Chicken mole with almond-flour 'cornbread'

Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients (chicken mole):

• 2 chicken breasts
• vegetable oil (for pan-frying)
  
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cups of chicken bouillon
• 1 tin of diced tomatoes (or an equal quantity fresh), chopped
• 1 t oregano (or epazote)
  
• 1 green chili pepper
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1 T Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• almond flour
  

Ingredients ('cornbread'):

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 T coconut flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter
  
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 c milk

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).

Heat some oil in a deep, lidded skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Add all the other mole ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients for the 'cornbread'. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the sauce. Process the sauce in a blender or food processor until it is as smooth as possible. Return the sauce to the pan and add the chicken. Add about 4 T of almond flour to thicken and flavor the sauce; more can be added if needed. Simmer for about 10 minutes before serving.

Source

The mole recipe is a variation of a recipe I have had for a long time (before I started keeping track of the origins of recipes). The original is much spicier.

The almond-flour 'cornbread' is simply an unseasoned variation of my muffin base, which has its origins in Elana's Pantry. I used the almond flour, coconut flour, and egg ratio from her cinnamon bun muffins, and altered the rest.

Notes

When I make this recipe without concern for carbs, I serve it with rice and beans rather than a sort of cornbread. The almond-flour 'cornbread' simply seemed like a suitable side for this main dish. It would probably go well with other dishes which would normally be served with cornbread.

Gado-gado

Recipe
Sauce serves 3

Ingredients (base): Incorporate any of the following ingredients

• eggs
• green beans
• carrots
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• bean sprouts
• cucumber
• cabbage
  

Ingredients (sauce):

• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 t soy sauce
• liquid stevia to taste
• 1 T lime juice
• 1/4 c coconut milk
• 1/4 c water
• red chili flakes
• 1 clove crushed (pureed) garlic
  

The base should be prepared in advance so that it has time to cool.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Fill a bowl with cool water (ice cubes may be added). Prepare the vegetables while waiting:

• Broccoli: cut into mid-sized florets
• Cabbage: cut in narrow strips
• Carrots: peel and cut in small rounds
• Cauliflower: cut into mid-sized florets
• Cucumber: peel and slice into rounds
• Green beans: cut into bite-sized pieces

Cook the vegetables briefly; they should retain a crispy texture. Don't mix the different types of vegetables when cooking, although the same water can be re-used for the next batch of vegetables.

• Bean sprouts: 30 seconds
  
• Broccoli: no more than 4 minutes
• Cabbage: 1 minute
• Carrots: 3 minutes
• Cauliflower: no more than 2 minutes
• Cucumber: do not cook
• Green beans: 3 minutes

Once the vegetables have cooked, remove them from the boiling water and put them in the bowl with the cool water to prevent them from cooking further.

Drain the vegetables and put them in the fridge until needed.

Hard-boil the eggs, if using them, and put them in the fridge until needed.

The sauce can be made just before serving.

In a small saucepan, add all ingredients except the water and stevia. Mix well. Add in the water. Bring the sauce to a light boil over medium heat, until it begins to thicken. Sweeten to taste with stevia.

The sauce can be served hot or cold, but the base should be served cold.

Arrange the vegetables and peeled, cut eggs on plates and drizzle with the peanut sauce.

Source

The recipe for the peanut sauce is slightly modified from one given by Cooking with Amy. The remainder of the recipe has been in my possession for so long that I no longer know where it originated, although I'm reasonably certain I got it off Usenet.

Notes

If carbs are not a consideration, you can add some boiled new potatoes as well.

This dish can easily be made vegan by eliminating the eggs.

I usually leave out the cauliflower and cabbage and use all the remaining vegetables. I like the sauce warm, to contrast with the cool vegetables. It's a refreshing summer dish on days when it seems too hot to cook.

