Dutch Zeeuws Mosselpannetje

On our next stop we find ourselves in the Netherlands, to create a dish using mussels. This one of the most typical Dutch recipes, which is to be served in a pan. Mussels are a very popular Dutch food, and are considered a delicacy. Particularly in the province of Zeeland, the art of preparing Dutch mussels, which are gathered from the coastal waters, is brought to perfection. Therefore, this dish is called a “Zeeuws mosselpannetje”, which translates as “Zeelandian mussels, served in a pan”

Ingredients

Zeeuws Mosselpannetje

4.5 lb mussels, cleaned
½ cup white wine or water
2 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 red onions, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 sprigs of parsley

Dipping sauce

2 tablespoons of mustard
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of vinegar

Mix into a smooth sauce.

Directions

Put the wine or water, celery, carrots, onions, garlic and parsley in a Dutch oven with a lid. Bring to a boil. Lift the lid, add the mussels and boil for seven to eight minutes, tossing the contents of the pan once or twice during that time. The mussels will open up and will be ready to eat.

To serve, place the pan on the table with an extra plate for the shells. Serve with a french bread and a dipping sauce. Use your fingers to pull the mussels out of the shells or a small fork, dip into the sauce and eat.

Gravlax with Asparagus and Poached Egg

Since we're already here in Europe why not try a Danish dish, I've decided to look for a healthy recipe that tastes great and from my searches the name Gravlax keeps coming up. So, why not try it - its made with Pink Salmon, a fish we all can enjoy.

This Dane dish will be accompanied with Asparagus and a simple Poached Egg. Let's get started. The Salmon will take a some patience. 

For the Gravlax:

Ingredients

2 lbs pink salmon
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 tbsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed

Direction

Mix the salt, sugar, caraway seeds and peppercorns in a bowl large enough to fit your salmon fillet. Bury the fish in the mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Turn the salmon twice a day for 4 days. Rinse off the salt and sugar mixture. Dry thoroughly. Keep in the fridge, wrapped tightly in plastic, until needed.

For the salad:

Ingredients

20 sprigs of asparagus (depending on size)
juice of 1 lime
4 eggs
gravlax (recipe above)
1 red onion, very finely diced (optional)
4 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for frying

Direction

Add white vinegar to a large pot. Fill the pot halfway with water. Place over medium heat. Allow the water to come to the stage just before simmering, when tiny bubbles appear along the bottom and sides of the pot. Reduce the heat. Crack each egg into separate small dishes. Create a whirlpool by stirring in a single direction around the pot. Gently glide each egg, one by one, into the centre of the whirlpool. Continue stirring gently for one minute. Stop stirring. Continue to cook the eggs for three more minutes, or until they are just wobbly when touched with the spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towel.

Meanwhile, slice the gravlax on an extreme bias, ensuring no skin is attached to the slices. 

Clean and peel the asparagus. Fry gently in butter until they soften slightly and turn bright green. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer asparagus, gravlax and tarragon in a shallow dish. Squeeze lime juice over top. Sprinkle with onion, if using. Gently place the eggs on top. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper.

Flaky White Fish with Mushroom-Herb Duxelles

This French recipe features a mild, flaky white fish topped with a classic French combination of chopped mushrooms and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

8-oz fresh mushrooms (ie: Portabella, Shitake, Bolete, White, Morels)
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp thyme, finely chopped
¼ tsp salt¼ tsp pepper
½ cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp canola oil
1 can (14oz) low-sodium diced tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1½lb white fish fillets, about 4 oz each

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F (200C)
In food processor, mince mushroom until finely chopped.

In a saucepan, cook mushrooms over mediium heat until the moisture is gone and the mushrooms are lightly browned, should take you about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add red onions, regular onions, parsely, thyme, salt, pepper, bread crumbs and canola oil. Mix well. Set duxelles mixture aside.

In a light greased baking pan, spread the crushed tomatoes. stir in the balsamic vinegar. Place fish fillets on top of the tomatoes. Spoon the duxelles mixture over the fish, completely covering the fish fillets.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork and mushroom is lightly browned.

This recipe serves 6. Hope you enjoy guys.

Chicken Piccata

Our next stop in our journey takes us halfway around to world to Italy. A country that's filled with culture, architecture and of course amazing food. Let's face it the Romans ate very well.

This zesty piccata goes gourmet with lean chicken breat coayed in flour and topped with lemon slices and chopped parsley. The comforting Italian-style entrée is low-calories and low-carb.

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast

2 tbsp All-purpose Flour

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 cup Chicken Broth

2 tsp Lemon Zest

2 tsp Lemon Juice

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

½ tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Lemon, thinly sliced

1 tbsp parsley, minced

Directions

Split the 2 chicken breast in half horizontally to make 4 portions. 

