CHICKEN BREAST WITH FENNEL Recipe serves 4 persons

One portion contains 218 calories (916Kj)

Ingredients
4 breasts of chicken with wings (120g or 6ozs each)
1 3/4 dl (1 3/4 cups) chicken bouillon without fat
3g (1 tsp) light margarine
20g (1 tsp) onion, chopped
5g (3/4 tsp) garlic, chopped
I egg yolk
40g (2fl. oz.) sour milk (buttermilk) (12% enriched fat)
10g (1 1/2tbsp) lemon juice
480g (1/2lb.) fennel cut lengthwise and washed with lemon juice
5g (1/2 tbsp) chives, chopped
salt & freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION
Arrange the chicken breasts, lightly seasoned, in a gratin dish. Cover with half the chicken boullion, warned and in the oven, covered for 20 minutes at 180°C (350°F). Meanwhile, sauté the garlic and onion with the margarine without letting in colour. Add the rest of the boullion and bring to a boil. Add the fennel and the lemon juice. Let simmer until it is tender and the liquid has evaporated. Put aside and keep warn.

When the chicken has been cooked, remove from the liquid and keep warm. Save the juices in the gratin dish and drain them through a sieve. Then reduce by cooking to 2/3 of original volume. Add the raw egg yolk and beat into the juice, heat very gently until it thickens to a consistency that coats the back of a wooden spoon. Add the sour milk and seasoning. Slice the chicken breast and arrange slices in the form of a fan on the plate. Add the vegetables on one side. Pour the sauce over and sprinkle with chopped chives.

This recipe is courtesy of Clinique La Prairie, Montreaux, Switzerland and comes from The Vitality Diet cookbook by Elfried Blaes, the clinique’s Executive Chief.

The bookbook is packed with recipes that combine the pleasure of eating with a sound diet – they are rich in tastes and colours. “Eating must always remain a pleasure,” says Elfried.

The Vitality Diet cookbook can be purchased online at wwwlaprairie.ch