Good and light: a diet low in calories, but not tasty!

A few days ago I posted on Instagram (the "social channel" that I prefer, certainly the one where I find myself most frequently, always like) the photo of a fillet of roast veal cooked in a light and healthy way, but really (VERALLY!) full of taste and very tasty. The photo itself in fact (which is the one you see here) really has nothing to envy to those of many decidedly less dietary dishes that I have often posted here on the blog.

I've been collaborating for 13 years with cooking magazines, in particular my historical collaboration as author and photographer with Natural Cuisine has led me to explore more and more the world of healthy eating that is, consequently, also a lifestyle. Obviously with the necessary exceptions, sometimes it is also good to eat a "schifezza" or a more elaborate and caloric dish, for charity (I love them!) but especially when the metabolism is no longer that of twenty years (and I don't have twenty years from a beeeel piece!), even for those who have always been lean like me, we must begin to reckon with calories and pay more attention to that and how much we eat.

Often and willingly, for work, I have been experimenting with recipes dedicated to wellness, especially since I started to take care of two monthly headings for Prèmiaty, the supermarket magazine Sigma, one of which has the theme of well-being at the table.
Precisely from this section I want to share some recipes, today two seconds that have pleasantly surprised me, I who don't eat a lot of meat because I have a little difficulty digesting it, I have found these alternative cooking methods of great satisfaction and much lighter.
Let's start from the roast that you see in the photo: cooking in the box is a real cunning, the meat is cooked uniformly, remaining slightly pinkish in the centre, very fragrant (thanks to the presence of aromatic herbs and garlic) and above all very juicy and soft thanks to the steam that forms inside the baked paper box.

FILLET OF CALFSKIN WITH CARTOON

With yoghurt sauce and parsley crisps

Ingredients for 4 people:

For thread:
1 tenderloin of calf 600 g
fresh sprig herbs (salvia, thyme, marjoram)
1 clove of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

For yogurt sauce
125 g natural whole yogurt
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
? lemon

For early potatoes
400 g of early fries
a bunch of parsley
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
white wine vinegar

Thread the fillet with kitchen paper and tie it with a roast string.
With your hands slightly greased with oil, massage the meat. Salt and pepper lightly and tap the meat to make it stick together. Insert under the twine, in contact with meat, sprig of aromatic herbs on both sides and the clove of garlic, after peeling and slicing thinly.
Overlay 2 sheets of baking paper and insert the fillet in the middle. Roll the paper on itself, sealing the long side tightly, then tie the two ends with another twine, closing the package as if it were a candy.
Place it in a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes in a preheated oven ventilated at 200°C.
In the meantime, peel the potato crisps and let them cook in boiling water slightly salted for about 20 minutes after boiling. Drain them and let them cool slightly, then season with plenty of finely chopped parsley, 2-3 tablespoons of oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of vinegar. Let it rest by stirring from time to time.
For yoghurt sauce, mix in a bowl the yoghurt with a little oil, salt, pepper and juice of? lemon.

Let the meat rest in the baking tray outside the oven for at least 10 minutes before opening, then cut it into thin slices with a sharp knife. Serve the meat accompanied by fresh fries and a few teaspoons of yoghurt sauce.

The second recipe that I am presenting to you today is always a second dish, but if we want a single light dish, based on the most banal and common ally of any low-calorie diet: chicken breast. Are you also tired of the usual grilled chicken breast slice? Here is a method of cooking that will surprise you: chicken since (or à la coque). The result? A chicken breast soft and succulent, very tender, perfect in salads like the one you see here, with celery, spinach, new spinach, files and some walnut kernel, for the right supply of vitamins and minerals. If you like the idea, come back here in the coming days because there will be other tasty and light recipes for those who, despite the winter does not yet want to abandon us, are already thinking about the infamous "try bikini"!

CHICKEN SALAD

with spinacin, celery and nuts

Ingredients for 4 people

4 chicken breast fillets of about 200 g each
5-6 cords of celery
1 carrot
some black pepper wheat
100 g spinacin
2 tablespoons of shelled walnut kernels
evo oil, salt, ground black pepper
1 lemon or lime

Put in a pan with high edges 1 rib of celery washed and cut into pieces, with its leaves, and the carrot peeled and cut into thick washers. Add salt and some whole grains of black pepper and lay down the chicken breasts. Pour water until the meat is covered and bring to the boil.
Lower the flame to a minimum and cook for 7 minutes. Then switch off and allow to stand for about 2 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the water and transfer it to a cut, wait for the chicken to be warm and cut into slices about 1 cm thick. (if by chance it should still be a little pinkish in the centre - depending on the thickness of the fillet - pass it for a few seconds to the microwave in a covered bowl).

Apart from that, peel the rest of the celery, wash the leaves well and dry them. Cut the ribs into thin washers and add spinacin algae after they have been thoroughly washed and dried. Add also the coarsely chopped walnut kernels seasoned with oil, salt, a sprinkling of grated pepper and a sprinkle of lemon juice or lime.
Place the salad in 4 dishes and spread the chicken breast slices. Season the chicken with oil, salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon and serve.