Wednesday 30 December 2015

Chicken and leek stew with less calories

The new year hasn't started yet, but I'm already busy pursuing my good intentions for next year : more sports, less calories, more fun , etc..

I have just baked a wonderful pie dish with a rich and moist filling of chicken, leek, smoked bacon, cream, wine and a bit of garlic and an onion.

Here's the dish , just out of the oven.



And it's only half the calories of the 'fat' version and just as tasty . The secret is of stir frying the vegetables in a wok with very little oil, using light cream and using crumpled sheets of filo dough  ( the paper thin one ) coated with a very small amount of oil to cover the dish instead of the usual puff pastry made of wheat flour and butter, which is tasty but very heavy.

And this is how it looks on a plate. Believe me : it tasted just as good as it looks :). I couldn't believe this had so many less calories in it.


Filo (or phyllo ) dough was easier to work with than I thought.
The sheets are paper-thin and don't stick together , but when you take it out of the package and roll it open it does dry out in minutes and cracks, so best keep it covered with foil till you use it or use it immediately.

Have a great end of year and see you all next year !