Pierce's Fast Quest

I should be upfront about three things. I'm a convert to Orthodoxy, so I'm still learning the fasts. I need to eat low carb. And I live alone, so nearly every recipe I find is sized for a family I don't have.

Those three facts run into each other every fasting season. Look through a stack of classic Lenten recipes and you'll notice how many are built on rice, potatoes, bread, or beans. That makes sense: they're filling, cheap, and they keep. But when you eat low carb, a lot of that tradition is off the table, and it's easy to run out of ideas fast.

Spanakorizo, Greek spinach rice, is a good example. It's a humble, comforting Lenten classic: onion, garlic, a mountain of spinach, lemon, herbs, and rice cooked until it's soft and creamy. The traditional version below comes from Suzy Karadsheh at The Mediterranean Dish and makes a meal for four. If rice works for you, make it as written.

Here's how I adapted it.

First, the portions. Cooking for one doesn't really mean cooking one portion. I make two: one for dinner, and one for lunch the next day. Tonight's dinner is tomorrow's lunch, which means half as many trips to the stove.

Second, the rice. I use riced cauliflower instead. Once a week I take one fresh head of cauliflower, cut it into florets, and pulse it in the food processor with the regular chopping blade until it looks like rice. Then I spread it on a towel to dry, because wet cauliflower turns to mush in the pan. My keto version is adapted from Carolyn Ketchum's recipe at All Day I Dream About Food, and once the prep is done it cooks in under fifteen minutes.

A note on fasting, from someone still learning. On days when oil is allowed, I cook with olive oil. On strict days I swap in avocado or coconut oil, since, as I understand it, it's the olive oil that's restricted, not fat itself. Feta is a nice topping, but only on fast-free days. Please don't take a newcomer's word for any of this: follow your parish calendar and ask your priest how to keep the fast in your own circumstances.

If you're feeding a family, just double the keto version and it serves four. If you're cooking for one like me, make it as written and tomorrow's lunch is already handled.

Every recipe here is laid out as a process table. Ingredients run down the left side; read the steps left to right, and each column combines everything behind it. I also build in two small habits that make cooking alone easier. I use salt and pepper grinders, so I grind and measure both into a little dish before I start instead of cranking a grinder over a hot pan. And I set the things that go in together on or around the bowl they're joining, so I can add them with one hand while I stir with the other.

Good strength for the fast, and good eating.