Toasted Carrot Bruschetta (vegan + gluten, grain, nut & sugar-free) = a yummy low-carb carrot toast snack
Hello all ! What a nifty little snack this carrot toast is ! Definitely NOT my bright idea as I recently saw sweet potato used this way including toasting the your ordinary toaster, I tried it out, liked it a lot, so wondered if carrot would work too. Well, it worked great, so here we are.
Its very easy, basically trim then place you carrot slices in you toaster, for a few minutes and when it pops you have some slabs of sweet goodness to place some yummy toppings. My son likes it with just cinnamon sprinkled on it in the mornings, but that’s another story.
The toppings I did, purely because I was in the mood, were:
- Basic tomato & basil
- Sweet braised capsicum
- Mushroom Pate
- Artichoke & mint
All yummy, all very low carb & cal. There are plenty of recipes on the internet for awesome toppings that are VLCD suitable. You can even pick them up, they don’t come out soggy or floppy !
According to My Fitness Pal, each slice is worth approx. 18 calories & 2.4 gms carb (depending on the topping used), so for those undertaking a VLCD such as Optifast, you could have 3-4 slices with topping for your serve allowance.
Hope you enjoy, I would love to see your creations if this is up your alley, please send them to me via the OptiCook Facebook page
So, without further ado, here are the recipes:
Carrot toast
Makes 8 pieces
3 wide, thick “horse” carrots (as thick width wise as you can find), un-peeled but topped & tailed
Slice carrots top to bottom into 50 ml (1/2 cm) thick slices. Place in your toaster, lining them up so they support each other to stand up (see pic.) Toast for approx. 3-5 mins until nicely browned on the sides and caramelised in the flat parts. Keep cooking until they are done.
Toppings:
1. Basic tomato & basil topping
2 medium tomatoes or handful cherry tomatoes, diced finely
1/4 cup basil leaves, sliced thinly ( or tube or dry basil, approx. 1 tsp)
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil 1 tbs baby capers
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt & black pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients & let infuse for at least 20 mins. Spoon on top of your carrot toast & serve.
2. Sweet braised capsicum topping
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 red capsicum & 1/2 yellow capsicum, cored & thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Salt & black pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add capsicum & garlic. Cook until they are soft, approx. 25
-35 mins. Remove from heat. Let cool & spoon on top of your carrot toast.
3. Mushroom pate topping
10g dried Porchini mushrooms (1/2 small pkt)
1 tbsp olive oil
100g mixed mushrooms, sliced finely & chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup stock (I used Massel vegan beef stock for this one)
1 tbs thyme (either fresh or dried)
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
Salt & black pepper to taste
Heat the stock in a bowl & place the dried mushrooms in it to steep.
In a fry pan, heat the olive oil & add the fresh mushrooms & thyme. Cook, stiring until nice and brown. After 5
mins, add the dried mushrooms & the stock. Cook for a few mins, stiring. Blitz with a stick blender, making
half the mixture in the pan creamy and leaving half chunky.
Season with salt & pepper. Make sure you taste it before adding the salt as the stock can be quite salty, as
well as the mushrooms.
Let cool & serve on top of the carrot toast.
4. Artichoke & mint topping
1 tsp olive oil (or can use spray oil)
170g jar of artichokes (in brine not oil)
1 garlic clove, minced Rind of 1/2 lemon, finely grated
Handful fresh mint leaves, chopped finely, reserving a few sprigs for the top if you please
In a small fry pan heat the oil. Drain the artichokes well, patting dry in a tea towel. Add the garlic clove to the
oil & the artichokes. Cook for 5 mins, stiring until they start to go a little mushy. Blitz using a stick blender or
small blender until chunky but creamy. Remove from heat. Let cool, stir through the mint & serve on top of the
carrot toast.
I do hope you enjoy these yummy snacks ! Joni x
Natasha
December 30, 2016
OMG they look SO good! I’m literally drooling on my computer!
Joni Condos
December 31, 2016
They are nice, I must make again, thanks for the reminder ! ????