RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Each week Food Chain volunteers gather at six kitchens to cook and deliver
tasty, healthy meals to housebound Londoners affected by HIV. To find out
more visit: www.foodchain.org.uk
or call 020 7272 7272.
Our October recipe comes from James Mcintosh, a trustee of
the Food Chain. Recipe assessed for nutritional value by Dennis Edmondson,
senior dietitian for Brighton General Hospital.
Ingredients
(Serves 4. 575 calories per portion)
Chicken
4 x 120g chicken breast, skinned 200g goat cheese mixed herbs to taste 4 slices
of streaky bacon or proscuito ham
Mash
200g potatoes, washed and peeled 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and
cut into large cubes 15ml olive oil
Sauce
500g chicken stock 125ml (glass) white wine 100ml single cream 200g french
beans, topped and tailed 4 sprigs of rosemary, washed and dried
Method
Prepare chicken breasts by cutting a slit in side and filling with herbs and
cheese. Wrap with bacon or proscuito.
Cover and place into the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 200
degrees C. Cook chicken into the oven for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees
C. Boil potatoes for 20 minutes. Place squash in a baking tray and drizzle
with a little olive oil.
Roast for 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and mix with butternut squash, cut through
with a knife so they look chunky.
Add a little olive oil Bring stock to boil, add cream and wine and bring to
the boil. Boil green beans. Serve the chicken with a sprig of rosemary
Dennis Edmondson:
A tasty gourmet treat with good protein content (54g per serving), high in
energy, but also in fat (31g per serving). Half the fat is ‘saturated’ (bad). So the cheese, bacon and cream used in this recipe, are likely to push
up cholesterol levels.
For a low fat alternative use ricotta, cottage cheese or low-fat crème
fraiche in place of the single cream and lean rather than streaky bacon. Maintain
the calorie count with a larger helping of the potato and butternut squash.
What about salt content?
A: This dish provides about 2.5g of salt if the vegetables are boiled in unsalted water, otherwise the salt level would be higher. Salt intake can contribute to high blood pressure (hypertension) for some people. Currently we are being encouraged to reduce individual salt intake to 6g per day by not adding salt to meals and using more fresh and reduced-salt versions of foods. Labels can also be confusing as ‘sodium’ is often listed rather than salt. Calculate the true salt content by multiplying the ‘sodium’ content by 2.5.
