Chicken and turkey are almost requirements for people trying to remove fat from their diets while retaining the satisfaction of having meat on the table.
In fact, given their low-fat content, availability and versatility, one could argue that every chicken and turkey ought to have a brace of medals pinned to its breast before being stacked in a refrigerated truck on its way to your neighborhood market.
Poultry processors have assured a copious supply of chicken and turkey breasts, in all manner of preparations from whole breasts with bone in and skin on, to flesh-only cutlets taken from the breast. And those are only a few of the options.
The most expensive permutation is the boneless, skinless chicken breast.
These might be the most sensible to buy, provided you have some money in the bank and aren`t embarrassed by your inability to handle whole chickens:
Presumably, you don`t eat chicken bones, and you automatically discard the chicken skin because you long have known that much fat resides there. Right?
Good. Now these cutlets, expensive though they be, have little flavor of their own. (Remember, you`re not paying for bursts of flavor, only the convenience of not having to hack away at something with a knife.) That makes them the perfect palette upon which to paint your culinary masterpieces.
Something else to think about: Americans these days are tiptoeing around poultry counters in fear of salmonella. The dangers of salmonella infection are real, but easily minimized by good kitchen hygiene and proper cooking.
A breast or cutlet is easier to cook thoroughly than a whole chicken or turkey. Nothing is hidden, and there are no surprises. If the meat is firm and white all the way through, it is done.
A breast (actually half a breast, just over 3 ounces) without skin and cooked without added fat contains 142 calories, 27 or 19 percent of them from fat. Turkey breast meat contains 157 calories per 3 1/2-ounce serving, with 29 or 18.5 percent from fat.
The recipes given here are intended to add flavor without adding much fat. In all cases, chicken or turkey breast cutlets will do. One can buy a package of breasts or cutlets, wrap them individually, toss them in the freezer and pluck one out for an evening meal. Remember to thaw in the refrigerator and not on the counter top. If you don`t, you can get into real trouble with a bunch of unforgiving microbes. –
CHICKEN AND CABBAGE SALAD
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Standing time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups finely shredded green cabbage
4 chicken cutlets, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, or to taste
Salt, white pepper to taste
1. Break up the whole cranberries with a large fork, potato masher or another tool. Add sugar and rind. Let stand for a couple hours.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick pan. Cook cabbage until tender but crunchy, about 4 minutes. Put in a bowl and let come to room temperature. 3. While cabbage is cooling, cook chicken in same pan, using remaining oil. Cook slowly, so meat stays white and doesn`t toughen. Don`t overcook. Remove from heat when cooked.
4. Add vinegar to cabbage and toss. Add salt and white pepper to taste, and toss.
5. When meat is cool, stack cutlets and cut into thin strips.
6. Spoon some cabbage on each plate, arrange strips of chicken on top and garnish with cranberries.
GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICHES
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 8 to 12 hours
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon sweetened lime juice concentrate
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken cutlets, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 teaspoon each: cumin powder, chili powder, turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large loaves pita bread, halved
Half a small head of chicory, cutup
1 medium-size red onion, peeled, sliced paper thin
1 navel orange, peeled, sliced into thin rounds
1. Combine lime juice, concentrate and olive oil in a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly. Pour over cutlets in a bowl, cover and marinate in refrigerator for half a day or so.
2. Mix cumin, chili powder, turmeric and cinnamon. Remove chicken from marinade and sprinkle spice mixture over cutlets and pat mixture into them. Marinate in refrigerator at least 3 hours.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet and cook cutlets quickly, being careful not to overcook, or grill chicken quickly over hot coals. Wrap pita bread in foil and warm in oven or, if using a grill, stand bread at one side of grill surface to warm.
4. Line pitas with chicory, onion and orange slices. When cutlets are done, put one in each pita half.
STEAMED CHICKEN SALAD
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed
4 chicken cutlets, pounded to about 1/4-inch thickness
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons sour cream
Salt, white pepper to taste
1 medium-size cucumber
1/4 cup dried currants, plumped in dry white wine to cover
Sprigs of fresh mint, for garnish
Boiled new potatoes
1. Heat broth and cardamom in a large pot. Put cutlets on steamer rack, put over simmering stock and cover. Turn after 6 minutes, and steam until cooked through, about 10 minutes total.
2. Remove chicken and boil broth until reduced to about 4 tablespoons. Remove from stove and cool.
3. Combine yogurt and sour cream. Add cooled reduced chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Make sure to test for salt before adding any, because the broth may be very salty.
4. Peel cucumber, cut in half the long way and scoop seeds out with a spoon. Stack the two halves and chop into thin crescent slices. Add to yogurt mixture. Add drained currants.
5. Put 1 cutlet on a plate and cover half with the yogurt mixture. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint and serve with potatoes.
CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken cutlets, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
1/4 teaspoon each, dried leaf: marjoram, thyme, oregano
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1. Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Cook cutlets briefly on each side to whiten, but don`t cook through. Remove from pan.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not brown. Add mushrooms and cook 1 minute, then add marjoram, thyme and oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add vinegar, and let simmer until much of water from mushrooms has boiled off, 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
3. Return cutlets to mushroom mixture, cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, pour the sauce over it, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
SHREDDED CHICKEN SALAD
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 3 to 4 hours
Yield: 4 appetizer servings
This recipe is adapted from ”Catalan Cuisine” by Colman Andrews
(Atheneum, PRICE TK).
1-1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast meat, cooked, shredded with fingers
1/2 medium onion, sliced paper thin, separated into rings
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
4-5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dash good quality red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
Salt, pepper to taste
3-4 lettuce leaves, julienned
1. Mix chicken, onion and tomatoes together in a bowl, then toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Marinate 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. Serve garnished with julienned lettuce. –
