Chicken Griddled, with Broccoli and Courgetti : Lower Carb Recipe

Replacing/swapping pasta and noodles with vegetable versions has gained popularity in recent years as it is an easy way to cut down on carbs and get your five-a-day. Whether you buy your courgetti ready-made or spiralize the vegetable yourself, there’s a vast range of recipes to use it in.

Courgetti is quick to cook whichever way you choose to eat it. Add it to stir-fries in the last two minutes of cooking time, steam it to serve with a pasta-style sauce, even bulk up soups and broths by adding it in at the end.

This recipe, for simple griddled chicken breast served alongside a broccoli, courgetti, almond and raisin salad is a fuss-free, delicious meal and is ready in just thirty minutes.

Ingredients

Serves Four

4 chicken breasts

2 tsp olive oil
1 ½ lemons, zested
1/2 tsp dried thyme or chilli flakes

For the salad
1 x broccoli head, broken into florets, stalk cut into thin batons
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
25g (1oz) flaked almonds, toasted
50g (2oz) raisins
1 x 250g tub *courgetti / courgette spaghetti (or make your own)

For the dressing
1½ lemons, juiced
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar (or equivalent sweetener if preferred) 

Method
1. To make the salad, cook the broccoli and garlic in a pan of boiling water for two to three minutes, until the broccoli is al dente. Drain and cool for 10 mins.

2. Meanwhile, sandwich each chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling-film on a chopping board. Using a rolling pin, bash until flattened to about 0.5cm thick.

Rub with the olive oil, sprinkle with the lemon zest and thyme or chilli. Season well.

3. To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, oil and sugar in a bowl with some seasoning.
4. Put the broccoli, garlic, almonds, raisins and courgette in a bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat; set aside until needed.

5. Heat a griddle pan on the hob. Add the chicken and griddle for 3-4 mins on each side, until cooked through with no pink meat showing.

Serve the chicken with the courgetti. 

From an idea here

Nutrition Per Serving

Carbohydrate 15g, Protein 42.3g, Fat 10g, Fibre 3.3g

Tip

Turn this into an alfresco dinner by cooking the chicken on the barbecue instead. Cook as above and check it is fully cooked through with no pink meat showing before serving.

N.B. *Courgetti is also known as Zucchini Noodles or Zoodles!

We bring a variety of recipes, food suggestions/ideas and articles to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan