The High-Protein Cookbook - Linda West Eckhardt [57]
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
8 ounces small zucchini, thinly sliced
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons water
¼ cup heavy cream
Freshly milled black pepper to taste
Over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the squash and zucchini with a little salt. Sauté until the vegetables start to give up their liquid. Add the water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain the vegetables and transfer to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add the cream and pepper and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Nutritional Analysis: 282 calories, FAT 26 g, PROTEIN 3 g, CARB 13 g, FIBER 3.5 g, CHOL 41 mg, IRON 1 mg, SODIUM 596 mg, CALC 80 mg
Zucchini, Eggplant, and Cilantro Purée
This Indian-influenced dish will win your heart and make you long for the subcontinent.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces zucchini, cubed
8 ounces eggplant, cubed
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste
Preheat the broiler. On a broiler pan, toss the zucchini and eggplant cubes thoroughly in the olive oil. Place 4 to 6 inches from the broiler and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the eggplant is fork tender. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor or blender and add the chili powder and cilantro, and salt and pepper. Process to make a smooth purée. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Nutritional Analysis: 188 calories, FAT 14 g, PROTEIN 3 g, CARB 15 g, FIBER 5 g, CHOL 0 mg, IRON 1 mg, SODIUM 603 mg, CALC .39 mg
DESSERTS: NO-GUILT PLEASURES
You know how it is. When you gotta have it, you gotta have it. We don’t eat dessert every day. But from time to time, we just have to have a really drop-dead dessert to make us feel like real people.
We worked hard to convert some of our favorites for you to try. We offer them with a couple of caveats and also some breakthrough news about what will work and what won’t.
In the first place, some of these desserts make more than two servings. That’s okay. You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for a day or two. Some of them take a tad more time than our main dishes do. That’s okay, too. Hey, it’s dessert. You’re worth it.
But our real breakthrough has to do with flavor. In trying many so-called low-carb desserts that relied on artificial sweeteners, we discovered the judicious addition of a tablespoon of sugar to a recipe sometimes lifted the flavor in a way artificial sweeteners simply could not. And the havoc that simple spoonful of sugar wrecked on the total nutritional readout was minimal.
If we are doctrinaire about anything in our work, it’s flavor. We simply don’t put recipes in our books that don’t get a pass from our various taste panel members: Katherine, Gordon, Lily, Noel, Linda, Joe, and sometimes the dogs. If they all lick their chops, we figure it goes in. All of these recipes passed. So don’t eliminate dessert from your high-protein regimen.
Meringue Torte with Lemon Filling and Strawberries
Who needs pie crust? Make a meringue crust, then fill it with our fantastic lemon filling. Top it off with fresh strawberries. Now that’s dessert.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Cooling time: 20 minutes
MERINGUE SHELL
3 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
10 packets aspartame sweetener
FILLING
2¼ cups water
Grated zest of 1 lemon plus 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
30 packets aspartame sweetener
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons unsalted butter