Recipe Makeover: Tyler Florence's Chicken Francese
ka...@netsync.net
Have you ever noticed how popular chicken is with all those Food
Network television chefs? I often cruise through the Food Network
website looking for some interesting recipes to lighten and I've got
to say, poultry seems to reign supreme! So I wasn't that surprised
when the recipe that appealed to me from Tyler Florence featured
chicken.
The original recipe calls for dredging the chicken breasts in seasoned
flour and then in beaten whole eggs. They are then fried in 1/4 cup of
oil in a skillet. Instead, I used an egg substitute "with yolk"
product that is lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol
than beaten whole eggs (and it's really easy to use too). I still used
olive oil to brown the chicken breast, but I used 2 1/2 tablespoons
instead of 4. With a nonstick skillet, this was just the right amount
of oil. The original recipe then calls for a lemon sauce to be made in
the skillet using all sorts of flavorful ingredients like sliced
lemon, white wine, chicken broth, parsley, and a couple tablespoons of
butter. I took out the butter completely and switched to a sweeter
white wine that wouldn't need the butter to help mellow the flavor.
These changes cut the calories by 28% and fat, saturated fat, and
cholesterol by about 60%.
Before After
Calories 475 340
Fat(g) 26 11
Saturated Fat (g) 7.5 2.2
Cholesterol mg) 217 96
Fiber (g) .6 .6
Light & Easy Chicken Francese
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (depending on preference)
1 cup egg substitute "with yolk" (if that product is not
available, use 3/4 cup of any type of egg substitute and blend with 1
large egg)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup sweet white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon unbleached white flour
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (regular parsley can be
substituted)
Directions:
1. Lay one chicken breast in between two sheets of wax paper and
pound with the flat side of meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick.
Put the flour in a medium bowl and combine with salt and pepper. Place
egg substitute or egg mixture in a wide medium bowl.
2. Add a tablespoon of the oil to a nonstick skillet or large
frying pan and begin to heat on medium-high. Begin to dredge both
sides of each chicken breast in the flour mixture and then dip them in
the egg mixture to coat completely. When the oil is hot, add two
cutlets to the skillet and cook until underside is golden (about 2
minutes). Coat the top of the chicken cutlets with canola or olive oil
cooking spray. Flip chicken over and cook until second side is golden.
Remove chicken to a large platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Repeat step #2 with the remaining oil and chicken breasts.
4. When all 4 chicken breasts are keeping warm on the platter, add
the lemon slices to the same skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour
in the wine, broth, and lemon juice and when the mixture comes to a
gentle boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook until the
sauce is reduced a little (about 4 minutes total).
5. Blend about 3 tablespoons of the hot liquid with 1 tablespoon of
white flour to form a loose paste. Add flour paste to the skillet and
whisk into the hot liquid and continue to cook and stir until a nicely
thickened smooth sauce forms.
6. Place the chicken back in the skillet with the sauce and place
the lemon slices on top of the chicken as the chicken simmers for a
couple of minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley right before serving!
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Nutrition Information per serving: 340 calories, 41 g protein, 19 g
carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 2.2 g saturated fat, 6.5 g monounsaturated
fat, 1.7 g polyunsaturated fat, 96 mg cholesterol, .6 g fiber, 238 mg
sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent.