Index:

Vegetarian Chili
Fish Stew
Leeks in red wine

Coqueless Coq au Vin
Roasted Peppers with tomatos, anchovies and capers
Valeria Galetto's Peras al vino tinto (Red Wine Pears)
Marcia's Roasted Root Vegetables
Erik's Scallops with Green Grapes and White Wine
Martine Bouteille's Fantastic Chicken & Peaches
Erik's Fish with capers, olives & tomatoes
Belgian Endive & grapefruit salad

Norma Sober's Roasted Pineapple

Elliott Sober's Philosophical Gumbo

Chicken with Apricots & Currants

Minestrone Soup

Bea Kahn's Mediterranean Salmon

Karen Prager's Brazilian Black Bean Stew

Marcia's chicken Tagine

1.5 c sliced carrots,
1.5 c sliced onions,
1.5 c sliced celery,
1.5 c or less of green pepper strips

Then add 1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes,
1 15 oz can tomato sauce,
1 c tomato juice,
the juice of 1 lemon,
2 15 oz cans of kidney beans including liquid,
1 drained 15 oz can of garbanzos,
2 large garlic cloves minced,
2 tbs chili powder,
1 tsp sugar,
1.5 tbs dried basil,
1/2 tsp hot sauce,
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp pepper.

2-3 pounds of mixed fish, with some relatively firm. Cut into really big pieces (to make it easy to remove them from the soup)
1 pound of big fat scallops
4-5 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered
2-3 leeks (white parts sliced thin; keep the green parts to cook in wine & broth as a veggie dish)
2-3 medium onions: diced
2-3 carrots: sliced thin
3 hefty cloves of garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunky bite size pieces

2. when cooked but not really browned, add potatoes, tomatoes, fish (but not the scallops) and enough boiling water to just cover.

Leeks -- as many as can fit in a large frying pan
Red wine -- 2-3 cups
nonstick spray or olive oil to coat bottom of the pan (optional)
chicken broth (nonfat) or bullion (optional)
large, heavy frying pan

1. Cut off about 1/4 inch or so of the hard, white end of the leeks and discard.

2. Cut the leeks lengthwise and wash thoroughly, being sure to get all of the dirt out of the inner leaves.

3. Heat a large, heavy skillet until very hot. Add a little olive oil or nonstick spray if you want. (Note: you can add more olive oil if you want the leeks to get somewhat browner, but it is not really necessary).

4. When the pan is very hot, add the leeks, cut size down. If the leeks are too long to fit in the frying pan, cut off part of the green end of the leeks and add to the pan.

5. Cook without any liquid until the leeks begin to brown a little. If you added olive oil in step 4, you can cook a bit longer.

6. Pour in a little of the wine, not enough to cover the leeks. The wine should sizzle and froth since the pan is quite hot. With a spatula, loosen the leeks from the bottom of the pan and scrape up any stuck-on bits. Let the red wine go under the leeks.

7. Once the wine has nearly boiled off, add enough additional red wine to provide sufficient liquid for cooking the leeks -- about half of what would be needed to actually cover the leeks. Return to a boil, then turn the heat down to a moderate simmer and cover. You can add chicken broth (fat free) or bullion if you want to augment the liquid.

8. Check the leeks periodically and scrape them off the bottom of the pan. They should stick a little. When fully cooked, the white part of the leeks will be will be fairly tender.

9. When the leeks are nearly done, turn the temperature up to high and boil off the remaining liquid. The red wine will form a gummy residue. You can add some more wine if needed at this point. Be sure to use a spatula to scrape the leeks off the bottom of the pan as the wine boils so that they do not stick.

10. The dish can be served hot or cold. Balsamic vinegar can be added to the cold disk.

16 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2" lengths. If they are fat carrots, cut in half lengthways
16 small white boiling onions, peeled
1 pound of mushrooms: quartered if big; halved if medium; whole if small
2 hefty cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 cups of red wine
2 small bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon each of ground savory and thyme
2 tablespoons of minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
salt to taste
olive oil sufficient to sauté the veggies (use as little as possible)

1. sauté onions and carrots over medium flame. Brown very lightly
2. add garlic.
3. Stir in flour and then gradually stir in wine.
4. When wine is well blended, add bay leaf, savory, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.
5. add mushrooms.
6. Add a little more wine if there does not seem to be enough liquid.
7. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, adding wine if needed. At the end there should be only a little liquid left.