Place one of the chicken portion between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, lightly pound turkey to about 3/8-inch thickness. Remove plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining chicken portions.

In a shallow dish, combine flour, 1/8 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Coat each chicken portion with flour mixture, turning to coat evenly. Shake off excess flour mixture.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken portions; cook about 6 minutes or until browned, turning once to brown evenly.

Add broth, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, dijon mustard, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and cooking liquid is slightly reduced. Add the half the lemon slices. Cook for 2 minutes more.

To serve, transfer chicken to serving plates. If desired, top with minced parsley and lemon slices. Serve with some of the cooking liquid. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

Servings Per Recipe: 4

PER SERVING: 148 cal., 3 g total fat 57 mg chol., 323 mg sodium, 5 g carb. 24 g pro.

Diabetic Exchanges

Fat (d.e): 0.5; Lean Meat (d.e): 3.5

Callaloo, Baked Sweet Potato with Coconut Jerked King Fish

Our first stop in our journey, we don't have to travel very far. Right here in Trinidad we can find an abundance of local fresh produce to create a tasty meal, one which we can tweak to cook up a healthy traditional local dish.

Callaloo, Baked Sweet Potato with Coconut Jerked King Fish.

So lets start off with the Callaloo. 

• 12 Dasheen Bush Leaves, chopped
• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 8 Ochroes, roughly chopped
• 1 Small Onion, Diced
• 1 Pimeneto, minced
• Salt to taste

So now that we have the ingredients, lets get started.

In a medium to large pot, add all the ingredients. Cover the pot, lowering the heat to bring the pot to a simmer.

Now while the Callaloo is cooking let's begin with the Sweet Potato and King Fish

• 2 Medium Sweet Potato, cut in halves
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees, in a pan lined with aluminum foil place the sweet potato halves and sprinkle the nutmeg over. Leave in oven for approximately 25 minutes.

Let's begin with the fish.

• 2 Fillet King Fish
• ½ Cup Jerk Seasoning
• 2 tbsp Coconut Milk Powder

In a shallow dish, pour the Jerk Seasoning and add the Coconut Milk Powder, whisk until the powder is fully dissolved into the seasoning. Add the Fish Fillets into the seasoned mixture and leave to marinate for 15 minutes.

Now while the fish is marinating, lets revisit the Callaloo. By now the leaves would have wilted down, pour the callaloo into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If after the Callaloo's viscosity is too thick, pour it back into the pot and add hot water until it reaches your desired thickness.

On your grill or skillet lightly grease with a spray of Olive Oil, and place the fillets, skin side down. Flip each after 5 minutes on each side, lightly basing it with the remaining seasoning.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven.

There you go - Callaloo, Baked Sweet Potato with Coconut Jerked King Fish.

Serve - ½ Sweet Potato, ¼ Cup of Callaloo and a Fillet of Fish.

ABOUT

Diabetics and the People Who Love Them

In Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) as of recent, there has been a salvo of diabetic cases. According to the International Diabetes Federation North America and the Caribbean  statistics have shown that the prevalence of diabetes in T&T is at 132,340 (2013) and has the possibility of rising to a much higher figure if measures are not properly put in place. 

As someone who's mother is diabetic I always try to look for something healthy for her to eat. Something that does not require her to compare the taste to a cardboard box. It's a constant reminder right there on the refrigerator door, a meal plan chart given to her by her dietitian - listing what she can and can't consume. Not only are the options bland they are limited, and very repetitive - how many oats and dry toast can my mom consume?. It's time to throw that chart into the chulha (the devil's fireplace that cooks the best curried duck) and reawaken my mother's tastebuds.

Let's face it, our twin islands are a culinary gold mine. To give you a better understanding of what I mean by that I have to teach you a little of my country's history.

T&T is the Southernmost nation in the Caribbean, a few miles off the coast of Venezuela. The twin islands are a hodgepodge of Indian, African, Syrian, Chinese and European influences.Trinidadians  love to eat - we go by a traditional saying "we love we belly". As diverse people, the culinary landscape includes a fusion of four continents blended with Trinidadian flamboyance and trickled down from generation to generation.

But even with our rich food heritage Trinidad & Tobago has not escaped the lure of fast food culture. Both local and international franchises all over the islands offer everything from fried chicken to hamburgers leading to a growing problem of obesity ( pun intended)  which is a significant contributor to the epidemic of diabetes.

Managing diet is key for pre-diabetics and diabetics but frequently the food is boring and people get fed up. Diabetic food need not be boring when you can travel the world of cuisine and make managing diabetes a true international adventure.

That's exactly what this blog hopes to accomplish. In each and every entry, we will look at cuisines from all over the world and attempt to recreate them in a "healthier" way.