asparagus Archives - Holistically Engineered

Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Karen Sorenson — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:00:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure was Low Carb Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. Ever since I found out just how absolutely fabulous roasted cauliflower is I have been thinking of different ways I can use it in recipes. I have making various salads a lot lately and I decided to combine by two favorite veggies (at the moment) into an epically delicious salad.

I used the following ingredients for Low Carb Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing:

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 bunch of asparagus cut into one inch pieces
Oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper
4 pieces bacon
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of sweetener of choice (I used Swerve)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Place the cauliflower on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with the oil of your choice and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat the cauliflower in the oil. Roast for 15 minutes flip the cauliflower over and roast for another 5 minutes. Add the asparagus to the pan and toss to coat in oil (adding additional oil and seasoning if necessary) and roast both the cauliflower and the asparagus for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the 4 pieces of bacon. Set the bacon on a paper towel to drain and add the renderings to a small saucepan.

Over low heat, whisk in the Dijon mustard, vinegar, and sweetener. Whisk until smooth.

Once the veggies have roasted, place them in a large bowl. Crumble the reserved bacon into pieces and add it to the veggies. Stir to combine. Pour the warm bacon dressing over the veggies and toss to coat.

Net Carb Count*:

Cauliflower and Asparagus Salad: 20 net carbs (for the entire recipe–with dressing)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I knew this salad would be good by combining my three favorite things: roasted cauliflower, asparagus, and bacon. YUM! Of course bacon makes everything better. I roasted my veggies in melted bacon grease (If you’re gonna go….go all out!), but you can use whatever works best for you. This can be served as a side dish or it works well as a great meal for lunch.

Enjoy!

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Low Carb Sushi

Karen Sorenson — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:01:00 +0000

My latest cooking adventure was Low Carb Sushi. One of my favorite things to eat is Japanese Hibachi. It is definitely a good place to eat low carb because you can substitute the rice for extra veggies (just be careful of sauces, like teriyaki, which could have added sugar). Lately, I like to cook at home so that I can control the ingredients I use. It’s fairly easy to replicate the stir fried meat and the fried rice, but one thing I have missed is the sushi. I noticed my grocery store had seaweed sheets so I decided to give low carb sushi a try.

I used the following ingredients for Low Carb Sushi:

1 Nori seaweed sheet
1 cup riced cauliflower, cooked
1/2 piece of smoked salmon, cut in strips
1 stalk of asparagus, cut in half

–OR–

1 Nori seaweed sheet
1 cup riced cauliflower, cooked
2 pieces of large cooked shrimp, cut in half
2 slices of cucumber, cut in half

Place the Nori seaweed sheet on a piece of plastic wrap (or a sushi mat). Spread the cauliflower rice over the seaweed leaving a 1″ border at each end.

Add the toppings to the middle of the cauli-rice. Smoked salmon and asparagus pictured below.

Using the plastic wrap or bamboo mat, roll the near end of the seaweed over the filling and continue rolling make sure the roll stays as tight as possible. Seal the end of the roll, but dabbing water on the far end of the seaweed sheet.

Using a warm, sharp knife cut the sushi into 1/2″ pieces (pictured at the top). Serve with a side of coconut aminos or soy sauce.

Net Carb Count*:

Sushi (Smoked Salmon and Asparagus): 5 net carbs (for one roll)
Sushi (Shrimp and Cucumber): 5 net carbs (for one roll)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: Ok, so I’m not the best sushi roller in the world, but the result is a fantastic replacement for sushi. I used the fillings listed above, but you can use your favorite filling. It’s easy to be intimidated, but making sushi is really easy. I added 1 Tbsp of soy sauce to my cooked cauliflower (I microwaved the “rice” for about 30-40 seconds) to give it some flavor. Make sure the items you use in the filling are cut into strips and cover the width of the roll to make sure you have a piece of each ingredient in each slice. I chose not to invest in a bamboo sushi mat and use plastic wrap. The plastic wrap helps to create a tight roll so that the filling stays inside. One very important tip is to make sure you have a sharp knife. If your knife isn’t sharp it will not cut through the seaweed and the filling will fall out. Also, running your knife under hot water before each cut will help make cutting through the sushi easier. Enjoy!What’s your favorite sushi fillings?

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Party Foods: Baked Chicken Meatballs and Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Karen Sorenson — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Tonight’s cooking adventure was Baked Chicken Meatballs and Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus. I was heading to a pot luck dinner so I needed a few recipes I could bring. I made the Chicken Meatballs found here: https://dandydishes.blogspot.com/2011/06/baked-chicken-meatballs.html and the Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles here: https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2011/12/prosciutto-wrapped-asparagus.html. See comments below for the modifications I made to each recipe.

Net Carb Count*:
Chicken Meatballs: 10 net carbs (for the entire recipe with the modifications described below)
Asparagus Bundles: 12 net carbs (for the entire recipe with modifications)

*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.

Comments: I made some modifications to the Baked Chicken Meatballs recipe. I used a shallot instead of the onion and I put an extra tablespoon of sauce into the meatball mixture. Also, I accidently used the whole egg, but it still turned out well. I made a double batch of the tomato sauce/oil topping in order to cover all of the meatballs. Once the meatballs were cooked I threw them in a crockpot with some low carb marinara to keep warm and so I could easily transport them to the party.

For the Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus the only modifications I made was cutting the asparagus in half and wrapping a half piece of prosciutto around each bundle to make them party sized. Next time I might not bake them and just serve them as cold appetizer. I think they would work better for a pot luck served cold.

Both recipes were very tasty and I would definitely suggest making them!

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