~ Fatless Pesto Chicken Rolls ~
The original intention of making Chicken Roulade has failed tremendously after my chef brother commented that my roulade looks like “Harm Chin Bang” or the Chinese Salty Fried Doughnut. *Sigh. Heartbroken* So, I figured that this should really be a Pesto Chicken Roll rather than the traditional roulade which is cooked in water bath and roasted thereafter.
Despite the harsh comment, we savour the two rolls of roasted Pesto Chicken Roll. This recipe cooking method is similar to the Fatless Roast Char Siu recipe posted earlier. They were roasted up to 90°C on each side, browned and slightly charred on the outside and succulent on the inside. Most importantly, no additional oil is required for this recipe.
I used the AMC Premium Cooking System which enables the monitoring of cooking temperature and eases the control of cooking heat. Hence, it allows measure of cooking temperature by degree celcius within the pan used for roasting effortlessly. No external thermometer required, no removing of lid unnecessarily which will result in loosing of moisture level in food through vapor. The AMC system roasts meat without additional oil required.
As a matter of fact, I consume 120 calories less for each fatless roast. This is assuming that only 1 tablespoon of cooking oil is used each time. On an average of 5 meat cooking a week, I reduce consumption of 600 calories a week, 2,400 calories a month and 31,200 calories a year.
31,200 calories a year is equivalent to 45 hours or 495km of jog, 148 walking hours and 68 swimming hours. If this is not enough to motivate you to go for AMC Fatless Cooking way, it is equivalent an annual consumption of 347 glasses of orange juice in 200ml serving, 326 glasses of wine in 125ml serving, 257 balls of ice cream in 50 grams serving and 59 bars of chocolate in 100 grams serving. Does that sound like a good trade off to you now?
How else can I welcome a new year if not a great healthy way? I would confess that I can have guilt-free festivities indulgence all year round! Happy New Year, everyone. Cheers!
Fatless Pesto Chicken Rolls Recipe (Serves 2) :
- 200 grams Chicken Breast (choose a thick piece)
- 4 heapful teaspoons Pesto Sauce
- 4 slices Honey Baked Lean Ham
- A dash of Himalayan Salt
- A dash of Black Pepper
AMC Healthy Cooking Method :
- Slice chicken breast into 4 thin slices horizontally and arranged on a flat plate. Marinate chicken breast with salt and pepper for 20 minutes. Spread a teaspoon of pesto onto each slice of chicken breast. Place a slice of ham on each slice of chicken breast and roll up 2 slices of each set, making 2 rolls.
- Pre-heat AMC 24cm Roasting Pan unit (lid on) with Navigenio heat level, “3” up to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place on lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
- When Audiotherm beeps, turn off Navigenio & Audiotherm, remove lid and place chicken rolls into the Pan unit to sear. Cover lid and cook till 90°C or “Turning Point” before flipping meat over. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place on lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
- When Audiotherm beeps for the second time at 90°C or “Turning Point”, flip meat over to the other side. Cover lid and cook till 90°C or “Turning Point” again.
- When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm. Slice the Chicken Rolls into 1cm thick, arrange on a plate and serve with waterless vegetables of choice.
Tips :
- To roast meat perfectly, it is recommended that meat is kept at room temperature before cooking. Therefore, remove from refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes before the preparation, depending on its size. Cold meat would cool the pan base, delaying the start of browning process and thereby may dry out meat.
- You may also make your own green pesto from scratch with the AMC Quick Cut or with a food processor. It is just a few pulls away and you can have freshly made pesto with ingredients of choice. You may use the recipe from the Green Pesto Genovese Instant Spaghetti. Please be warned that once you make your own pesto sauce, you would not tolerate for store bought ones. Pesto with pine nuts is my favourite. How about you?
Place the thick chicken breast flat on a chopping board.
Slice the chicken breasts horizontally into 4 slices and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
Scoop the pesto sauce onto one end of the chicken breast slices.
Spread them evenly on the chicken breast slices.
Place a slice of ham on each chicken breast slice and roll tightly. Two chicken breast slices rolled into one.
Do the same with the other 2 chicken breast slices.
Four chicken breast slices make two thick rolls.
I fasten the rolls with toothpicks for easy handling.
Preheat the AMC 24cm Roasting Pan up to 50°C or “Meat Window” on the Navigenio with heat level “3”.
Place chicken rolls onto Pan unit.
Cover Pan unit with lid and roast upto 90°C. Place Audiotherm onto lid knob for readiness indication. Once Audiotherm beeps, remove lid and turn chicken rolls over to roast the other side. You may want to remove the tooth picks at this point. Cover Pan unit with lid again and roast upto 90°C. Place Audiotherm onto lid knob for readiness indication. Once, Audiotherm beeps, chicken rolls are ready.
Dish out the chicken rolls onto a plate or directly onto a cutting board.
Slice the chicken rolls into 1cm thick, arrange on plate and serve warm with or without any dipping sauce. Look, succulent!