Was craving Greek and Middle Eastern flavors this week. Finally got around to doing the meal I dreamed up through the week.
Menu:
First up getting the chicken going. Whipped up a quick souvlaki marinade
Next up I made the lamb kofta.
Mince the nuts finely in a food processor then toast in a pan until they are fragrant. Put all the veggies in the food processor and mince finely as well. Remove and squeeze out as much juice as you can in a strainer or cheesecloth. Mix all ingredients together really well. I refrigerated over night and formed meatballs today.
Next up was some keto rice pudding for dessert. I wanted to get it done a day ahead and let it chill.
Next time to make the Mediterranean Fauxtato Salad. found this recipe online. Sounded great and looked colorful. I thought it would make the perfect side and bed to serve the souvlaki on.
First I cut and quartered about 8 small bunches of radishes. Toss these with some olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Roast at 400F for an hour or so until the are nice and roasted and dried out some. About 20 minutes prior to the end toss on a couple small containers of multi color heirloom tomatoes and 8 oz. of diced pancetta. When the tomatoes are cooked toss it all in a pan with parmesan and its ready to roll. I really didn't get step by step pics of this or follow the recipe strictly as it is pretty straight forward. Here is a closeup of the the radishes headed into the oven.
Got the Vision Kamado fired up. I haven't cooked on my kamado in quite awhile so looking forward to it today. Time to thread up the kabobs and get them and the lamb kofta going. Got a nice big pan of kabobs from the 5 lbs. of chicken breast.
Well time to eat. I am running behind and my wife is about to just have a salad so into high gear. First up is the lamb kofta served with a little roasted red pepper, feta and homemade keto tzatziki.
Got about half of the kabobs done while she was eating her appetizer and plated them on top of the roasted Mediterranean salad and arugula. Finished off with a little pesto and some burrata cheese. The cheese is a new one to me and its amazing. A skin like fresh mozzarella with a creamy center. Very luscious combined with all of the other flavors.
Last up was dessert. I always loved rice pudding. My grandmother made it and tapioca for me often as a kid. Rice pudding fit right into the theme of the day so I needed to that keto version. I also whipped up some sugar free whipped cream for the pudding. This stuff is awesome. The miracle rice texture honestly is close to tapioca so this is almost like a hybrid of the two.
Well that's it. Between the cooking and some yard work I am beat!! The flavors in this meal are astounding and all played real well together. The roasted salad is really tasty and the pancetta and parmesan in it really sets it off. The appetizer was off the hook to me since lamb kofta is one of my favorite things to get when I am in areas to order authentic Middle Eastern food and lastly the keto "rice" pudding is really tasty too.
Thanks for looking!!
Menu:
- Appetizer
- Lamb Kofta meatballs with peppers, feta and tzatziki
- Main Course
- Roasted Mediterranean Fauxtato Salad
- Chicken Souvlaki kabobs
- Dessert
- Keto "Rice Pudding"
First up getting the chicken going. Whipped up a quick souvlaki marinade
- 1 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 1/.2 TBSP minced garlic (I used pre minced in a jar)
- 5 tbsp oregano
- 2 1/2 tbsp salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp pepper
- 1 3/4 tbsp paprika
Next up I made the lamb kofta.
- 1/4 cup each pine nuts, almonds, and walnuts (total 3/4 cup)
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped (see note)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, gently packed (okay to substitute parsley)
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Mince the nuts finely in a food processor then toast in a pan until they are fragrant. Put all the veggies in the food processor and mince finely as well. Remove and squeeze out as much juice as you can in a strainer or cheesecloth. Mix all ingredients together really well. I refrigerated over night and formed meatballs today.
Next up was some keto rice pudding for dessert. I wanted to get it done a day ahead and let it chill.
- 1 (14 oz) package Zeroodle Shirataki Rice with Oat Fiber
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup Swerve or equivalent granulated sweetener (I used allulose)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Next time to make the Mediterranean Fauxtato Salad. found this recipe online. Sounded great and looked colorful. I thought it would make the perfect side and bed to serve the souvlaki on.
First I cut and quartered about 8 small bunches of radishes. Toss these with some olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Roast at 400F for an hour or so until the are nice and roasted and dried out some. About 20 minutes prior to the end toss on a couple small containers of multi color heirloom tomatoes and 8 oz. of diced pancetta. When the tomatoes are cooked toss it all in a pan with parmesan and its ready to roll. I really didn't get step by step pics of this or follow the recipe strictly as it is pretty straight forward. Here is a closeup of the the radishes headed into the oven.
Got the Vision Kamado fired up. I haven't cooked on my kamado in quite awhile so looking forward to it today. Time to thread up the kabobs and get them and the lamb kofta going. Got a nice big pan of kabobs from the 5 lbs. of chicken breast.
Well time to eat. I am running behind and my wife is about to just have a salad so into high gear. First up is the lamb kofta served with a little roasted red pepper, feta and homemade keto tzatziki.
Got about half of the kabobs done while she was eating her appetizer and plated them on top of the roasted Mediterranean salad and arugula. Finished off with a little pesto and some burrata cheese. The cheese is a new one to me and its amazing. A skin like fresh mozzarella with a creamy center. Very luscious combined with all of the other flavors.
Last up was dessert. I always loved rice pudding. My grandmother made it and tapioca for me often as a kid. Rice pudding fit right into the theme of the day so I needed to that keto version. I also whipped up some sugar free whipped cream for the pudding. This stuff is awesome. The miracle rice texture honestly is close to tapioca so this is almost like a hybrid of the two.
Well that's it. Between the cooking and some yard work I am beat!! The flavors in this meal are astounding and all played real well together. The roasted salad is really tasty and the pancetta and parmesan in it really sets it off. The appetizer was off the hook to me since lamb kofta is one of my favorite things to get when I am in areas to order authentic Middle Eastern food and lastly the keto "rice" pudding is really tasty too.
Thanks for looking!!
