Chicken Cordon Bleu
Once upon a time, Cordon Bleu was strictly high-brow, fancy-French-restaurant fare–much too fussy, certainly, to make at home. Given its nutritional stats, however, it’s probably just as well we weren’t whipping it up every other day. The traditional cheese-and-ham-stuffed, cream-sauced chicken dish was loaded with fat and sodium–57 grams of fat and nearly 1,000 milligrams of sodium in a single serving! Which is precisely why we chose to redo it.
And it took some clever culinary finagling, but we were able to give old Cordon Bleu a svelte, new look. Each satisfying serving of the new and improved version featured here has under 8 grams of fat (that’s not a typo) and almost half the sodium of the original, with all the sophisticated flavors you’ve come to love. And as a bonus, our recipe is so easy to prepare that there’s no reason you can’t enjoy this updated French classic any day of the week. Bon appetit! Calories, fat and cholesterol were reduced by:
* Use half the cheese and make it a reduced-fat variety.
* Select a lean ham and use a small amount.
* Cut way back on butter. We went from 6 tablespoons butter to 1 tablespoon margarine.
* Replace the bouillon cube with a low-sodium broth mix.
* Switch from heavy cream to evaporated skim milk.
Before After
Calories 771 349
Fat (g.) 56.8 7.7
% Calories from Fat 67% 21%
Cholesterol (mg.) 257 93
4 ounces sliced reduced-fat Swiss cheese
4 ounces sliced lean ham
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1/4 pound each), pounded thin
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon light margarine
1/2 cup nonalcoholic white wine
1 packet low-sodium instant chicken broth mix
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup evaporated milk
TO COOK CHICKEN: Place one-fourth of the cheese and ham on top of each chicken breast. Roll up breasts to enclose filling; secure with toothpicks. Combine flour and paprika. Coat chicken with flour mixture.
Coat a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Add margarine and heat until melted. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes.
TO MAKE SAUCE: Stir cornstarch into milk. Gradually stir milk mixture into pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken.