Makes 3½ cups, enough to serve 8 to 10
Sugo di pomodoro (literally, “tomato juice”) is the simplest of all Italian tomato sauces, a smooth, light, velvety sauce perfect for spooning over spaghetti, gnocchi, and other simple pastas. What’s remarkable about this recipe is that it is virtually fat-free. Traditionally, the onion and garlic would be sautéed in a generous amount of olive oil. Here they’re roasted in a hot oven. But if your fat budget allows it, add one or two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil at the end for extra flavor.
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, in their skins
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus (optional) 1 to 2 tablespoons for adding at end
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28-ounce can imported peeled plum tomatoes, with their juices
6 basil leaves, thinly slivered, or ½ teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss or brush the onion and garlic with ½ teaspoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the onion in a roasting pan for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue roasting until both onion and garlic are soft and golden-brown, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Turn once or twice to ensure even roasting.
2. Grind the onion, garlic, and tomatoes with their juices through a vegetable mill or purée in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain the mixture through a strainer or sieve back into the saucepan. (Straining is not necessary if you use a vegetable mill.)
3. Add the basil and sugar (if using), and simmer the sauce, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is well flavored and slightly thickened, 4 to 6 minutes. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. If using additional oil, add it 1 minute before you remove the sauce from the heat.
26 CALORIES PER SERVING;* 1 G PROTEIN; 0.3 G FAT; 0 G SATURATED FAT; 6 G CARBOHYDRATE; 162 MG SODIUM; 0 MG CHOLESTEROL
Makes 4 cups, enough to serve 6 to 8 people
This rich, meaty sauce is one of the glories of Bolognese cooking. The traditional version would contain butter, cream, liver, and other fat-laden ingredients. My low-fat version uses lean cuts of veal, pork, and/or turkey, which I chop at home to make sure they’re completely devoid of fat. (For the richest flavor, use 4 ounces of each type of meat.) In place of the traditional cream, I enrich this sauce, too, with a thoroughly non-Italian ingredient, evaporated skim milk. I like the way the slight sweetness of this product cuts the acidity of the tomatoes. The easiest way to chop the tomatoes is in a food processor.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small or 1 large carrot, finely chopped
12 ounces lean veal, pork, and/or turkey, minced with a cleaver or in the food processor
1 ounce prosciutto, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup evaporated skim milk
1 28-ounce can imported peeled plum tomatoes, with their juices, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 fresh basil leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Chicken Stock (here) or veal stock (optional)
a little freshly grated nutmeg
1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan (preferably nonstick). Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the meat and prosciutto and cook until crumbly and browned, 5 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat apart with the edge of a metal spatula or with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste after 4 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until the wine is completely absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of the evaporated skim milk and simmer until completely absorbed, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes with their juices and the parsley, basil leaves, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat and gently simmer the sauce until it is well reduced and richly flavored, 30 to 40 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little chicken stock or water. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of evaporated skim milk and continue simmering the sauce until the milk is absorbed and reduced. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add a hint, just a hint of freshly grated nutmeg. Discard the bay leaf before serving.
226 CALORIES PER SERVING;* 20 G PROTEIN; 6 G FAT; 2 G SATURATED FAT; 17 G CARBOHYDRATE; 437 MG SODIUM; 55 MG CHOLESTEROL
Makes 2 cups, enough to serve 8
Cheese isn’t normally an ingredient one associates with high-flavor, low-fat cooking. But real Parmigiano-Reggiano has so much flavor (thanks to the lengthy aging) that just a little will give you a satisfying cheese flavor. Another plus: Parmigiano-Reggiano is made with part-skim milk.
1 recipe reduced-fat béchamel (here)
6 to 8 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 to 2 teaspoons mustard (nonsweetened or Dijon-style)
Prepare the béchamel sauce. Whisk all but 1 tablespoon cheese into the sauce. Whisk the mustard in. Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sauce. That way, the first taste that hits your tongue will be cheese, and it will trick your mouth into thinking there’s more cheese in the sauce than there really is.
70 CALORIES PER SERVING; 5 G PROTEIN; 2 G FAT; 1.7 G SATURATED FAT; 6 G CARBOHYDRATE; 130 MG SODIUM; 9 MG CHOLESTEROL