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Posts Tagged ‘low fat’

Chicken is justifiably one of the best loved meats in the world.
It is virtually fat free, is protein rich, highly versatile and plays a major part in a lot of diet recipes. If you can buy an organic chicken, that will be better still, as it will be less likely to be contaminated with additives and hormones. It Is also a good policy for animal welfare, as most of the mass produced chickens are kept in conditions that are quite scandalous.

If you are not the dieting type, don’t worry, there is more to chicken than low carbohydrate recipes. Even so, most chicken recipes will be, broadly speaking, healthier than a similar recipe prepared using other meats.

Here is an example recipe that’ll please friends and family alike.

It requires:

One organic chicken (approx. 3.5 lb)
Two cupful of cyder
Six Fresh Apples (pared and quartered)
salt (as needed)
pepper (as needed)
One teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cupful of whipping cream
1 tablespoonful of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cupful of butter
Two Tbs of oil (olive)
A quarter teaspoonful cinnamon (if you like – its optional)
Four green onions, (chopped well)
2 dried cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
One sprig of parsley, (finely chopped, for use as a garnish)
Half teaspoonful dried thyme
2 tsp. of white sugar

Technique:

Wash the Organic Chicken and dry it well.
Combine some salt and pepper amd smooth it into the chicken (both inside and out)
Drizzle the lemon juice over the pieces of apple.

Take a large frying pan or skillet and melt half the butter then add the oil.
Put half of the apple pieces into the pan and fry lightly for five min. (until they have browned a little)
Mix in the ground ginger and stir well, heating it a short while longer to allow the ginger to develop it’s flavours.
Stuff the chicken with the apple mixture and close the chicken cavity by tying or by ‘pinning’ it with a metal or wooden skewer.

Add the rest of the butter to the pan and heat until it melts and then place the chicken in the pan and gently brown it, making sure it browns equally all over.
Place the bird in a big oven ready casserole dish with a tight fitting lid.
Take the rest of the apple, the spring onions, cinnamon, thyme, cloves and sugar and put them in the skillet.

Cook for two to three minutes and pour in the apple cyder and increase the heat to start the mixture boiling.

When the cyder is boiling, pour it over the bird and cover the pot with foil or waxed paper before placing the lid on the pot.

Put in the oven and cook for approx 3/4 hour at 200 Celsius

When the chicken is ready, put the chicken onto a heated platter whilst you prepare the cider gravy.

Skim the fat from the contents of the casserole pot and then boil the juices down until there is only one cupful left.

Pour in the whipping cream and cornstarch, stirring until it is thick and creamy.
Season to taste, and pour the sauce over the organic chicken

Sprinkle the parsley garnish over and serve.

To make the meal into a healthy and well balanced meal, you could serve the chicken with cauliflower or grilled mushrooms and carrots.

If you enjoy this dish, you can find a good selection of chicken recipes by spending a little time reading through any of the collections of free recipes available online, or by visiting your local library.