The Low-Fat Cook - low-fat chicken bastillas - Brief Article - Recipe

Sunset, July, 2000 by Elaine Johnson

Healthy choices for the active lifestyle

Is it a gift or is it dinner?

* As health editor for Cooking.com, Cheryl Forberg is nutritionally vigilant in the kitchen. Once a private chef-- for notables such as George Lucas of Star Wars--she has earned a reputation for entrees that are both light and extravagant. She often makes the Moroccan pie bastilla. The individual servings, easily packaged in filo dough, are finished with a twist.

Traditionally the heart of the pie is pigeon, eggs, nuts, a souk's worth of spices, and butter. Forberg manages a lighter touch by using poached chicken breasts and egg whites. A fine mist of oil, not butter, makes the pastry flaky and crisp. The lean, flavorful poaching broth becomes a smooth, sweet-hot sauce.

Low-Fat Chicken Bastillas

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

MAKES: 4 servings

3 cups fat-skimmed unsalted or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup thickly sliced onion

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon hot chili flakes

1/8 teaspoon powdered saffron

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 pound boned, skinned chicken breasts, cut into 1/3 by 2-inch slices

4 large egg whites

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Salt

1/3 cup finely chopped almonds About 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar

6 sheets (12 by 17 in.) filo dough Cooking oil spray

2 tablespoons red jalape[tilde{n}]o jelly

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over high heat, bring broth, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, chili flakes, saffron, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to a boil. Add chicken, cover, remove from heat, and let stand until no longer pink in the center (cut to test), about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, but not onion, to a bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the cooking broth with egg whites just to blend. Place an 8- to 10-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into pan and, with a flexible spatula, scrape from pan bottom just until softly set, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. With spatula, gently combine egg mixture and cilantro with chicken. Season to taste with salt.

4. In another bowl, combine almonds, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, and remaining teaspoon cinnamon.

5. Working quickly and keeping unused filo covered, lightly spray filo sheets 1 at a time with oil; stack in pairs, making 3 stacks. Cut each stack of fib dough crosswise into 3 equal parts; you'll have 9 stacks. Lay 1 stack of 2 strips at right angles across another. With 6 more stacks, make 3 more crosses; reserve remaining stack for other uses.

6. Using a slotted spoon, mound 1/4 of the chicken mixture onto center of each cross (add any accumulated liquid to the cooking broth). Sprinkle mounds equally with almond mixture. Gather filo strips up over filling and gently squeeze and twist to enclose each bundle. Set filo bundles well apart on an oiled 12- by 15-inch baking sheet.

7. Pull back tips of filo strips on each bundle to make "petals." Lightly spray bundles with oil.

8. Bake bastilla pastries in a 4000 oven until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes (10 to 12 minutes in a convection oven).

9. Meanwhile, boil broth mixture over high heat until reduced to 2 cups, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour through a fine strainer into a bowl; discard residue. Rinse pan; return broth to it. Add jelly In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Set pan over high heat. Add cornstarch mixture; whisk until boiling. Pour into a serving bowl.

10. With a wide spatula, transfer bastillas to plates. Dust with more powdered sugar and accompany with sauce.

Per serving: 385 cal., 28% (108 cal.) from fat; 37 g protein; 12 g fat (1.7g sat.); 33 g carbo(1.9 g fiber); 352 mg sodium; 69 mg chol.