KetoNick's Pierogi

Keto pierogi served with Dijon pork rind crusted chicken thighs and braised radishes

Somebody on reddit's keto recipes subreddit made a request for someone to create a keto version of pierogi, and as a huge fan of Polish food myself, I thought it was an excellent idea. The filling was the easy part; mashed cauliflower is an easy and delicious substitute to mashed potatoes. The pasta took some more consideration. I was torn between making a mozzarella cheese based dough similar to a keto pizza/breadstick dough, but I decided to use a keto pasta dough based on almond flour.

I'm not going to go into too much detail on the mashed cauliflower recipe - there are tons of recipes out there and you can pick the one you want to use. I just threw it together without really using a recipe. In addition to the cauliflower, I added bacon, cheddar cheese, onions caramelized in bacon fat, sour cream, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and butter.

Pierogi dough ingredients:

1. 2 cups white almond meal
2. 1/2 tablespoon xanthan gum
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 3 eggs

Procedure:

Begin by mixing the almond meal, xanthan gum, and salt in a large mixing bowl until evenly mixed. Then, just like making any other pasta dough, put the eggs in a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mix them together with a fork until it forms a dough that you can knead by hand. You can see the process here.

At this point you can begin kneading by hand

Unlike when using flour, you don't need to knead for a long time to develop the gluten. There is no gluten in almond meal, and the xanthan gum will replace the structure that the gluten would normally provide. You only need to knead the dough until it is a homogeneous mixture the consistency of a typical pasta dough, dusting with almond meal or some other keto friendly flour like coconut or soy as needed to keep it from sticking. Create a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and leave it on the counter for about half an hour.

At this point the dough can be wrapped up in plastic wrap to rest

Cut the dough ball into 4 sections, and roll it out until it is nice and thin. You can use a pasta roller if you have one. Dust with almond meal or some other keto friendly flour if it is sticky. Cut out rounds for the pierogi - I used one of the ubiquitous takeout Chinese soup containers, it was the perfect size.

Cut 2 or 3 rounds per quarter, collect the excess to roll out again 

Place just a little bit of the filling, maybe a tablespoon or two, on one side of each round. Fold over and crimp with a fork like you would with an empanada. 

I got 12 rounds, but the dough was a little thick. Try to shoot for 12-16 pierogi for the ideal thickness

Boil the pierogi in salted water for about 10 minutes, and then sauté them in butter until they're a little bit browned.

Nutrition Information: (from the sparkpeople.com recipe calculator)

Note: the nutrition information is PER PIEROGI for the PASTA ONLY based on 16 pierogi rounds.

KetoNick's Shrimp and Veggie Miso Noodle Soup

The title is a bit unwieldy, but the soup is delicious! I am always craving Asian flavors, something I miss more than anything else since I've been on keto. I make stir-fries over cauli-rice and fried cauli-rice, but noodle soups are one of my favorite foods ever, so I decided to think up a keto-friendly Asian flavored noodle soup using zoodles and shirataki noodles, two great low carb noodle substitutes.

The Ingredients:

not pictured: stock and shirataki noodles

  

• 6 cups of shrimp or chicken stock
  
• 1 package of shirataki angel hair noodles,* thoroughly rinsed and drained 
• 1/2 pound of raw shrimp 
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms 
• 1 medium zucchini, "spiralized"** 
• 1/2 block of firm tofu 
• 1 cup of halved snow peas 
• 1 tbsp miso 
• 3 tbsp wakame (seaweed) 
• soy sauce 
• crushed red pepper 
• Sriracha
• chives, garlic chives, or other herb
• sesame and/or vegetable oil for frying

*About those weird noodles you've probably never heard of, shirataki noodles are a traditional Japanese noodle made from the flour of the konjac yam. They're also called miracle noodles because somehow they have ZERO calories LESS THAN ONE carb per serving, making them an awesome pasta substitute for the keto diet, and they're shelf stable (tofu shirataki must be refrigerated). I've used them with Alfredo and tomato sauces, too - they're not just for Asian dishes. I get mine from Amazon because they're hard to find in stores, and they come in a variety pack of different shapes, six packages for only fourteen dollars.

** As for the zucchini, if you're on the keto diet you just have to get a spiralizer so you can make zoodles! Zucchini noodles are another great pasta alternative that can be eaten raw or cooked in any number of fashions. You can check out one of my favorite zoodle recipes here: Zoodles and Shrimp with an Avocado Cream Sauce.

Directions:

1) Bring the stock up to a very gentle simmer and whisk in the miso paste, season to taste with soy sauce, and add in as much or as little red pepper as you'd like.

2) Add in the mushrooms and snow peas to let them gently cook in the broth. Now we begin stir-frying.

3) Over high heat, stir-fry half of the tofu in about a 2-1 ratio of vegetable oil to sesame oil until golden brown to give it some texture, remove with a slotted spoon and add it to the simmering pot along with the rest of the raw tofu. Two textures makes the dish more interesting.

