Cooking with Jean-Marc Fullsack - artistic low-fat chef - includes recipe

Sunset, Feb, 1997 by Elaine Johnson

An artistic low-fat chef practices what he preaches when he fixes meals for his family

What does a classically trained French chef who works with the guru of ultra-low-fat choose to cook on his own time?

"If people told me 10 years ago that I'd like brown rice, I'd have said they were insane," laughs Jean-Marc Fullsack. Today, his work with Dean Ornish is all about good flavor - and healthful foods such as brown rice. (Ornish's program combines an extremely low-fat, low-cholesterol diet with exercise and reduction of stress.)

At home, the San Francisco Bay Area resident follows the same healthful principles when he prepares meals for his family.

"I translate classical techniques to nonfat. For example, instead of meat sauces, I use really fine vegetable sauces," says Fullsack, who accompanies Ornish around the country teaching low-fat cooking and lifestyle techniques to heart patients, hospital staffs, and professional chefs - including the chef at the White House. Fullsack's ideas have been incorporated into several Ornish books, including his most recent: Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish (HarperCollins, New York, 1996; $15, paperback).

Fullsack notes that many people - even those without heart problems - are beginning to adopt a low-fat lifestyle. "I've lost 15 pounds since working with Dean and feel much healthier. If I'm in a situation where I have to eat old-fashioned sauces, I feel full so quickly. I'd have trouble going back to my old diet."

The food Fullsack cooks for his family has to be fast to. prepare, as well as healthful and good-tasting. One favorite recipe is based on a French pesto soup, but he uses white beans instead of oil to thicken the pesto. The soup becomes a sauce for whole-grain pasta (his choices often include pasta made from brown rice, quinoa, or spelt) with colorful vegetables.

Pasta with Provencal Basil Sauce

Prep and cook time: About 50 minutes

Notes: Buy brown-rice pasta at a health food store. Cut vegetables 5 to 6 inches long and the width of spaghetti with the julienne blade on an Asian shredder or mandoline. Or make long shreds with the wide tooth of a grater.

Makes: 4 servings

1 cup julienned or shredded carrot

3/4 cup julienned or shredded green zucchini skin (optional)

3/4 cup julienned or shredded yellow zucchini skin or more green zucchini skin (optional)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced turnip

1/4 cup diced peeled russet potato

1 can (15 oz.) small white beans

1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves

4 cloves garlic

12 ounces brown-rice spaghetti or whole-wheat spaghetti

Salt (optional)

2 cups broccoli florets

3/4 cup diced tomato

Pepper

Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Cut carrot, and the green and yellow zucchini skin, as described in Notes on page 122. (Save remaining zucchini for other uses.) Set aside.

2. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over high heat, bring broth, onion, celery, turnip, and potato to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potato is tender to bite, about 6 minutes. Add half the beans and their liquid; return to simmering, then cook, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes to blend flavors. Keep warm and set aside.

3. In a blender or food processor, whirl remaining beans and liquid, basil, and garlic until smooth. Set aside.

4. Cook pasta, uncovered, in 4 quarts boiling water and 1 tablespoon salt until almost tender to bite, about 5 minutes; after 3 minutes, add broccoli. Stir in julienned vegetables and boil until just tender to bite, about 1 minute. Drain, rinse with hot water, remove broccoli, and keep foods warm.

5. Stir basil mixture into broth mixture. Spoon into 4 wide, rimmed dinner plates. Mound pasta in the center. Scatter tomato and broccoli around plate rims. Offer pepper and lemon wedges.

Per serving: 449 cal., 5.1% (23 cal.) from fat; 23 g protein; 2.6 g fat (0.3 g sat.); 97 g carbo (21 g fiber); 459 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU

Do you have tips or recipes for low-fat cooking? Write to The Lowfat Cook, Sunset Magazine, 80 Willow Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, or send e-mail (including your full name and street address) to lowfat@sunsetpub.com.