Smoked Paprika Chicken Breasts, a Low-Sodium Update

Back in August, I discovered an online recipe for smoked paprika chicken. This easy, elegant grilled entree seemed very much in the Slovenian spirit. I adapted the recipe slightly and served it as part of my Week 31 Dinner.  Since then, it had become one of our favorites.

The prep is easy.  Boneless chicken is pounded thin and then brushed with a simple paste of oil, smoked paprika and seasoned salt.  Lots of it.

The Shiksa in the Kitchen, whose version of the dish first inspired me, cautions that it is important to not skimp on the salt. Don't worry, she says, the finished dish won't taste too salty.

By my old standards, she was right. But that was then and this is now, as the old cliché goes.  The salt had to go.

I wasn't sure this particular dish could survive without the salt.  I wasn't  too worried about the change in taste.  But I was concerned that the salt might be an essential component of the paste. It provided texture that the powdery paprika by itself did not.  I suspected it might play a role in tenderizing the chicken or sealing in the juice.

But it was worth a chance.  So I made the dish with the easiest possible substitution: A commercially prepared no-salt seasoning mix.

I am not a big believer in pre-mixed seasoning blends.  We rarely use them.  But I happened to have one on hand: Mrs. Dash salt-free garlic and herb blend.  So that's what I used.

The verdict?

The chicken cooked beautifully on the grill.  We sliced it and arranged it on a platter.   My husband had prepared two salt-free side dishes: a mixed green salad and kasha with mushrooms.

As always, the chicken was moist and delicious.  Everything was low-sodium Slovenian. Or at least Slovenian-inspired.

Whatever you call it, we enjoyed another LoSoSlo feast!

Smoked Paprika Chicken Breasts, salt-free

2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)

1 T. smoked paprika

1 ½ T. olive oil

2 t. no-salt seasoning mix (I used Mrs. Dash garlic and herb blend)

Place chicken breasts between 2 layers of plastic wrap. Pound with the side of a sturdy plate (or, if you have one, a meat mallet) to flatten into a thin, even layer. Mix the paprika, oil, and no-salt seasoning mix into a paste. Rub into both sides of chicken. Refrigerate for a half hour.

Grill, turning when browned on one side.  (Or use a broiler.) When done, remove to a platter. Let cool slightly. Slice into strips and serve.

Salt Free Granola with a Slovenian Flair

Is it challenging to make granola without salt?  Not especially, although you might be surprised at how much sodium is lurking in some commercial varieties.

Is granola a traditional Slovenian food?  Hardly.  Slovenians are much more inclined to eat muesli, the uncooked Swiss version of an oats-fruit-nut breakfast blend.  Granola and muesli were both developed as health foods in the late nineteenth century.  Muesli seems to have remained true to its healthy European roots, while American granola has evolved into a sweet confection that borders on crumbled cookies.

So I'll admit it: Granola was an odd choice for my first venture into low sodium cooking. But I was captivated by the description of Pomegranate Granola Fruit Chunks in Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook, Jessica Goldman Foung's guide to the low salt lifestyle we are starting to adopt at my house. (Take a look at her blog for an online version of a very similar recipe for sort-of granola bars.)

Jessica's unusual granola recipe exemplifies her approach to low sodium cooking. The key is to compensate for the absence of salt by using intense and varied flavors in unexpected ways.  In this case, the flavor surprise is the rich, deep tang of pomegranate molasses, along with grated orange rind and orange juice.

I have made four versions of Jessica's granola recipe.  I started out with a few healthy modifications, since I was aiming for a breakfast cereal rather than a sweet snack.  The original recipe calls for butter, plenty of dried fruit, and no nuts.  I substituted vegetable oil,  added some nuts, and cut down on the sugary fried fruit.  It was delicious.

The next time, I got the bright idea of introducing some special Slovenian touches: Buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin seed oil.  The next time around, I added walnuts and cinnamon.  I have experimented with different combinations of dried fruits. Once, I mistakenly used pomegranate syrup instead of molasses.  It seems to work every time.

