Friday 22 February 2013

Fit Chicken Saltimbocca and a virtuous Dauphinoise

I remember reading that by the beginning of February most of the new year's resolutions are broken. Mea culpa. Chocolate is my downfall. But at the same time I have been good, drinking lots of herbal infusions and trying to cut down the amount of calories.
We all have family favourites that we cook regularly, and comfort foods are often laden with calories. Don't despair, there is a way to cut down the calories but keep the flavours.
Here is one of our family favourites with a healthy twist.

Chicken Saltimbocca



4 chicken thighs (skin removed)
4 prosciutto slices
8 fresh sage leaves
Filippo Berio olive oil spray

I would typically fry the chicken saltimbocca. For the healthy twist I decided not to fry it but roast in the oven. Filippo Berio olive oil spray is perfect for roasting and grilling, you use a pump to spray just a little bit at a time, and you can apply the oil accurately.

I am rather partial to Filippo Berio, it is a classic olive oil brand that moves with the times. My Italian mother-in-law uses it, and so I feel I'm probably as good a cook as Mamma (or almost as good, as you can never really compete with Mammas, can you?).

Wrap the chicken thighs in prosciutto with a couple of fresh sage leaves under the prosciutto. You might want to secure the chicken pieces with the wooden mini-skewers. Place the chicken in a roasting tray, sprayed with a bit of olive oil, and put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C. Roast for about 30 minutes.
Serve with the potatoes Dauphinoise and olives.





Potatoes Dauphinoise



3-4 medium potatoes
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tub of Weight Watchers thick cream
2 tsp light mayonnaise
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
salt

Creamy and garlicky potatoes are everyone's favourite. They are a perfect side dish to any roast meat.
Thinly slice the potatoes. Season them, place them into the gratin dish. Rather than using the double cream, go for the Weight Watchers thick cream mixed with 2 tsp light mayo and a tsp of Dijon mustard and a crushed garlic. Pour the cream over the potatoes.
Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C and bake for an hour, the potatoes have to be totally cooked through.

And now some sweet treat with a healthy twist.

Baked apricots



4 apricots, halved
1 tsp Flora Cuisine (blended vegetable oil for healthy heart)
1 tbsp of chocolate & chilli flavoured sugar
to serve with the Greek style fat free yogurt from Chobani, rather than ice cream

We all love baked/roasted fruit, especially when served with the cream or ice cream. But to make it a healthier option this time we opted for a Greek style peach yogurt from Chobani, which is fat free.

Rather than use a blob of butter, this time I squeezed about a tsp of Flora Cuisine in a little ceramic tray with the halved apricots, then they were sprinkled with the sugar.
I have a packet of Chocolate & chilli flavoured sugar that was an impulse buy in the after-Christmas sale at Waitrose, and as I didn't quite know what to expect, I used it quite sparingly on the apricots. I shouldn't have worried, it was a nice touch.








1 comment: