Fillet Steak

I just had to share this mouth-watering snap of last night's fillet steak, fresh from Tom Durcan's stall in The English Market.

These beauties were blotted with kitchen paper and sprinked with sea salt to help dry the meat out.

Preheat the oven to 90C/195F. Then heat your frying pan to smoking point- I use a heavy cast iron pan which means I don't need to add any oil.

Once the pan is super hot, each steak gets 2 minutes on either side. Don't move it around in the pan, just let it sit where you've placed it.

Then I popped the steaks into the oven and pushed the needle of my indespensible meat thermometer to the centre of the thickest steak. I like mine to be pink through, so aim for a centre temperature of 54C/130F. S likes some red in the centre of his, so we'll usually take his out at 51C/124F.

I know this all sounds a bit mental, but just a couple of degrees can make such a difference!

Let your steak sit for a minute or two before cutting into it. You shouldn't get any blood running out if you dry the meat beforehand and use this cooking method.

Did you know you can order Tom Durcan's meats for delivery to anywhere in Ireland and the UK? Visit their site for more details, you can also follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Low Carb Cocktails: Whiskey Sour

I guess one of mantras I've tried to keep in mind over the past year or so is that eating low carb isn't a punishment, or a way to restrict yourself- it's a lifestyle.

Drinking while eating low carb is all about making smart choices. While the body processes carbohydrates in alcohol in a different way to those containted in food, it can be easy to kick yourself out of ketosis if you're not careful. Your best bets are always dry wines and spirits.

In the words of Jennifer Aniston, here comes the science bit: During the fermentation process, the yeasts process the carbohydrates and produce alcohol. Whatever sugars are leftover will vary depending on the beverage- a sweet wine will contain more carbs than a dry wine. 

An average glass of red wine will contain about 4g of carbs. Distilled spirits (vodka, rum, whiskey, etc.) have nothing left but the alcohol, so are zero carb. The danger zone appears when you start to add mixers.

I'm a big cocktail fan and the classic whiskey sour is hands-down my favourite. A simple retooling of the classic recipe makes for a tasty low-carb cocktail you can sip without too much worry.

Investing in a good quality whiskey not only produces a better result, it helps cut down on the hangover factor. My favourites include Makers Mark, and Knob Creek. 

Though a little on the pricier side, Buffalo Trace gives this cocktail a great flavour. Incidentally, that name always reminds me of this Neneh Cherry song. 

Note: For this recipe, 1 shot is the standard Irish measure of 35.5ml

Ingredients

For The Simple Syrup

Create a  low carb simple syrup by mixing water with stevia or splenda. The usual ratio is 1 cup of sweetner to 2 cups of water, though you can adjust this slightly to taste.

We'll usually mix up a litre bottle batch of syrup and keep it for a fortnight or so- remember to shake slightly before use if you're doing this.

For The Cocktail

2 Shots Whiskey

1 Shot Fresh Lemon Juice (The juice of an average lemon contains 3g of net carbs)

1 Shot Simple Syrup

1 Egg

To Garnish

1 Thin Slice of Orange

3 Drops of Angostura Bitters (If you're in Cork you can pick it up at Bradley's)

Method

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. The larger the cubes, the less likely they are to break up and dilute the mixture on shaking.

2. Add the whiskey, lemon juce, simple syrup and egg to the cocktail maker, cover and shake vigoriously for about 90 seconds.

3. Place 2 large ice cubes in a glass and pour over the cocktail mixture using a strainer. If mixed well, the liquid should have a lovely foam head.

4. The pièce de résistance is the Angostura Bitters- it really is worth seeking this out. Gently add 3 drops to the foam head. Garnish with a slice of orange peel and serve!

Note: Alcohol isn't recommended while you're getting into ketosis as it can mess with your blood sugar.
Keep in mind too that you're likely to be less hungry while eating low carb- beware drinking on an empty stomach.

Low Carb & Gluten Free Pizza (Again!)

I know I've posted it before, but I love this pizza recipe so much! 

Once you've made it a couple of times it gets really easy to just quickly knock out a pizza crust in no time at all. Then it's all about getting creative with the toppings.

This weekend, I was charged with the toppings for S's incredibly thin and tasty base. Pizza lore claims that the original margherita pizza was created for Queen Margherita and represented the colours of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). 

I took my cue from there and added some delicious Parma ham I picked up in the wonderful Bradley's on North Main Street. It was seriously delish and the whole pizza came in at about 10g of carbs. Paired with a nice cab sauv, it's the ultimate weekend treat.

The full recipe for this low carb and gluten free pizza base can be found in this previous post.

O'Flynns Meatballs & Celeriac Pasta

Ugh, Monday. At least tonight's dinner was super easy and super tasty!

I popped into the English Market and picked up 12 gorgeous pork and beef meatballs (with oregano, basil, garlic and chilli) from O'Flynns for €5 and then grabbed a celeriac from Superfruit to make the 'pasta'. 

I've posted here before about this awesome low carb pasta replacement and I'm really enjoying finding new ways to use it!

I covered the meatballs in Marks & Spencer's slightly spicy Arrabiata tomato sauce and baked in the oven for 40 minutes at 180C/355F. That M&S sauce contains an incredible 4g of net carbs for the whole 340g jar- compare that to over 8g of carbs per 125g of Dolmio's Original Sauce!

For the last five minutes of cooking, sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese on top so it's all melty and delicious.

For the celeriac pasta, peel that alien-looking vegetable and slice into 1cm strips. A little less than half an average sized celeriac does the two of us nicely. At about 7g net carbs per 100g, it's a really great low carb option.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the celeriac. It'll take about 15 minutes to become al dente- which I like- give it another few minutes if you'd prefer it slightly softer.

Serving two people, this whole delicious and comforting meal came in at under €10 and under10g of carbs each. Bargain!

Sausage and Egg McMuffin Sandwich

For Sunday brunch, S made this awesome sausage and egg sandwich from the Keto-fied! cookbook. With a great selection of recipes, it's a cookbook I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in eating a low carb diet. You can buy the PDF and kindle version here for about €9.

This tasty sandwich is really simple to put together and perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch. I picked up a set of two ring molds in Delia's Kitchen on Carey's Lane for €11 and have been getting loads of use from them so far.