LCHF cooks everywhere.

This is the first recipe I tried from the cook book. It takes only about 10 minutes to cook but be sure to get all the chopping, dicing and slicing done before you so much as think of switching on the stove, or whatever you have in the pan will quickly over cook. 

Enjoy!

Sofia

Ingredients

400g pork fillet, thinly sliced 
(preferably organic, free range has become almost meaningless in terms of porcine and chicken freedom to wander)
3 tsp Thai green curry paste 
(Woolworths has a nice one but I've posted a recipe below that I got from Thailand in case you want to make your own)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
200ml coconut milk
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup spring onion, shredded (slice at an angle, it looks prettier)
1/2 cup mange tout, shredded (chopped finely lengthways)
1/3 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced

Recipe

1. Combine the green curry paste, garlic and coriander in a small bowl and mix well.
2. Heat the oil in a wok, swirling to coat the surface. Add the curry mixture and stir-fry until garlic is aromatic, about one minute.
3. Add the pork and stir-fry, stirring often, until meat is cooked (about 5 minutes)
4. Add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock and coconut milk. Stir to combine and heat thoroughly.
5. Add the shredded vegetables and toss for one minute.
6. Stir in the basil leaves and serve immediately.

Serves 4

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General criticism: I got my Thai green curry paste from Woolworths at Constantia Village - but if you look at the ingredients it has 12.5g carbohydrates per 100g serving. A rule of thumb is that above 10g/100g serving is high carb. If anyone has the name of a low carb Thai green chilli paste please let me know. Otherwise the solution is to make your own.

Here is a recipe for Thai green chilli paste that I was taught in Chiang Mai, Thailand in December 2012.  It's quick to make but requires making the effort to get the more exotic ingredients.

Make your own green chilli paste...
2-3 green long chillies
1 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tsp chopped galangal (Thai ginger)
1/2 tsp chopped kaffir lime rind
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped lemongrass
1 tbsp chopped krachai (or Thai ginseng)
1/4 tsp roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp roasted coriander seeds
1/4 tsp salt or 1/2 tsp if you want to keep the paste longer.

Put the ingredients of the curry paste in a mortar. Pound with the pestle until everything is mixed and ground thoroughly (according to my Thai cooking teacher you can't be a good Thai wife unless the whole village can hear your pestle and mortar!). You can also use a blender.

Sofia's take on 'Sweet Potato and Cinnamon Crumpets'

(Photo taken by Sofia)

This is really great breakfast option when you're need a brief reprieve from the usual paleo eggs and bacon. It's not strictly LCHF (because of the sweet potato) but at our house my mum and I have decided it's a once a week Sunday morning special. I also took left overs to university (I'm an honours economics student) - sprinkled some more cinnamon and packed it into my lunch box with some chopped strawberries. Delicious but they will always be best hot out of the frying pan. Check out the list of ideas for LCHF toppings at the end of this recipe and come up with your own to post on our site!

This recipe could not be simpler. I found it on a great website: Low Carb Diet News but have altered it a bit to make it more LCHF friendly.

Total Time to Make: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 small sweet potato
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• Coconut oil
• Dash of salt

Optional:

• Dash of ginger
• Dash of nutmeg (recommended)

Directions

1. Wash sweet potato and peel it. Cut it into small cubes.
2. Steam sweet potato until very soft. You can do this on the stove in a pot with some hot water (this is more time consuming). Or you can do this in the microwave (with a little bit of water, and covered tightly) for about 5 minutes.
3. Using a fork, mash the sweet potato well.
4. In a bowl, whisk eggs with a fork until frothy.
5. Add in the mashed sweet potato and mix well.
6. Add baking soda, cinnamon, salt and any of the optional ingredients. Incorporate all the ingredients into a smooth, well-mixed batter.
7. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
8. Add just enough coconut oil to cover the bottom. (if you pan is a good non-stick you won't need this much)
9. Drop batter in spoonfuls into the skillet, making a crumpet shape.
10. Cook 2-3 minutes or until cooked. Flip and cook on other side 2-3 minutes.
11. Repeat steps 8-10 for the entire batch.
12. Top with almond butter, fruits or nuts. (be sure to avoid honey & maple syrup)

LCHF ideas for toppings

1. Butter (lots!)
2. Bacon (yes!)
3. Chopped fresh strawberries (or cooked from frozen)
4. Cream (double thick obviously)
5. Fried eggs
6. Peanut butter 

Raspberries, Lightly Toasted Hazelnuts and Crème Fraîche: breakfast (quick and perfect for on the go)

When I was working in an office for years I struggled with a breakfast that I could take with me to eat after going to the gym. Soggy fried eggs and bacon in a tupperware does not appeal to me! This is great for a tupperware and I also regularly eat this at home if I want a break from the daily fried eggs and bacon.

Ingredients:
6 -8 raspberries
15 raw hazelnuts (skin on)
2 big dollops of creme fraiche
1 teaspoon of desiccated coconut

Recipe:
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C and scatter your hazelnuts on to a baking tray. I usually do far more than needed here as you can store them for all your breakfasts that week and even freeze them. Put them in the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the skins have darkened and are flaking away from the nuts. You do not want to cook them too much, this is why I prefer to do it myself as opposed to buying ready-roasted hazelnuts.

Once the nuts have been removed from the oven place them in a tea-towel and rub them firmly to remove most of the skins. Then allow them to cool before adding them to a bowl (or tupperware) of the fresh washed raspberries and creme fraiche, sprinkle your desiccated coconut on top.

Creme fraiche is very high fat is a more suitable in this recipe than yogurt. You can replace the raspberries with strawberries or other berries.

Olivia's "I'm already sweet enough" extra high fat Chocolate, Pecan and Coffee bites

As a 26 year old MA student much of my life revolves around sustaining study energy. These little high fat rich chocolate treats are perhaps more friendly to the non-LCHF tastebuds than 85%/90% chocolate as they are laced with delicious pecans and ground coffee. The coffee and chocolate combination gives me a second wind when trying to finish off that last chapter of art theory.

Ingredients:
180g high quality 85% chocolate (you can go as dark as you like or as low as 70% if you don't mind the sugar content)
100g unsalted butter (preferably from grass-fed cows)
1 tablespoon of raw coconut oil
15 pecan nuts (you can use more if you like it really nutty)
1-2 teaspoons of ground strong coffee (put less in if you are sensitive to coffee!)

To make the bites: Begin by snapping the pecans in pieces (approximately quarters) into a small frying pan. Place the frying pan on a medium heat and cook the pecans for about 3 minutes or until then start to go dark brown in places, tossing regularly. Once they have been cooked place to one side.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium saucepan with all of the butter and coconut oil. Heat these at a very low heat stirring continuously, it is important that the chocolate does not burn. Once the chocolate, butter and coconut oil have melted together turn the stove off and remove half of the mixture and set to one side.

Add the cooked pecans and the ground coffee to the remaining mixture in the saucepan and stir through. Then pour this into a small dish (one that you can use a knife on) and then top this with the other half of the chocolate, butter and coconut oil mixture. 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Once you are sure they are set cut them into small pieces and remove from tray. If I'm not demolishing them on my own I usually serve them after a dinner party with fresh strawberries and raspberries to cut through the richness. Due to the high butter content they melt quickly.