SEVEN OR LESS
Secret to sauces: whipping cream

By Sarah Fritschner
Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal

Heavy or whipping cream creates a rich, luscious mushroom sauce for a dish like tortellini quite quickly. Pam Spaulding • Louisville Courier-Journal

Chefs love it for another reason: Cream creates luscious sauces in nearly no time.

Cooking with heavy cream creates those sauces fast. Heavy cream must contain a minimum of 36 percent fat (by weight), so in just 3 or 4 minutes you can make a lovely, viscous sauce to lightly cover your chicken breast or shrimp.

Something labeled "whipping cream" only needs to contain 30 percent fat. It, therefore, requires more time to thicken, and yields less sauce when you're done.

You'll notice less difference if you're making a cream-style soup and you substitute whipping cream for heavy whipping cream. In that case, you can substitute half-and-half or whole milk. With each step, you will be adding less fat to the food. With a soup that is mostly liquid, you won't notice. But if you want a luscious, thick sauce fast, use the heavy whipping cream.

This makes a modest amount of sauce — less than half a cup per serving — once it's done. If you'd like more sauce, add more cream (but allow more time for it to cook). You can add shrimp or chicken tenders when the mushrooms have cooked, if you like.

CREAMY MUSHROOM TORTELLINI

• 12 ounces frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 14 to 16 ounces reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup (freshly grated) Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the tortellini. Cook according to package directions, 2 to 5 minutes.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms, thyme and salt to taste. Stir. After mushrooms turn a yellow-golden brown, add the chicken broth and let it boil to reduce to about 1/4 cup — it should just cover the bottom of the pan. Add whipping cream, and allow to boil until thickened to desired consistency.

Divide tortellini among bowls, and spoon mushroom sauce over them. Sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4.

Per serving: 545 calories, 32 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 1,278 milligrams sodium.

Note: To make vegetarian tortellini: Make the broth using Better Than Bouillon, a mushroom-based product, which you can find in gourmet stores and at www.superiortouch.com.