10% fat, 100% flavor - low-fat cooking; includes recipes - Cover Story

Vegetarian Times, March, 1995 by Jean-Marc Fullsack

Helpful Hints: To roast a pepper, trim, wash, seed and flatten pepper onto a baking sheet or piece of aluminum foil. Place under broiler until pepper is completely charred. Place blackened pepper in a small paper bag, seal and set aside 15 minutes. Remove from bag. To remove charred skin, hold pepper under cold running water and peel off with fingers.

* To roast an onion, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place unpeeled onion in baking dish and bake about 40 minutes, or place unpeeled onion in microwave about 5 minutes on high. Add garlic cloves for last 7 minutes.

PER SERVING; 55 CAL.; 2G PROT.; 2G FAT; 10G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 142MG SOD.; 3G FIBER. LACTO

Zucchini-Corn Risotto

Roasting vegetables brings out their flavor and sweetness without adding fat.

Garnish:

2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cup tomato, peeled, seeded and diced 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped basil

Risotto:

8 cups vegetable stock 1 cup diced roasted onion (see helpful hint) 1 clove garlic, chopped, or to taste 2 cups arborio rice (see glossary) 1 cup quartered shiitake (see glossary) or domestic mushrooms 1 1/2 cups diced zucchini 1/2 cup mozzarella or Swiss nonfat cheese 1 cup canned and drained or frozen and thawed corn kernels 1/4 cup chopped basil

Garnish: Toast garlic in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook until thick, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add basil; set aside.

Risotto: Bring stock to a boil in a large saucepan; keep hot while preparing remaining ingredients.

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, combine onion, garlic and rice. Add 6 cups hot stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook 15 minutes, stirring often until liquid is absorbed.

Add remaining 2 cups hot stock, mushrooms and zucchini. Simmer 12 minutes, stirring often, until rice is soft and liquid is absorbed. (Risotto should have the consistency of creamy oatmeal.) Stir in mozzarella or Swiss cheese, corn and basil; cook 2 minutes. Serve topped with garnish. Serves 6 to 8.

Variation: To enrich vegetable stock, stir in 1 tablespoon miso (see glossary) before adding to rice mixture.

Helpful Hint: To roast an onion, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place unpeeled onion in baking dish and bake about 40 minutes, or place unpeeled onion in microwave about 5 minutes on high.

PER SERVING: 3S6 CAL.; 8G PROT.; 0.5G FAT; 79G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 235MG SOD.; 5G FIBER. LACTO

Tofu Teriyaki

Don't be intimidated by the chopping; this recipe is simple to put together.

1/2 cup mirin (see glossary) 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tsp. honey or other sweetener 2 tsp. grated ginger root 2 tsp. chopped garlic 1 cup vegetable stock 1 cup chopped roasted onion (see helpful hint) 1 cup quartered mushrooms 1 cup chopped tomatoes 1 cup thinly sliced yellow squash 1 cup thinly sliced zucchini 1 cup diced green and red bell peppers 1 lb. tofu, pressed and cut in 1/2-inch cubes (see helpful hint) 1 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water Cooked rice

Combine all ingredients except tofu, cornstarch mixture and rice in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; simmer 15 minutes. Add tofu; simmer 10 more minutes. Add cornstarch solution; simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes more. Serve over rice. Makes 4 to 6 servings.