Grilled fish with crunchy garden salad makes a great keto dish
Grilled fish with crunchy garden salad makes a fresh, filling keto meal with low-carb vegetables, healthy fats and protein.
Keto has become popular because it takes a different approach to everyday eating. Instead of building meals around bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or sugary foods, it keeps carbohydrates very low and uses fat as the main source of energy. Most keto plans keep carbs to about 20 to 50g a day, which is far less than a standard diet. This pushes the body into a state called ketosis, where it makes ketones from fat and uses them for fuel. Research has also linked ketogenic diets with short-term weight loss and improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol in some people. For people with type 2 diabetes, low-carb diets may help with weight, blood glucose and heart disease risk in the short term. This dish fits the keto style because it is built around fish, which is naturally low in carbs and rich in protein. If you choose an oily fish, such as salmon, trout or mackerel, you also get healthy fats.
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 12 to 15 minutes | Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 fish steaks or fillets, such as hake, kingklip, trout or mackerel
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups mixed salad leaves
- ½ cucumber, sliced
- 4 radishes, sliced
- ½ cup steamed broccoli florets
- ½ cup steamed cauliflower florets
- ½ cup cooked green beans
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds or sesame seeds
- Extra lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Rub with olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
- Heat a griddle pan or frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and a little olive oil.
- Cook the fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness, until golden and cooked through.
- Arrange the salad leaves, cucumber, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and cherry tomatoes on two plates.
- Drizzle the salad with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, then scatter over the seeds.
- Add the warm fish to the plate and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Tip: Cook fish over medium-high heat so it gets a lovely golden colour without drying out. You’ll know it’s ready when it flakes with a fork and looks opaque in the centre.
