RECIPE DOCTOR
Lover's Bath can be more than an appetizer

Knight Ridder News Service

Q. My husband and I ate an incredible appetizer at a cute little Italian restaurant in Sutter's Creek, Calif. It was called Lover's Bath and it was basically olive oil, strips of roasted red pepper, whole roasted cloves of garlic, chunks of parmesan cheese and sun-dried-tomato pesto. It was fun to look at but difficult to eat. Can you create something similar? Does it need to be lightened?

A. Olive oil is one of the better oils because it is mainly monounsaturated fat. But olive oil still donates around 15 grams of fat and 120 calories per every tablespoon in your dish. So use it, but look for ways to keep the amount in a healthy balance.

One way to make this appetizer easier to eat (and let me just say I was salivating as I read her e-mail) and lower the calories and fat a little is to run the mixture ever so briefly in a food processor with a heavy emphasis on the roasted red pepper and roasted garlic ingredients, which become more of the "meat" to this spread along with a more reasonable amount of olive oil.

If you aren't crazy about roasted red pepper, an option is to use softened sun-dried tomatoes instead of bottled sun-dried tomato pesto (which is rather high in fat grams and calories) and to use more of it.

This is so good, you can make a meal out of it. Serve the spread with low-fat, high-fiber crackers or fresh baguette bread sliced on the diagonal.

If you don't have a small food processor, you can blend these ingredients with an electric mixer. You want to process this spread briefly (not too much) so you still see beautiful pieces of all the ingredients.

Lover's Bath

• 2 whole garlic bulbs
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers (packed measure), drained, available bottled at most supermarkets
• 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto (or used softened sun-dried tomatoes, diced)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
• 3 tablespoons shredded parmesan, romano or three-cheese Italian blend
• Black pepper to taste (about 1/16 teaspoon)
• Salt to taste (optional)
• Low-fat, high-fiber crackers or baguette bread sliced on the diagonal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut about 1/4-inch off the top of each whole garlic bulb with kitchen shears or a knife and place on a 1-foot-square piece of foil. Drizzle about a teaspoon of the olive oil over the top of both bulbs then wrap the foil over the bulbs and seal well.

Bake garlic until soft and nicely roasted (about 45 minutes). Let cool slightly, then place the garlic cloves (discard the outer skin) in small food processor. Add roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomato pesto, remaining olive oil, and parmesan cheese to the food processor as well.

Pulse briefly to make into a spread but not too much to lose the look of the various ingredients. Add pepper to taste, salt if desired.

Serve with low-fat, high fiber crackers or baguette slices.

Makes about 4 servings.

Per serving (without bread or crackers): 150 calories, 3 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 11.5 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 8.3 g monounsaturated fat, 1.2 g polyunsaturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g fiber, 140 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 70 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids, 0.3 g; omega-6, 0.8 g. Weight Watchers points 4.

Elaine Magee is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "The Flax Cookbook." Write to her through her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.