Slowly Does It For Succulent Chicken!

Chicken is a bit of a go-to dish for many bariatrics and no wonder – it’s great for protein, very versatile and great eaten both hot and cold. Sometimes however, as a firm protein, it can cook a little too firm and dry. So what’s the answer? 

We think pot-roasting is a great way to overcome this and in this recipe we use cider or apple juice, along with Pink Lady apple wedges, to bring a juicy edge to a traditional dish. It makes a welcome Sunday lunch dish instead of the usual roast and often sits more comfortably in the pouch.

 

POT-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH APPLE

Ingredients

METRIC/US

1 medium chicken (weighing about 1.5 kg/3-3½ lb)

1 lemon, quartered

low-fat cooking spray or mist (or make your own see here)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 onions, finely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped

2 sticks/stalks celery, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs rosemary

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour

250 ml/1 cup dry cider, unsweetened apple juice or chicken stock/bouillon

250 ml/1 cup chicken stock/bouillon

2 large apples, cored and cut into wedges (I used Pink Lady apples)

3 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche

chopped parsley to garnish

 

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/gas 6. Lay the chicken in a roasting pan and stuff the inside of the chicken with the lemon wedges, squeezing them a little to release their juices as you do so. Spritz with low-fat cooking spray and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes so that the skin lightly crisps.
2.  Meanwhile, spritz a large flameproof casserole with low-fat cooking spray. Heat, add the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves and rosemary and cook over a low heat until soft and lightly caramelised. Cooking slowly for 30 minutes will give you a sweetish and flavoursome base on which to cook the chicken, so don’t hurry this process, take your time.
3.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute then stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds.
4.  Stir in the cider, apple juice or stock/bouillon and the additional chicken stock/bouillon and season with a little more salt and pepper.
5.  Remove the chicken from the oven and reduce the heat to 180 C/350 F/gas 4. Carefully lift the chicken from the pan and lay in the casserole on top of the vegetables. Pour any roasting juices from the pan over the chicken, cover with a tight-fitting lid, return to the oven and cook for 1 hour.
6.  Remove from the oven and tuck in the apple wedges, pressing down into the liquid. Return to the oven, uncovered, and cook for 20 minutes until the apples are soft.
7.  Stir through the crème fraîche and scatter over the parsley to serve.

 

SERVES 6

WLS PORTION: ½

 

CALORIES PER PORTION: (using dry cider) 350

PROTEIN: 22.5g

CARBOHYDRATE: 14.3g

FAT: 20.5g

 

Image courtesy of www.pinkladyapples.co.uk