Red and yellow bell peppers, cut in half
sweet little cherry tomatoes (red & yellow if possible)
garlic, thinly sliced
anchovies, rinsed to get rid of excess oil
capers
thyme
salt & pepper
balsamic vinegar

1. preheat oven at 425 degrees F
2. spray baking pan with olive oil mist and place peppers cut side up in the pan
3. place two large anchovies crossing each other in an X in each pepper
4. fill the peppers with as many cherry tomatoes as they will hold
5. intersperse 6-8 capers among the tomatoes in each pepper
6. sprinkle a little dried thyme (or minced thyme leaves) on the peppers
7. add alt and pepper to taste
8. cook in preheated oven for 35 minutes
9. Let cool somewhat (room temperature is OK) and then dribble a little good balsamic vinegar on the copked peppers

2. Pour red wine in a pot. Place the peeled pears in the pot. Spread two tablespoons of sugar over each pear. Reserve the rest.

3. Simmer the pears at a low boil for about 1 hour, stirring the pears occasionally in order to ensure that they are wholly covered by the wine. Fifteen minutes before they are done spread the remaining sugar over each pear.

4. Chill the pears at least four hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream.

For people unconcerned about lowfat, serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. For others, serve with nonfat cool whip or rediwhip.

An assortment of root vegetables: Beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, leeks, onions, red onions, fennel.

The ratio doesn't matter, but I find that the best combination includes lots of onions/red onions. Also: Don't skimp on the beets. They had lots of beautiful color, and because they have lots of sugar in them, add sweetness to the entire dish.

1. peel the vegetables and cut into medium sized chunks
2. Coat very lightly in olive oil (misting with olive oil works well).
3. Season lightly with salt and pepper and, if you like, with a little fresh rosemary.
4. place in a roasting pan that has been misted (or very lightly coated) with olive oil.
5. cook at about 450 degrees F
6. Every 15 minutes or so check the veggies and with a spatula loosen them from the pan and turn over if they begin to stick
7. Roast for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour and a quarter until the vegetables are soft.
8. In the last ten minutes before the vegetables are done, turn the temperature up to 425 degrees to caramelize the sugars

It is nice to cook up a HUGE quantity if this dish and then use the leftovers. The roasted chunks of vegetables can be thinly sliced and added to a green salad, reheated in the microwave or oven, or just eaten cold on their own. As a cold dish the presence of lots of onions is especially tasty.

Equal quantities by weight of large sea scallops and green grapes (roughly 1/2 lb per person)
white wine

3. In a large skillet heat enough olive oil to sauté the scallops (you will not need much oil for this). It is good to use a quite large pan since the scallops give off quite a lot of water and if they are squished in the pan they will not sauté as nicely.

4. When the oil is very hot, add the scallops, turning them over after a couple of minutes. They should not cook all the way through, but should get a little brown on the outside. Salt and pepper lightly.

5. After about 5 minutes add white wine sufficient to have perhaps 1/4 inch in the bottom of the pan. The heat should be turned to high so that the wine froths and bubbles vigorously.

9. When the liquid is thick enough to be sauce-like, return the scallops to the pan to reheat.

Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a packet of dried French Onion soup (Knorr makes good variety). There should be enough to cover the dish completely. Cover the onions with pieces of skinned chicken. Pour one large can of peaches (halves) in light syrup over the chicken. This should be enough to have some peaches on each piece of chicken. Cook in a low-moderate oven – 3-4 on the French 10 point scale – for an hour and a half. The onions burn easily, which is why the slow oven is needed. Check the dish while cooking to be sure there is enough liquid -- if the syrup has caramelized too much, add a little water. Turn the chicken after 45 minutes or so.

Fish: some nice white fish, like orange roughy, cod. Tilapia works OK.

ingredients:
    capers (1 little jar of small capers for two pounds of fish)
    olives (green with pimentos, sliced)
    fresh tomatoes, blanched & skinned, and quartered (but you can use canned if needed) --

4-6 medium tomatoes for a pound of fish
onions – 2 onions, chopped
garlic -- a large clove per pound of fish, minced (more if you like a more garlicky taste)

quantities: experiment as you wish – don’t be stingy on the capers.

preparation:

1. sauté the onions & garlic until wilted in olive oil
2. add tomatoes and capers and olives
3. cook tomatoes at a moderate heat until they are mushy
4. in a separate pan, sauté the fish in olive oil with fairly high heat (a few minutes)
5. turn down heat, add the tomato mixture, cook briefly and serve

alternative step 4: raise the temperature of the sauce until bubbling and poach the fish, covered

1. Peel red ruby grapefruit and de-vein (i.e. remove all of the connecting tissue and break up into little bits)
2. take separated leaves of Belgian endive and sprinkle grapefruit liberally over leaves
3. strawberry vinaigrette: balsamic vinegar (use expensive brands!), olive oil and then add fresh strawberries and blend in a blender

1. Purée the first five ingredients in a blender with a little of the olive oil. Then add the salt, cayenne, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and tomato juice and chill (allow at least six hours).

