WHB: Dangerous Days, Part 2

I'm still persevering on my Dangerous Days Diet. I lost 3 pounds and now my body thinks it must prevent my imminent death from starvation by responding to the slightest food provocation.    Have you ever really noticed how many commercials feature food?   I need something filling at times like this, low calorie, and quick.  And it should take a considerable amount of time to chew, giving my brain time to get satiated, and my jaws to tire.  So, it didn't matter if the food was fabulous---I just needed to eat something healthy before I gave in to the insane voice in my mind yelling, "Go get a Double-Double In-And-Out Burger now!!!"   Thus, I was happy to discover that this dish of Chicken Salad, With Cumin Scented Carrot Riata was quite delicious, fast, and required lots of chewing.  I used a store bought rotisserie chicken, because I can control myself around them. If I bake a chicken myself, I peel all the crispy skin off and eat it, as soon as it comes out of the oven.  Not so with a store bought chicken, the skin is always forgettable.  In fact, I'm starting to lose control just thinking about a freshly roasted chicken, with crackly skin and juicy meat......

Herbs and spices turn this simple recipe into something special.  The carrot riata has cumin seed and cilantro, and the chicken salad contains fresh mint, ground cumin, and more cilantro.  I love all of them, but it seemed that the ground cumin made the biggest impact on the taste.  I go through quite a bit of cumin each year, particularly in Mexican and Indian dishes.  Try adding a teaspoon of it to rice cooked in stock.  I'm submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by the wonderful Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen, but is being hosted this week by The Expatriate Chef at The Expatriate's Kitchen.

I changed the original recipe to make it lower in calories.  The original recipe called for whole milk yogurt, but I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt.  I also reduced the amount of olive oil, and the end result  was delicious, despite their absence.

Chicken Salad With Cumin Scented Carrot Riata

(Adapted from Food & Wine)

ingredients

!/2 of a roasted chicken, meat shredded (a little over 2 cups)
3-4 large radishes, thickly sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Cumin-Scented Carrot Raita (See below)
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Lime wedges and warmed pita

directions

In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the radishes, onion, mint and cumin. Stir in the raita and season with salt and cayenne. Serve with lime wedges and warmed pita.

Riata

Ingredients

2/3 cup plain nonfat-milk greek yogurt  (or regular nonfat yogurt)
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 carrots, coarsely shredded
2 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
Cayenne pepper

directions

If using regular yogurt do the following (there is no need to do this with Greek yogurt which is already very thick):  Spoon the yogurt into a coffee filter set in a strainer and let stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer the yogurt to a medium bowl.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the carrots and scallions and cook, stirring, until just heated through. Add the carrot mixture and the cilantro to the yogurt and season with salt and cayenne. Serve the riata warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Comments

[Patricia Scarpin]

Sher, I'm having lunch in 2 hours - send me some, please!

[Glenna]

Oh wow, Sher! That looks sooooooooo good! I know what you mean, too, about how food is so much more filling when you have to work your jaw. It's all the things that are soft and creamy, to me, that are easy to go down and just as to overeat.

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Yes Sher it really does help to chew more and give it time to register in the weak brain I have. Funny now we happen to have one of those chickens in the fridge right now . . . Lunch or Dinner. Gorgeous photo.

[aria]

that looks delicious! haha, your so funny and cruel now i want a chicken roasting in the oven so bad. i love radishes so much,, i always have them around for snacking. i would love to grow them some day :)

[kalyn]

Oh yes, this looks like a wonderful option to In and Out burger indeed! I know what you mean about how your brain can just drive you to one of those places if you're not fully in control. I'm going to save this recipe! It's perfect for South Beach!

[Callipygia]

I think what is dangerous is having this good looking tasty (albeit low fat) food around you. One could eat buckets of it, and the in-n-out burger, sigh!

[Anh]

This salad does sound wonderful, Sher. Great way of store-bought chicken!

[Christine]

Wow! Just the carrot raita is making me hungry! This is beautiful Sher.

[Lydia]

This salad does look light and lovely! Wish I had your discipline....

[anne]

As usual, I find my mouth watering over something I can't eat! No chicken for vegetarians! Bad, Anne, bad!

I did, however, point my coworker to this recipe because I think she can love it vicariously for me. Or, wait... I can love it vicariously through her. Indeed!

Good on you for the three pounds lost. I need to join you on this quest. Tomorrow, really. Thank you for the inspiration!

[sher]

Patricia,

I wish I could have shared it with you!

Glenna,

Yes, it helps if my jaws get tired! :)

Tanna,

A nice roasted chicken on hand is such a good thing! There's half of the chicken left in the fridge and I'm going to use the rest of it tomorrow.

Aria,

I love radishes too! I used to eat them every day, but now that I have a low thyroid, I have to limit them. :(

Kalyn,

It was a terrific recipe. I was able to eat quite a good serving, because it's low in calories. Glad you liked it!

Callipygia,

Oh, if only it were true--that i
I could eat both of them at the same meal. :)

Anh,

Thank you! They're a handy thing to have around.

Christine,

Yes, the riata is very good! And it could be eaten alone.

Lydia,

My "discipline" is a very transitory thing!!!! :)

Anne,

This would taste great without the chicken, so do try it. I think you would like it.

[Katie]

That looks like lots of lovely chewing. I usually start in on the gum (sugar-free). Sunflower seeds work - in the shell, and shell them before eating, as do rice cakes...but I have to put something on them so that, sometimes, defeats the purpose...
Whole thing sucks - Bon Courage!

[Tartelette]

Congrats on the loss!!! I am bumping my running mileage as the holidays come closer! This salad sounds and looks wonderful!

[kellypea]

"required lots of chewing..." I totally get it. It looks totally delicious!

[kellypea]

Wait. Let me say "totally" one more time...(I just hate when that happens.) But while I'm here, congrats on the loss. I'm trying hard to do same with no results so far. *sigh*

[Indian Desi Masala Gallery]

Lovely Pics and Mouth watering dishes. Yummy