by Chef Adam Lambay
I don’t know about you but Pizza is one of those things I miss as a diabetic. So how do you cut the carbs and still have great flavor and texture? The secret is using low carb whole wheat tortillas. They taste great and make a delicious, thin crust pizzetta. Terrific flavor is baked into every crunchy bite. These are great for appetizers or a main course.
Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1 pint Cherry, Teardrop, or Grape Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Kosher Salt
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and smashed
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Drying is an important step because if the tomatoes are wet when you add them to the hot oil they will spit and sputter and you could get burned. So take the extra 60 seconds to dry them off.
Once the tomatoes are dry, heat oil in a 2 quart pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add the garlic and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic burn or it will be bitter. Carefully add the tomatoes and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow the tomatoes and garlic to poach in the oil, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Once all the tomatoes have split and burst add the salt and gently stir to dissolve. Remove from heat.
Chef Tip: This is another way to preserve your summer harvest. Place the tomatoes and oil in a tightly sealed container and store in the refrigerator.
Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes Serves 4 – approximately 5g net carbs per serving
Building the Pizzetta
Ingredients:
1 9-inch Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortilla (only 5g net carbs)
Half the Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes, drained
1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Kale, fine chop
1 oz. Fresh Goat Cheese or Goat Cheese Crumbles
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Smash half of the poached tomatoes over one tortilla, spreading evenly. Sprinkle kale evenly over the tomatoes. Finally, add the goat cheese, distributing evenly. Chef Tip: Goat cheese can be tricky to fleck or cast evenly as it’s sticky. So rub a light amount of oil on your fingers and it won’t stick.
Place Pizzetta in the preheated oven directly on the center rack. This will allow the tortilla to crisp up. I enjoy my crust a little extra crunchy because the tomato is wet and the contrast of crunch to soft texture is more desirable. Bake for 7-8 minutes but watch it carefully as it can go from golden, brown and delicious to burned in seconds.
Serves 2 as an Appetizer – approx. 16g net carbs per serving
Serves 1 as a Main Course – approx. 31g net carbs per serving
Note: A Life Well Eaten follows diabetic educator guidelines for determining net carbs.
Suggested formula is total carbs minus half the fiber, i.e. 16g carbs and 4g fiber would be 14g net carbs. The food industry determines net carbs as total carbs minus fiber which would come in at 12g net carbs.