2. For the garnish, brown the bread cubes in the oil with garlic. Add the croutons and a sprinkle of cucumber and red pepper just before serving.

NOTE: The better the ingredients, the better the soup. I make gazpacho when I can get flavorful tomatoes at a farmers market and I use a good quality olive oil.

Norma Sober's Roasted Pineapple

1 pineapple, cored and quartered lengthwise
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon + 1/8 tsp. cloves OR 1/4 tsp. garam masala. You can fool around with spices to taste.
Optional: 1 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put pineapple in shallow baking dish.

Combine all ingredients and brush onto pineapple. Turn and baste every 20 minutes. Roast for a total of 1 hr. 15 minutes. Can be made a few hours ahead and reheated at 375 for 10 minutes. Or serve at room temperature. Cut into smaller pieces, depending on how you are going to use it. Especially nice as an accompaniment to mango sorbet.

For 6 people.

1 pound of crawfish tails, 3/4 pounds shrimp, 3/4 pounds of fish (eg mahi-mahi) cut into bite size pieces.
3 celery stalks, 1 big green pepper, 1 big onion, all minced = Cajun trinity.
1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tablsp file', 3 bay leaves, black pepper.
2 sausages, minced.
8-9 cups fish stock (I use Penzeys' concentrate)
2 tbsp flour, 1/4 cup veg oil.
1/3 lb okra, cut into 1/3 inch slices.
2 cups raw rice, cooked up separately.

make roux: heat the oil over medium heat. then whisk in flour and keep whisking as
it turns to the color peanut butter, or maybe a little darker (darker gives more nutty flavor, but
lighter provides a bit more thickening power). do not burn (= roux is black). when right coloration is reached,
add in minced sausages, minced Cajun trinity, and oregano, pepper, and bay leaves. stir around to coat. then add stock. stir,
let cook, simmering for about 20 minutes.

you can stop here and refrigerate the soup base, or proceed:

with soup base at a simmer, add the okra and the fish and seafood. stir. let cook
about 5 minutes, until everything is cooked through. then add file' and stir.

serve by putting some rice in each soup plate, then ladling gumbo on the side. pass hot sauce.

Apricot & Currant Chicken

Roughly 4-5 pounds of chicken. (I use skinless breasts and thighs on the bone. The bone prevents the chicken from drying out.)

1 teaspoon ground ginger (or a little more if needed – you want to sprinkle this over all the pieces)

1.5 cups bitter orange marmalade (if you can’t find bitter marmalade, sweet marmalade is OK, but it does make the dish sweeter overall)

2. Place chicken in a shallow roasting pan and sprinkle with salt & pepper and then the ginger. Spread the marmalade over the chicken and pour the apple and orange juices into the pan. Bake 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and add the apricots and currants to the pan (sprinkled over the chicken), mixing the fruit evenly. Sprinkle the fruit with the brown sugar and return to oven. Bake, basting the chicken every 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown, around 40-45 minutes.

4. Remove chicken, apricots and currants to a warmed serving platter. Pour some of the pan juices over the top and pour the remaining juices into a sauceboat.

Heat oil and sauté the onions over medium heat until soft and golden but not brown (6-8 minutes). Stir in carrots and potato; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in celery and green beans and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini/squash and sauté 3 minutes. Stir in cabbage and garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add broth, water and liquid from tomatoes to pan. Chop tomatoes coarsely and add to pan. Stir in salt, basil, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling; reduce to Simmer covered stirring occasionally 1 1/2 hours.

Add drained/rinsed cannelini beans to soup. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until soup is thick, 30-40 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf.

2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of fish. Place fish in a single layer in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine tomatoes and remaining ingredients in a bowl; spoon mixture over fish. Bake at 425 for 22 minutes. Yield: 4 servings.

Note: it is good to increase the vegetable mixture; you can’t have too many veggies in this dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp and 1 tsp olive oil
5 0z smoked turkey kielbasa, cut into small pieces
1 pound boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
1-1/3 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 red bell peppers diced
2 3/4 cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 1/3 small hot green chili pepper, diced
2 cups water w/chicken bouillion
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 mango-peeled, seeded and diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp cumin

1) Heat oil in pan and cook meat. Place onion in pot, and cook until tender. Stir in garlic, and cook until tender, mix in sweet potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes with juice, chili pepper, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender.

2) Stir the beans into the pot, and cook uncovered until heated through. Mix in the mango and cilantro, and season with salt.

8 lean chicken thigh fillets (2 pounds) OR equivalent chicken breasts (breast are lower fat than thighs)

7. Uncover and bake 45 minutes or until chicken is very tender and mixture has thickened slightly.

ERIK WRIGHT'S FAVORITE LOWFAT RECIPES

Norma Sober's Roasted Pineapple

Apricot & Currant Chicken