Soy flour as sauce thickener?

[Liz]

I just bought some ground lamb and was thinking about how to make lowcarb moussaka. The meat and eggplant would be okay, and even a tbsp of tomato paste to flavour the meat base, but can soy flour or vital wheat protein work as equiv. to flour as thickener for topping? I'm not sure how they work (though I've gathered all the ingred. for the bread recipes in the recipe section.) Or, would only a tbsp of flour as thickener hike up the carbs much? Any advice from those more knowledgeble about these things?

I'm roasting a free range chicken right now with a tandoori type coating of ground cumin, coriander, hot pepper, chopped garlic and ginger whirred in sour cream (in place of yoghurt). Hope it turns out.

[tamarian]

Hi Liz,

By topping for the moussaka, do you mean like the italian bachamel (sp?) sauce? If so, I have tried once and it worked, with vital wheat gluten and whipping cream instead of flour and milk. Alternativly, cheese works great as topping for moussaka.

I may be way off here, but hope this helps.

Wa'il

[r.mines]

DON'T use soy flour to thicken gravy. It's disgusting, and it doesn't thicken, either.

Vital wheat gluten isn't the same as flour. When you mix it with water it clumps together into a gloopy, elastic, mass. That's fine if you want to add some flavourings and make vegetarian 'burgers,' but it won't thicken sauce! Having said that, my recipie was pretty different from Wa'il's.

A tablespoon of wheat flour is about 5 carbs. A tablespoon of cornstarch is about 7.5 carbs. Alternatively you can order a no-carb thickener from Judi's low-carb co-op, but it's pretty pricey. I just use a bit of flour or cornstarch now and again, for the odd occasion I make gravy.

Rachel

[Sharon]

Thanks for the information on soy flour and vital wheat flour. I had never tried these, but often wondered if they would work.

A lady told me that I could use "egg yolk" also to thicken, but I haven't tried that either.

I also, use a little flour to thicken my gravy when I make it, which isn't very often.

I would like to buy a low carb thickener when I have the opportunity though.

[Liz]

I guess a little flour won't hurt. I'll have to sit down and figure exact quantities of ingreds that would go in and calculate the carb count. The chicken turned out pretty well. It should have been marinated overnight in the coating, but I needed to eat so it just kind of baked on.

[doreen T]

hi Liz,

from Atkins' New Diet Cookbook

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Place butter in top of double boiler over hot water. Add egg yolks one at a time. Beat constantly with whisk, or electric hand beater. Add water, cream, and parmesan. Continue to beat until sauce thickens, about 10 mins.

This makes enough sauce to cover a Moussaka in an 8x8" pan. Double the recipe for a 13x9" pan.

hope this helps

Doreen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Addendum : carb count - 5.4 gm

[Liz]

Thanks Doreen. Sound rich and wonderful. Will try.

[Karen]

Although I haven't tried it, I would grind TVP (textured vegetable protein) in a coffee grinder and use it as a thickener. It has amazing powers of absorbency.

Karen

[engineergirl]

i've never seen it anywhere

[Karen]

Hi engineergirl,

Most health food stores carry it in bulk.

Karen

[Karen]

Hi engineergirl,

Most health food stores carry it in bulk.

Karen

[suzeybq]

Hi could I get the recipe that was talked about earlier in this thread. I am back at Atkins, and I find that if I can make regular meals for the family and I omit the carb part (pasta, bread, etc) meals are a lot easier to plan. Only problem is I need a gravy recipe that I can use.
Thanks for the help
Sue :yum:

[Karen]

Hi could I get the recipe that was talked about earlier in this thread. Not sure which recipe you mean Sue. Can you give us a hint? :)

Karen

[maryc]

Hmmmm Textured Vegetable Protien. I got some of that from my Co-op and I have a bunch of it. I guess I thought it was the same as soy protien Isolate but it isn't and I had no idea what to do with the stuff.
I have a whole bunch of it like 5 pounds worth. :)

[suzeybq]

I went and picked up some TVP at Nutters, and I noticed last night that Safeway also carries the Red Mill line of products. (that is the label on my TVP) I am going to put it through the blender to make it a bit finer.
Thanks for the help, and I will let you know how it works out in thickening gravy.