Courgette boats

Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 very large courgette (or 2 smaller ones)
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers (or romano peppers)
  
• 1 medium aubergine
• 2 toes garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  
• 150 g mozzarella cheese
• 3 T grated parmesan cheese
• 3 t coconut flour
• vegetable oil
• 1 t dried basil
• 1 t dried thyme
• pinch of dried lavender
  
• salt
• black pepper
• liquid stevia (optional)
  

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Cut the courgette in half lengthwise. If it is very large, cut it in half to make shorter pieces. If the pieces do not lie flat with the skin side down, slice away a bit from the skin side so that it is stable when resting skin side down. Scoop out the inside of the courgette into a bowl. Leave enough flesh to hold the shape.

This image shows the courgette after it has been scooped out, and gives an indication of the size of the courgette.

Mince the onion and garlic and put them in a deep pan with some vegetable oil. Cook them gently until the onions are soft.

While the onions are cooking, chop the aubergine and peppers into bite-sized pieces. Cut the reserved interior of the courgette as well. Add the chopped vegetables and the tomatoes to the onions and garlic. Allow it to simmer until the aubergine and courgette pieces are still firm but cooked.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the herbs. Pour the vegetable mixture into a small mesh strainer and let it sit until the liquid has drained. (The liquid can be reserved to add to a soup or another dish.)

Add the grated parmesan to the vegetable mixture. Season it to taste with salt, black pepper, and a few drops of stevia. Stir in 1 t of coconut flour.

Use 2 t of coconut flour to flour the inside of the courgette boats, then spoon the filling in. Set the boats in a lightly greased baking pan. Slice the mozzarella and set it on top of the stuffed boats.

Put the boats in the oven until they are cooked but still firm enough to retain their shape, about 30 minutes. Briefly grill the boats if the mozzarella has not developed a brown crust.

Source

This dish wasn't inspired by any recipe in particular.

Notes

If you don't have basil, thyme, and lavender, you can use herbes de Provence in place of all three.

Coconut flour is exceptionally good at absorbing liquid; my baking pan didn't have any juice on it. If I wasn't practicing low-carb eating, I would probably have used cornstarch.

I don't care for the taste of tomatoes without some sweetener added, which is why I incorporate the stevia (I used 5 drops). You can easily leave it out.

Vermouth chicken with celeriac-carrot mash

Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients (chicken):

• 2 chicken breasts
• vegetable oil
  
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 shallot
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 1/4 cup cream or cream substitute
• 1 t dried tarragon
• salt
• pepper
• coconut flour
  

Ingredients (mash):

• salt
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 smallish celeriac
• 2 T butter
• milk, cream, or cream substitute

Pre-heat the oven to 200° C (400° F). Pound the chicken at the thicker ends in order to make it more uniform and set it aside.

Finely chop the shallot. In a frying pan, with a bit of oil, lightly sauté the shallot until it is soft, then remove it from the heat. Put the shallot into a small baking dish. Add the chicken, the bouillon cube, and enough water to cover the chicken. Put the pan in the oven; baste or turn over the chicken from time to time.

Peel the carrots and chop them roughly. Do the same with the celeriac. Put them into a pan and fill with cold water just up to the top of the vegetables. Bring the pan to a boil and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until both carrots and celeriac feel extremely soft when you stick a fork through them. Drain the vegetables and return them to the pan. Add the butter to the vegetables.

Heat the frying pan again, adding some additional oil. Remove the chicken from the oven and lightly fry it on both sides before setting it aside. Deglaze the frying pan with the liquid in the baking pan. Add the vermouth, and allow it to reduce.

Puree the vegetables, using as much milk/cream as needed to get a smooth consistency. Salt to taste and set aside.

Add the cream to the frying pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add coconut flour gradually to the pan, no more than 1 T at a time, whisking after each addition. Wait briefly after each addition: coconut flour will gradually absorb liquid and change the consistency of the sauce. Continue until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Add the dried tarragon to the sauce.

Source

Inspiration for this recipe came from Christina Cooks.

Notes

I use a cream substitute with 85 calories and 4.5 g carbs.

Carrots have 9.6 g of carbs per 100 g and celeriac has 9.2 g. Vermouth is one of the lower carb alcohols, at 1.4 g.

If you are not on a low-carb diet, you can use cornstarch to thicken the sauce instead of using coconut flour. This will produce a somewhat smoother consistency.