Health Foods and Haute Cuisine

The Rebellion now in full cry against the chemical feast has had the delightful consequence of opening up imposing vistas of great new viands. Men who like their pressed duck flavored with brandy rather than mercury and their onion soup seasoned with salt and pepper rather than calcium silicate are beginning to turn their culinary thinking around. They're not necessarily reverting to Thoreau's woods and a dinner of beavers' paws au beurre. But it has become increasingly clear that while food chemists, using preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers and artificial flavors, can (continued on page 201)health foods(continued from page 145) create some excellent gastronomic forgeries and can keep food in the larder from spoiling, they can, simultaneously, lay waste to man himself. If you're the kind of host who treasures your health as well as hedonistic values, you'll find that one of the best defenses against the chemical warfare of the commercial food processors is to explore the shops featuring natural or organic foods.

Natural foods are those untainted by chemical pollutants and quite a few are available in regular food shops. A steak from a steer whose diet was natural feed is a perfect example. Brook trout is another exquisite natural pleasure at the table. You may have to go to an organic-food shop to buy organic vegetables; that is, those grown without synthetic fertilizer or spray. If it's an organic food in a jar or a can, such as tomato pure, it was not only made from tomatoes grown organically but was also packed without resort to any of the 200 to 300 artificial flavors used in other processed foods. If the word organic appears on a carton of eggs, it means the eggs were from a flock of chickens fed only natural grains.

Indeed, health-food shops are cropping up faster than bean sprouts, and their offerings, from fresh artichokes to wild-blueberry jam, are fairly bewildering in their variety. It doesn't matter that such shops were originally patronized by faddists who believed that raw-carrot juice would sharpen their vision in a dark bedroom and that papaya tablets would enable them to outgorge Nero or Vitellius. In many of the shops you'll find hard-to-get foods such as cashew-nut butter and pure coconut meal. Others carry exotic stocks of Oriental foods, such as Japanese sesame miso, a wonderful ally at summer barbecues. Yet others feature both classical gourmet fare and natural foods; you can pick up your pt de foie gras and cold pressed walnut oil in one stop.

It's amazing how many foods acquire a naturally new luster merely by being left as close as possible to their natural state. Turbinado sugar, for instance, is neither as lily-white nor as finely granulated as regular sugar. In a cup of espresso, the difference would be hard to detect. But when you dip firm, fieldripened fresh strawberries into sour cream and then swish them in turbinado, you're suddenly tasting sugar for the first time and not just taking it for granted. Prunes aren't normally the concern of food connoisseurs. But the mammoth unsulphured prunes, 15 to 20 to the pound, which you'll find in some of the best health-food shops, are as magnificent raw as cooked. When cooked and served ice-cold with a river of sweet cream and a trickle of cognac or Armagnac, they are guaranteed to steal the show at any brunch party.

Realistically, of course, not every food in a natural-food shop is both a dietary and a dining joy. In a small store where the turnover isn't great, organic cucumbers and romaine can soon become wizened. The same vegetable sold at a roadside stand near the farm where they were grown may be delightfully crisp. Trial and error will soon tell you whether an organically fed chicken that was frozen and must be thawed before cooking matches the plump, fresh chickens you've been buying regularly. Finally, there's no conclusive scientific proof that vegetables and fruits grown organically will make you richer in life juices than those cultivated with inorganic fertilizers. But whether or not they taste better, you'll still have the quietly comfortable feeling that they are DDT-free.

Even the strictest constructionists of what is good and bad for our bodies agree that what tastes good--sheer savor in the mouth--is, in the majority of cases, the all-absorbing trump that leads us to choose one food over another. One could argue, for instance, that tupelohoney from Florida contains a greater proportion of supersweet levulose than buckwheat honey. But whatever the proportions of levulose, dextrose and sucrose, the honey from the wild tupelo trees in an impenetrable Florida swamp, gathered during a few weeks in the spring, is so luscious and incredibly fragrant that the first spoonful can be addictive. You can drizzle it over French toast or griddlecakes or mix it with rum and fresh grapefruit juice, confident that it's one habit you'll never be advised to kick.

The following recipes, using natural foods as much as possible, aren't Zen macrobiotic yin and yangs guaranteed to build strong bones and teeth and to give your tablemate soft healthy skin, though they may do all these things. Their biggest bonus is that they're munificent eating. Each recipe serves four.

[recipe_title]Cream of Almond Soup[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1/3 cup sliced almonds[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup onions, small dice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup leeks, white part only, thinly sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium clove garlic, finely minced[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup flour[/recipe]

[recipe]4 cups chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/2 cups milk[/recipe]

[recipe]8-oz. jar (about 1 cup) almond butter[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, white pepper[/recipe]

Preheat oven at 350. Spread almonds in shallow pan or pie plate. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until medium brown; avoid scorching. Set almonds aside. Melt butter in suop pot; add onions, leeks and garlic and saute until onions are soft, not brown. Stir in flour, blending well. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, Stir in milk; bring up to the boiling point, but do not boil. Let soup cool slightly, then add almond butter. Pour soup into blender in small batches and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reheat before serving. Sprinkle almonds over soup in serving dishes.

[recipe_title]Brook Trout, Sunflower Style[/recipe_title]

[recipe]4 brook trout, 1/2 to 3/4 lb, each[/recipe]

[recipe]Milk[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Flour[/recipe]

[recipe]2 eggs[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]Sunflower-kernel meal[/recipe]

[recipe]Melted butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1 lemon, cut into wedges[/recipe]

Have trout cleaned but left whole. Soak in milk to cover 1 hour, then drain well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; dip in flour. Beat eggs with lemon juice and 2 teaspoons oil. Dip trout in egg mixture, coating thoroughly and patting meal into place, if necessary, to make a firm coating. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cooking. Preheat oven at 375. Heat 1/4 in, oil in large skillet. Sauté trout until medium brown on both sides, turning carefully to avoid disturbing sunflower-meal coating. Place trout in shallow pan and bake 10 to 12 minutes. Dab with melted butter. Serve with lemon wedges.

[recipe_title]Veal Cutlets with Mushrooms Parmigiana[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 1/2 lbs. leg of veal, cut thin, as for scaloppine[/recipe]

[recipe]2 large cloves garlic[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon oregano[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon very finely minced parsely[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large onion, thinly sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad Oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Flour[/recipe]

[recipe]2 eggs, well beaten[/recipe]

[recipe]Bread crumbs[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 lb. organic mushrooms[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons flour[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/2 cups hot milk[/recipe]

[recipe]Freshly grated parmesan cheese[/recipe]

Organically grown mushrooms are usually brown rather than white. They're the one organically cultivated vegetable that seems distinctly different from its chemically grown counterpart. Their texture is firm, their flavor rich.

Pound veal with meat mallet until thin but not broken. Smash garlic slightly with the side of a knife blade. Place veal in mixing bowl with garlic, oregano, parsley, onion, 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss meat to coat thoroughly. Cover bowl and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours. Remove meat from bowl, discarding marinating vegetables. A few herbs may cling to meat. Dip veal in flour, eggs, then bread crumbs, in that order, patting crumbs to make a firm coating. Pour 1/4 in. oil in electric skillet preheated at 370. Sauté veal until light brown on both sides, then place it in a single layer in shallow baking pan. Wash mushrooms, cut into 1/4-in. slices and sauté in small amount of oil until tender and all liquid has evaporated. Set aside. In saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until well blended, then slowly stir in hot milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with wire whip. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine mushrooms and sauce; add salt and pepper to taste; spoon sauce over veal. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese. Preheat oven at 350. Bake veal 30 to 40 minutes or until cheese is browned.

[recipe_title]Pita Salad Bowi[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 medium-size head romaine[/recipe]

[recipe]1 small bunch escarole[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large sweet red pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large green pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-size cucumber[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium-size tomatoes[/recipe]

[recipe]4 radishes[/recipe]

[recipe]4 medium-size scallions[/recipe]

[recipe]2 pitas about 7 ins. in diameter[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup olive oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon dried mint[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons very finely minced parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, freshly ground pepper[/recipe]

Wash romaine and escarole. Dry thoroughly; there should not be a droplet of water on any leaf. Tear or cut romaine and escarole into 1-in. pieces. If sweet red pepper is not available, use 2 green peppers. Jab each one through the stem end with a long-pronged kitchen fork and hold over gas flame, turning it slowly until blistery black on all sides. Rub off burned pepper skin with a clean kitchen towel or knife. Cut each pepper in half; remove stem ends, seeds and inner membranes; cut into 1/2-in. dice. Peel and slice cucumber. Dip tomatoes into boiling water for 20 seconds. Hold under cold running water and remove skins and stem ends. Cut each one into sixths; squeeze and remove seeds, then chop them coarsely. Cut radishes and scallions into very thin slices. Peel, then cut each pita (wild pineapple from Central America) in half horizontally; remove core, then cut into 1/2-in. dice. If pitas are not available, substitute pineapple. In large salad bowl, stir oil and mustard until well blended. Crumble mint between fingers and add to bowl. Add all other ingredients except vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss very well. Add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Add more oil or vinegar, if desired, before serving.

[recipe_title]Coconut Souffé[/recipe_title]

[recipe]Butter[/recipe]

[recipe]Sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoon flour[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 cup hot milk[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]4 egg yolks[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon vanilla[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup coconut meal[/recipe]

[recipe]6 egg whites[/recipe]

Preheat oven at 350. Butter 1 1/2-quart souffé dish and sprinkle with sugar. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, blending well. Dissolve 3 tablespoons sugar in hot milk. Slowly stir hot milk into flour-butter mixture, using wire whip. Add salt. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks slightly. Add a few tablespoons sauce to yolks, then slowly stir yolks into saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and coconut meal. Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks but are not dry. Add about 1/4 of the egg whites to the coconut mixture and stir until blended. Slowly add coconut mixture to balance of egg whites, folding carefully, using a down, over, up motion with mixing spoon or spatula to keep mixture as light as possible. Turn mixture into souffé dish. Place dish in shallow pan with 1 in. Very hot water and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Serve at once with rum sauce below.

[recipe_title]Rum Sauce[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1/4 cup sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon cornstarch[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup water[/recipe]

[recipe]2 egg yolks, beaten[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoon dark Jamaica rum[/recipe]

Mix sugar and cornstarch well in top part of double boiler. Add water slowly and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add egg yolks, salt and rum, mixing well with wire whip. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with wire whip. Top part of double boiler should not be in contact with water in bottom section. As soon as sauce shows signs of thickening, remove from heat. Continue to stir about 1 minute. Serve sauce at table, pouring it over each serving of souffé.

[recipe_title]Wheat-Germ Griddlecakes[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 1/2 cups wheat germ[/recipe]

[recipe]2 1/4 cups milk[/recipe]

[recipe]3 eggs[/recipe]

[recipe]6 tablespoons salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/4 cups unbleached flour[/recipe]

[recipe]4 teaspoons baking powder[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/2 teaspoons salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon ground ginger[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon ground mace[/recipe]

[recipe]Melted shortening or oil[/recipe]

Put all ingredients except melted shortening in blender and blend at medium speed 1 minute. Stop blender to scrape sides, if necessary. Preheat electric skillet or electric griddle at 370. Brush lightly with shortening. Drop batter onto skillet, using about 1/4 cup for each griddlecake. When they are dull around edge and buddy in center, turn to brown other side. Wheat-germ griddlecakes brown rather quickly; avoid scorching. Serve with pure maple syrup at room temperature or slightly warmed.

So here's to your health--and bon appétit!