4) Stir-fry the shrimp for a few minutes until they get some color and add them to the pot.

5) Stir-fry the zoodles for a few minutes and add them to the pot.

6) Stir-fry the shirataki noodles for a few minutes and add them to the pot.

7) Add the three tablespoons of wakame to the pot and gently stir everything together.




8) Once the wakame has hydrated and expanded in size, the soup is ready to serve. Top with a squirt of Sriracha and the herb of your choice. I used garlic chives that I grew from some garlic cloves that sprouted roots. I planted them in a small pot in my kitchen window and let the shoots grow, and snipped some fresh to finish off the soup. You can use chives, cilantro, or Thai basil if you'd like, it's up to you.

And there you have it: Shrimp and Veggie Miso Noodle Soup. Enjoy!

Featured products: (click to buy from Amazon)


 Nutrition Information: (from the sparkpeople.com recipe calculator)

KetoNick's Guide to Frittatas - The Perfect Keto Breakfast

Frittatas are the perfect breakfast for the keto diet - lots of protein and fat and only a few carbs. By making large 12 egg frittatas, you take care of an entire week of breakfasts for quick and easy mornings, no matter how little time you have before you have to run out of the house. Cut into six wedges, a minute and a half in the microwave, and you're good to go!

The beautiful thing about frittatas is that there is no one recipe. It's a canvas, an equation, a paint by numbers procedure that can give you lots of variety. I will show you the process for the frittata I made this week, and then your creativity can take over from there.

We start with the ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 pound of meat
• 1/2 of a yellow onion
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• Keto friendly vegetable
• salt, pepper, and hot sauce

For the meat, my go-to choice is usually bacon. This time I used half bacon, half spicy salami. You can also use breakfast sausage (sliced or crumbled), chorizo, cubed chicken, or really anything you want. One time I used smoked herring (I did less than a half pound because the herring has a very strong flavor). If using something other than bacon, you will need to supplement the fat - a tablespoon or two of butter or coconut oil will give you what you need. Remember, this is keto, so fat is good!

When it comes to the vegetables, if you're using leafy greens like spinach, or in this case chard, use about four cups of chopped greens. If using solid vegetables like broccoli, green beans, asparagus, or mushrooms, use about two cups. And you can mix and match - get creative!

The cheese can be whatever you have on hand, or you think will best match the meat and veggie.

How to make your frittata:

Render/cook your meat of choice over medium heat

Cook in the onions until translucent

Cook in the veggies, the pan should be about half full once wilted/sauteed

With 12 eggs, I like to scramble them by shaking them in a lidded container

Sprinkle on the cheese, turn heat up to medium high

Gently pour the eggs over the meat and veggies

You want to see the edges start to firm up

With a spatula, lift the firm edges while tilting
the pan and let raw egg run underneath

Once most of the eggs have run under the edges, its time to flip

I prefer the over-sized plate method

Flip carefully!

It's not burned, it's the camera, I swear! (it's the bottom anyways)

Slide the frittata back into the pan, for a few minutes (seriously, its the camera)

Once it is firm to the touch, flip back onto the cutting board

Slice into six wedges and enjoy!

Nutrition Information per slice (according to SparkRecipes Recipe Calculator)

Some other frittatas I've made:

Bacon and rainbow chard with cheddar

Smoked herring and green bean with mozzarella

Not pictured:

• Bacon and broccoli raab with cheddar
• Sausage and mushroom with Swiss
• Steak and asparagus with bleu cheese

The possibilities are endless! 

KetoNick's Zoodles and Shrimp with an Avocado Cream Sauce

This one is all about the deliciously creamy avocado sauce. Avocados are an amazing keto food - they're really high in fat, but only have a few net carbs, with a lot of potassium and vitamins B6 and C. With the exception of guacamole, most people think they're only good for the occasional sushi roll or slicing and dicing and topping various other foods, but this recipe puts the avocado flavor center stage. And if you haven't made zucchini noodles you should give them a try! No, you won't be fooled into thinking it's pasta (despite what some people might tell you), but zoodles are awesome in their own right. A warning - this dish should not be made in larger batches unless you're feeding a number of people. The avocado sauce will go brown and gross after a few days, so you only want AT MOST one serving of leftovers. This recipe makes two servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium to small zucchinis
• 1/2 pound of raw shrimp (I prefer 31-35 count, more shrimp per weight)
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 jalapeno (you can seed the jalapeno, or use less if you don't want it too spicy)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• salt

Procedure:

1) Cut your zoodles using a mandolin, V-slicer, or veggie peeler with a julienne blade. You could also do it by hand, but I imagine it would be pretty tedious to do it with a knife. BUT - better than all of those, I recommend a Spiral Vegetable Slicer - this is the one I have. It lets you make two sizes of pasta, a thinner spaghetti shape or a wider linguine shape. It's only $13 and comes with free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. I have found it to be a crucial part of a keto kitchen, I use mine at least once a week.

2) Once the zucchini is sliced, lightly toss with about a half teaspoon of salt and set aside. If you like raw crunchy zucchini (like I do), skip to the next step. If you'd like, at this point you can cook your zoodles in one of a few different ways. When I cook them, I usually just microwave them, covered, for about two minutes. Once they cool down, I gently wring them out in a dish towel to get rid of all of the trapped moisture. Alternately, you can sauté the zoodles in a bit of olive oil, but I think it's more effort than it's worth.

3) Peel and steam the shrimp. Save the shells in a freezer bag - once it's full you can make shrimp stock. Usually I would sauté the shrimp after marinating for a little while, or with a variety of herbs, spices, and flavors, but for this dish I prefer the pure shrimp flavor so that it won't overwhelm the avocado, the real star of the dish. Cool the shrimp in an ice bath or cold running water.

4) Place the diced avocado, japaleno, cream, and HALF of the lemon juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Salt to taste.

5) If you didn't cook the zoodles, now is the time to gently wring them out after giving the salt time to pull out some of the moisture. Then GENTLY combine the ingredients. Don't go mashing up those noodles!

6) If you have any leftovers, place them into a tall, narrow container to minimize the exposed surface area. Pour the remaining lemon juice on top and it should last a few days before it browns too badly. When you eat the leftovers, pour off the excess lemon juice.

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Information per serving (according to SparkRecipes Recipe Calculator)

Zoodles and Shrimp with Avocado Cream Sauce

KetoNick's Turnip and Radish Casserole

This casserole is great for when you get that craving for those delicious, creamy, cheesy carb-filled boxed scalloped potatoes that we all love, and probably miss dearly. Turnips are a great potato substitute for low-carb dieting, and can be used in a number of different contexts, from mashed to fried to roasted, and they add a nice little bit of spicy flavor. This recipe is all about recreating that delicious combination of potato, cream, and cheese (and BACON), but with less than ten net carbs per serving! (See the bottom of the recipe for full nutrition information, and a comparison to if this was made with potatoes instead)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of turnips
• 1 pound of radishes
• 1/2 of a medium onion (or more if not doing low carb/keto)
• 4 cloves of carlic (or up to 8 if not doing low carb keto)
• 6 slices of thick cut bacon (10 slices of regular bacon)
• 1/2 cup of almond flour/meal
• 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal
• (1 cup of breadcrumbs instead of almond/flaxseed if not doing low carb/keto)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of cream
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• choice of herbs, dried or fresh (I used "Italian seasoning")
• salt and pepper

Procedure:

1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep all the foods! Slice turnips and radishes using a mandolin or V-slicer (about 1/4 inch if yours is adjustable). Thinly slice the onion and garlic. Cut the bacon into lardons. Mix the almond flour/meal and flaxseed meal, divide into two half cup portions. Beat the egg and cream together.

2) Render the bacon in a flat bottomed sautee pan over medium heat until not quite crispy. Remove and set aside the bacon, and drain the bacon fat into a separate bowl.

3) Sautee the onion and garlic over medium heat in a bit of the bacon fat until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic to the cooked bacon and mix together.

4) In batches, quickly sautee the turnip slices on one side in a bit of bacon fat over medium high heat to give them some color and develop the flavor, stack the cooked slices on a plate until they're all done.

5) Quickly sautee the radish in a bit of bacon fat over medium high heat to give them some color and develop the flavor, set aside in a bowl.

6) In a large casserole/baking dish, build the casserole. Begin with a layer of turnips, followed by radishes, a bit of salt, pepper, and herbs, sprinkle on some of the bacon/garlic/onion mixture, sprinkle on a thin layer of cheddar cheese, and sprinkle on a thin layer of the almond/flaxseed mixture (or breadcrumbs).

7) Continue layering until all ingredients are used up (but only 1/2 cup of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the almond/flaxseed or breadcrumbs), you should get about 4 layers.

8) Pour the egg/cream mixture slowly and gently over the top of the entire casserole, letting it filter down between the layers.

9) Mix the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and almond/flaxseed (or breadcrumbs) with enough bacon fat or melted butter (1-2 tbsp) to form a crumble topping consistency, and spread it on top of the casserole.

10) Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove cover, bake another 30-45 minutes or until the topping is browned and the sides of the casserole are bubbly. If the top isn't browned, finish it under the broiler but be careful! It will burn quickly.

Makes 8 Servings

Nutrition Information per serving (according to SparkRecipes Recipe Calculator)

KetoNick's Turnip and Radish Casserole

 With Breadcrumbs instead of almond and flaxseed meals

With potatoes and breadrcumbs instead of turnips, radishes, almond/flaxseed (look at the carbs and calories!)