Veggie of the week: water chestnut. I found a can of water chestnuts in my pantry and decided to create a recipe for it. They aren’t actually a nut, but a vegetable grown underwater in mud. Unlike most vegetables, it retains its crispy texture even after being cooked. More information on the water chestnut.
Nutrition Facts from the can (6 pieces):
- 15 calories
- 3g carbs
- 0g fat
- 0g protein
Health Benefits:
The water chestnut is a carbohydrate-rich food with little to no fat. It is benefical to ones health for its source of fiber, vitamin B6, and various minerals such as potassium, manganese, calcium, and copper. The juice has been used to ease nausea while ground up water chestnut combined with water has been said to provide relief from coughing. It has naturally cooling and detoxifying properties that make it a great healthy snack, especially during summer.
Common Preparation Methods:
Water chestnuts are popular in tropical countries and are often found in Asian cuisine. They can be served in soup, sauted with other ingredients, blended into a beverage, and even ground into flour to make cake (think dim sum). It may even be a delicious pizza topping, though I haven’t tried that yet. Here, I’ve decided to make an hor d’oeuvre by combining water chestnuts with garlic and bacon. Many bacon-wrapped recipes have a ton of added sodium and sugar. As I like to minimize the amount of added salt and sugar when preparing food, the recipe below does not contain any marinade or sauce.
Garlic Lovers Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnut Recipe:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Buy fresh or canned water chestnuts (whole) and rinse
- Peel whole garlic cloves
- Toss water chestnut and garlic cloves with a generous amount of garlic powder and chili pepper flakes
- Slice uncooked bacon strips in half
- Wrap 1 water chestnut with 1 garlic clove and pierce with toothpick
- Bake for 45 minutes at 350 (flip halfway through)
- Let cool for 5 minutes and serve
