Low-Fat
394 recipes found
Farro Pilaf With Balsamic Cherries
The balsamic cherries are great with this pilaf, but they’d also be good as an accompaniment to meats.
Mushroom Udon Noodle Bowl
Topping the list of the most satisfying meals, a big steaming bowl of noodles in broth nurtures body and soul. Though many noodle soups rely on long-simmered meat stock, this vegetarian broth is quickly prepared and very flavorful. The recipe calls for thick chewy udon noodles, but use another type of noodle, if you wish.
Taralli
Taralli are delicious ring shaped rusk-like Italian snacks from Apulia and Campania. Now that I know how easy they are to make I could be in big trouble, as whenever I’ve bought them from one of my favorite Italian delis I have a hard time resisting them. It’s the olive oil, I now know, that makes them special and different from other twice-baked breads. They are crisp but not hard, and this whole wheat version is as good as any traditional taralli I’ve tasted. I particularly like the version with black pepper. But I like them plain, without any embellishment, as well. The olive oil gives them so much flavor on its own. This recipe is based on a recipe in Carol Field’s “Italy In Small Bites.”
Italian Meat Sauce With Half the Meat
It’s been a long time since I have made tomato sauce with meat, and this one transported me back to the first recipe I learned to make. I called it spaghetti sauce, and it was a simple tomato sauce with ground beef. It didn’t taste that much different from this sauce, which has only a quarter pound of meat in it – but that is all it needs to have a rich flavor and a meaty texture. The mushroom base is a perfect stand-in for half the meat; you could double the amount for a vegetarian sauce.
Peter Reinhart’s Whole Wheat Bagels
When I order a whole wheat bagel in a coffee shop what I get is a white bagel with a little bit of whole wheat flour thrown in. These bagels are different; they are truly whole grain. I’ve been enthralled lately with Peter Reinhart’s new cookbook, Bread Revolution. Reinhart, a baking teacher and cookbook author whom I have long admired, has discovered the magic of sprouted whole grain flours, which he uses in the recipes in this book (you can get sprouted whole wheat flour in whole foods stores and from several online sources). He also illuminates many of the mysteries of baking with whole grain flours in general. The recipes that I have tried work with regular whole wheat flour as well; I have Community Grains whole wheat flour on hand but did not have sprouted whole wheat flour when I was developing this week’s Recipes for Health, so that is what I used. One of the important things I learned – relearned really – from Peter is that when you make dough with whole wheat flour, which absorbs liquid more readily than white flour, it is important to give the dough a little time to absorb the water so that it will be workable. So there is a rest after you add the liquid to the flour; you’ll think the dough is going to be way too wet, then it miraculously firms up, in very little time. Reinhart has two methods for bagels in his cookbook; one requires an overnight rest in the refrigerator after shaping (that is the method I have used in the past), the other, made with sprouted wheat flour, can be boiled and baked after rising and shaping. If you use sprouted whole wheat flour Reinhart says the overnight rise isn’t required because the sprouted wheat allows the bagels to develop optimum flavor in a shorter time. I couldn’t discern much of a difference between the flavor of my overnight regular whole wheat bagels and those I made with the shorter rise; and the ones I made with the shorter rise were prettier. Barley malt is the traditional sweetener used in bagel dough and in the water bath, but either honey or agave syrup can be substituted.
Egg White Frittata With Leeks
Fennel and Mushroom Salad
Green Beans, Mushrooms And Mustard Sauce
Homemade Sour Bulgur Trahana From Ikaria
Trahana is a wheat product that is eaten throughout Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. There are many versions, some made with milk, usually from goats or sheep that is called sweet trahana, some with a combination of milk and yogurt, called sour trahana, and even a lenten version made with vegetable pulp. The liquid is combined with wheat – bulgur, semolina, or a mix of semolina and flour – and made into a dry dough (if using flour) or simmered until it is a thick porridge. Then it is spread out on netting and dried in the sun. Once thoroughly dry it is broken up into granules that can range in size from bulgurlike morsels to small pellets. You can find imported Greek trahana in Greek markets. I found five different types in my local Greek market in Los Angeles and each one behaves a little bit differently when you cook it. It is easy to make yourself, as I found when I made this recipe from Diane Kochilas’s wonderful new cookbook “Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity From the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die.” This is the trahana that I used for all of this week’s Recipes for Health. I am happy to have this new staple on hand in my pantry.
Edamame in the Shell
This recipe for edamame in the shell, brought to The Times by Mark Bittman in 2012, could not be easier. It can be made either on the stovetop or the microwave. Ready in minutes, it makes a perfect snack or complement to a dinner of chicken teriyaki with rice.
Not-Too-Sweet Wok-Popped Coconut Kettle Corn
I’m usually not a big fan of sweet kettle corn, but I wanted to make a moderately sweet version because some people love it and it is nice to be able to offer a sweet snack for the holidays. I realized after testing this recipe that I do like kettle corn if it isn’t too sweet. The trick to not burning the sugar when you make kettle corn is to add the sugar off the heat at the end of popping. The wok will be hot enough to caramelize it.
Spiced Wok-Popped Popcorn
My mother always used the wok for making popcorn. It is the perfect pan for it. An added bonus is that making popcorn adds more patina to your wok, and a well-seasoned wok is the healthiest type of nonstick cookware there is. I have played around with all sorts of seasonings for popcorn; my favorite is the Tunisian mix called tabil, minus the dried garlic. See the recipe below for the mix, which I make up by the jar and keep in my freezer. To help with cleanup, line the lid of your wok with aluminum foil.
Cooked Tomatillo Salsa
A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos
This pot of beans was Step 1 for the other Recipes for Health this week. If I know that I’m going to use these beans for a Mexican dinner I season them with cilantro and, if I can find it, epazote. If I want Italian or Provençal flavors I make a bouquet garni with bay leaf, thyme, parsley, maybe sage, and most definitely a Parmesan rind. This week, since I am using my beans as a starting off point for other dishes, I season them only with onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt. The dishes that will follow throughout the week will introduce more flavors.
Mediterranean Beet and Yogurt Salad
Different versions of this salad are popular from Turkey to North Africa. Red beets are used throughout the Mediterranean, but you could make this pungent salad with any type. If you mix the yogurt into the beets, your salad will be pink. I prefer to spoon it over the top.
Spinach and Yogurt Dip
A food processor transforms a great Middle Eastern spinach dish into a spread. In the traditional dish the spinach is topped with the garlicky yogurt. Here everything is blended together.
Bulgur Maple Porridge
Bulgur works beautifully as a morning cereal. The best method for making this is to submerge the bulgur in boiling water the night before, then cook the reconstituted grains in the milk in the morning. Maple syrup is my hands down favorite sweetening for any hot cereal; as for additions, I love the crunch of cashews or pecans, and I also love diced dried apricots or blueberries, or both.
Peanut Dukkah
This is one of my favorite dukkahs. I like it with vegetables and with pita, and on its own as a snack.
Pickled Broccoli Stems
Kids and adults love these crunchy, garlicky pickles. One of my signature dishes, these are always on my coffee table for dinner guests to snack on because my son eats broccoli several times a week, and this is the perfect destination for the stems. If you buy your broccoli with the stems attached (as opposed to the crowns only), you’ll now feel like you’re getting a lot for your money.
No-Stir Polenta
Dried Apricot, Cherry and Cranberry Infusion
Whenever I soak dried fruit in hot water, to plump it for another recipe, I am always reluctant to throw out the soaking water because it tastes so good. I decided to simmer dried fruit with sweet spices and orange to obtain a delicious infusion that I would decidedly not throw out. A great beverage for a snowy day.
Hazelnut Dukkah With Fennel Seeds and Mint or Thyme
Some versions of dukkah, like this one, are herbal as well as spicy.
Grilled Mango Salsa
A mango’s rich flavor is deepened through grilling in this salsa full of contrasts. It also works if you do not want to grill the mango. I love mango salsa whether or not the mango is grilled, so if you don’t feel like grilling, you can still get a great salsa with these ingredients. Grilling, whether on an outdoor grill, a griddle or a grill pan, deepens the flavor of an already-rich-tasting fruit. I love the contrasts in this salsa: the crisp jicama with the soft, juicy mango; the sweet fruit; the spicy chile; and the grassy cilantro. Serve with fish or chicken.