I recently made a big U-turn regarding my saturated fats intake. Luckily, I think I have access to one of the best summary of the latest scientific researches in nutrition and most importantly that is totally independant from any economical lobbies. A few years ago, I’ve been attracted by a total new wave of theories about fats. Claiming that we should better burn fats than carbs because it makes less toxic by-products in the body, multiplies the mitochondrials, increases metabolism, gives brain clarity… So many arguments were tempting that I’ve been using ghee, coconut oil, MCT. I loved bulletproof coffee and avoided all vegetable oils (except olive oil) for about three years. I should say that I was feeling great physically and mentally. Digging now more deeply in the biochemestry, trying to finally understand the pros and cons of theses saturated fats, well, I personally find the cons so bad and dangerous that I don’t see how, even a super healthy person, can counteract all their negative consequences on a long term. In short, these fats are so less mobile that it’s very difficult to burn them and so they are stored in fat tissues => overweight. Once they are circulated in the blood, they extend the path life of lipids and lipoproteins => hyper blood triglycerides. Giving a longer life to oestrogens too =>hyperestrogenism. Saturated fats are rigid which rigidifies cells membrans. As a result, the exchange between cells are slower, even in the brain, slowing down their metabolism too. This is in short…
All this to say that, EXCEPTIONALLY, today I cooked with ghee….. hahahaha. I have to admit that I missed this smell and taste. Specially when it comes to cook endives, I can’t imagine to have them steamed, humm, no! Ok here is the recipe, simple, as usual.
Ingredients: 2 endives, 1 tomato, 6 cm of leek, 2 tbs silk tofu, 2 tbs ghee, ground turmeric, ground cloves, ground ginger.
How:
- Cut the endives in 2 or 4 depending how long you want to cook them and how you like them. I cut in 4. Braise them in a large pan with 1 tbs of ghee. When you have braised them on both sides, add a little bit of water and cover until they are tender.
- In a wok or any other pot (I used my korean stone one), warm 1 tbs of ghee and add the mix of grounded spices*, as much as you like. When dissolved, add the leek cut in very thin strips and the tomato cut in small cubes. Stir in for a few minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add 2 big tbs of silk tofu and mix with the vegetables for one minute.
- Add the endives to this final mixture.
I served it with whole basmati rice.
I hope you like it ♥
*A good anti-inflammatory coktail is to combine 1/2 portion of ground turmeric, 1/2 portion of ground ginger and a little bit of ground cloves (the limit you can eat, as it is quite strong). You mix these spices in a glass jar and keep it to flavor all the dishes you cook with fat. These spices need to be dissolved in fat to be bioavailable.