A note about pomegranate molasses: This was the first time I used this amazing sweetener, which seems to have become everyone's secret ingredient.   It has an incomparable flavor: tangy, sweet, and slightly bitter.  Any Middle Eastern grocery should carry it, but many mainstream supermarkets also stock it. If you must, you can substitute pomegranate syrup, regular molasses, or honey.

For the latest version of this always-evolving dish, read on!

Granola, Salt Free and with a Slovenian Flair


Dry Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup whole buckwheat groats, untoasted

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
1/2 cup dried figs or dates, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Liquid mixture:
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. pumpkin seed oil
3 T. honey
2 T. pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 t. cinnamon


Mix the rolled oats and untoasted buckwheat groats together and spread in a 9 by 12 inch pan or cookie sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees.

Pour the toasted oats and buckwheat into a large mixing bowl.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and combine.

Line the cooled baking pan with parchment paper.

Heat the oils in a small pan.  Add the honey and pomegranate molasses; blend well.  Add the brown sugar, orange rind and juice, and cinnamon and mix together.  Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients in the large bowl.  Mix well.

Spread the granola onto the lined baking pan, using your hands or a spatula to flatten. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.   Turn the pan during baking.  (Watch so it doesn't overbrown!)

Let cool for at least 45 minutes or until hardened.  Break into chunks or crumbles.

Serve with fruit and yogurt.  It's also good sprinkled on ice cream or as an anytime snack.

Warning: This is addictive!

A New Challenge: Raising the Salt Alarm

Can Slovenian cooking be healthy?  In my recent thinking and writing about this knotty problem, I overlooked something.

I had forgotten the salt.

Or, to be more exact: I never forgot the salt.

I used to reach for the salt shaker before tasting my food, until my husband started nagging me about it. He had raised my consciousness, but only up to a point.  In fact, neither of us had worried too much about the issue. We eat almost no fast food and very little processed food.  We follow a healthy diet.  He does most of the cooking.

So what changed?

His blood pressure.  It tends to go up as we age, and the majority of Americans will eventually develop hypertension. He had finally crossed that line, despite more than three decades as a non-smoking runner who kept his weight down and ate a healthy diet. You can't change genetics or family history, so what was left for us to do?

Ironically, I was the one who raised the salt alarm.  I realized it was the one lifestyle change we hadn't considered.  So I started doing some research and learned that everyone seemed to be raising the salt alarm.

The suggested sodium limits for Americans recently became more stringent. The CDC's recommendations are now 2300 mg a day if you are low risk, or 1500 mg a day for everyone over 50 or with high blood pressure. That second figure, which applies to most adults, is about a third of what the average American consumes.  It is the equivalent of a half teaspoon of table salt.

I started adding up the numbers.  It is amazing how much sodium lurks in even some innocent-looking foods.  Breads and crackers.  Breakfast cereals.  Pickles and olives.

When I looked at lists of forbidden high salt foods, my Slovenian heart sank.

No more of these, if you believe the experts:

Bacon

Sausage
Ham

Sauerkraut

No doubt about it. This was going to be a challenge.  Much harder than reducing fat or cutting carbs.  It would have to be a whole new way of cooking and eating.

Luckily, I discovered a wonderful new guidebook: Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook, by Jessica Goldman Foung, a young San Francisco woman with an inspiring story.  She had been a college student, on dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant, when she adopted a radical low sodium diet. It worked.  Today her illness is under control and she is getting considerable acclaim for her low sodium cooking blog and her just-published book.  So that put our situation in perspective.

I wasn't sure how many traditional Slovenian favorites could be transformed into low salt dishes.  But I figured I could still be inspired by some of what I had discovered.  Even if sausage and sauerkraut would take a back seat, other flavors could be carried forward.

At least I hoped so.

In that spirit, I decided to make a Slovenian-inspired granola, based on a delectable version I discovered in Sodium Girl's cookbook.   I'll be posting my recipe soon.  (Update: Here it is!)

In the meantime,  you can take a look at Sodium Girl's recipe, which began as a sort-of granola bar. It's here, on her blog.

Stay tuned for more low sodium kitchen adventures!