Thicken recipe with low-fat alternative

Associated Press

Most health-conscious Americans are looking for lower-fat alternatives to make sauces and soups healthier while keeping plenty of flavor, texture, and appearance.

Besides being an essential nutrient that the body needs to perform a number of vital functions, fat provides a rich flavor and silky texture to foods.

The downside to fat is that it is a dense source of calories. One teaspoon of oil contains about 40 calories, which is about the calorie content of a medium peach. Therefore, it is easy to consume a lot of calories from fat without eating a lot of food.

Soups, sauces, dressings and gravies can be high in fat because of added oil or dairy products, such as heavy cream. Fat improves texture and viscosity by emulsifying or thickening liquids; reducing the fat content can change the appearance and texture dramatically.

However, lower-fat thickening alternatives can be used to produce excellent results.

One of the best examples of fat-saving techniques is a modified "cream" soup. Traditionally, in a cream soup, a roux made from butter and flour is used to thicken the broth. In a modified version, the roux is replaced with pureed vegetables and starchy ingredients, such as potatoes, rice or beans, or a pure starch, such as arrowroot.

Vinaigrette, a classic cold sauce, can be modified by replacing two parts of the oil with a starch-thickened stock or juice. The result is a lower-fat sauce that actually coats food better than conventional vinaigrette. If the stock or juice is full-flavored, the modified version can be even more flavorful than the original.

Hearty sauces can be created by combining pureed, cooked beans or legumes with a flavorful stock, or by simply adding pureed beans or legumes or vegetables to an existing sauce to thicken the texture.

"Fats and oils coat the tongue and can interfere with the other flavors in a dish," says chef Michael Pardus, associate professor at the Culinary Institute of America. "Sometimes the added richness is appreciated, but in good vegetable soup or a salad the fat can mask the freshness of the garden.

"If I'm making a salad of interesting heirloom greens and subtle herbs, I always use a modified starch to add 'cling' to my dressing," Pardus adds. "That way I get to taste the greens and herbs."

Some foods are not suitable for low-fat adjustments. For example, it is difficult to make a hollandaise sauce without butter and egg yolks because there are no acceptable substitutes for those ingredients. In such cases, serve small quantities of the original recipe.

The following salad and vinaigrette recipes show how low-fat flavorful ingredients can be combined to make healthful, light, and tasty dishes. They are from the Culinary Institute of America's "The Professional Chef's Techniques of Healthy Cooking" (Wiley, 2000, second edition, $59.95), which can help guide the way to thickening with low-fat alternatives.

Tangerines add color and sweetness when paired with beans and onions.

Chinese Long Bean Salad with Tangerines and Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette

For the salad:

• 3 1/4 cups (about 8 ounces) Chinese long beans
• 4 tangerines
• 1 1/2 cups (about 3 ounces) Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (about 3 ounces) sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tangerine juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Trim beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths, and cook in boiling water until barely tender. Drain and cool. Trim peel from tangerines. Working over a bowl to catch juices, cut segments away from membranes. Squeeze juice from leftover membranes and reserve for vinaigrette. Combine beans, tangerine segments, onion and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

To make vinaigrette: Combine cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water to form a slurry. Bring vegetable stock to a boil. Add slurry and stir until stock thickens. Cool to room temperature. Combine remaining vinaigrette ingredients and whisk into thickened stock. Toss bean mixture with vinaigrette.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 120 calories, 3 g protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium.