Atkins Cooking

This picture is not of a cheeseburger in a bun - it is, in fact a cheeseburger in a low carb staple, the oopsie roll.

Being on the Atkins requires that you learn a certain amount of cooking skills hitherto unknown. Atkins Induction can get a bit 'samey' after a while, so I went trawling through a few websites to find something interesting to eat which would not totally ruin my carefully considered carbohydrate calculations for the day.

This is the oopsie roll, which - to my eye - appears to be a sort of meringue with added cream cheese. These versatile little wonder can take the place of a bun, or roll - they can be piled high with meats and cheeses, they can be toasted into panini type sandwiches with all sorts of different fillings - their uses are endless.

I found the following recipe on 'The Lighter Side of Low Carb' - a wonderful blog written by a sister low-carber in the US.

Here is the recipe with temperatures and measures adapted for British/European use.

CLEOCHATRA'S BEST EVER REVOL-OOPSIE ROLLS

3 large eggs
A dash of salt
A pinch of cream of tartar
3 ounces (85g) cream cheese Do not soften!

Something to add flavour i.e. Parmesan (a teaspoons worth)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees/130 for fan ovens

Separate the eggs and add salt, and cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you're using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture).

Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites. Grease a baking sheet and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.

Bake for about 30 minutes (You want them slightly softer, not crumbly). Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool completely.

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I tried cooking some of these rolls - perhaps I did something wrong - unfortunately the mix was a trifle runny and I ended up with something more like a very thin pizza base than a roll.

Whatever, it tasted very nice with some smoked salmon, cream cheese and a few chives!

I will try again to get the 'roll' effect.

Keetje