A healthy and delicious trove of recipes that capture the heart of Provence but not the fat In Provencal Light, first published in hardcover in 1994, Martha Rose Shulman embraces the glorious essence of Provence as she introduces us to her favorite recipes, rich and redolent with flavor but lightened for today's lifestyles.
Provencal Light takes us on a fantastic culinary tour of the south of France. Nutrition-conscious home cooks can enjoy such culinary marvels as the ravioli of Nice, filled with chard and chicken or herbs with ricotta cheese; nourishing vegetable tortes; creamy Asparagus and Fresh Pea Risotto; Stuffed Summer Vegetables; Pan-Roasted Quail with Quinces and Figs; and luscious Pear and Apple Souffle. Plus there is a scrumptious selection of richly flavored vegetable gratins and ragouts; satisfying pastas and gnocchi; and heavenly, naturally sweet fruit tarts, clafoutis, and sorbets.
Each recipe is accompanied by a complete nutritional breakdown, including calories, sodium, and fat content. Provencal Light lets you enjoy the marvelous cuisine of the south of France while adhering to a healthful, hearty diet. This is the perfect marriage of low-fat eating and good taste for everyone with a passion for food.
Noting that the cuisine of Southern France is already "essentially vegetarian," Shulman ( Mediterranean Light ) maintains the character of traditional Provencal dishes even while reducing their fat content. Eschewing all meat dishes (and even the traditional bourride, a heavily enriched fish soup) , she cuts the amount of olive oil used in many dishes (down to one or two tablespoons for four to eight servings) and calls for less than usual amounts of such high-fat flavor enhancers as tapenade (olive paste). In a "relatively low-fat aioli" much of the garlic mayonnaise's oil is replaced with fromage blanc, cottage cheese or mashed potatoes. While there are only 10 recipes in the poultry and rabbit chapter, the vegetable and soup chapters are as full as a market basket in July. Of note are vegetable ragouts and gratins: tomato, potato and squash, and others in combination--such as artichokes and potatoes, eggplant and tomato, spinach and red pepper--all redolent of garlic and herbs. Sauteed vegetables are cooked with less oil and over a low heat, yielding their flavors surely but more slowly. Desserts highlight fresh fruits, usually in clafoutis or tarts made with crisp, scantily buttered phyllo pastry. These are not diet recipes, but they are reasonably healthful and joyously Provencal. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Library Journal
Shulman, cooking teacher and writer, has lived in France for more than ten years, and she's spent a great deal of that time in Provence. Although she covered some of this same ground in Mediterranean Light ( LJ 4/15/89), now she focuses strictly on Provencal cuisine in all its glory. The Provencal diet lends itself readily to Shulman's lightening, and she offers dozens of recipes for flavorful dishes that are low-fat but still true to the spirit of the "cuisine of the sun." She includes a whole chapter on the region's famous fish soups, along with lots of delicious vegetable dishes, zesty salads and starters, breads, pizzas, pastas, and a variety of fruit desserts. Definitely not a "diet" book, this is highly recommended. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
For over 30 years I have been writing cookbooks devoted to eating well. A pioneer in vegetarian cooking, I began my career in 1973 at the age of 23. This was long before well-educated people from upper middle class backgrounds fantasized about becoming the next Food Network star or owning a successful restaurant. I was then a student at The University of Texas at Austin. I changed my major every semester, but my passion for cooking and for giving dinner parties was unwavering. I also had an interest in health, and combined the two in my approach to food, drawing upon many of the world's cuisines to create vegetarian dishes that were much better than the standard brown rice fare of the early 1970s. Culturally I was very much a product of my era, but as far as my cooking was concerned, I have always been way ahead of my time. Once I'd had my epiphany about my calling, I developed a series of vegetarian cooking classes that I taught through the University of Texas Extension, and I opened a private "supper club" in my home. Every Thursday for two years I prepared a sit-down 3-course dinner for 30 people. My cozy "home restaurant" allowed me all the fun and few of the headaches of running a public restaurant, and at the same time gave me a place to experiment and develop a repertoire of dishes to showcase. I also learned to cook for a crowd. Soon I had a vegetarian catering service; I catered everything from breakfasts in bed and dinners for two to wedding receptions and conferences for two hundred. I had also been, all along, a writer in search of a subject. I knew that I would write a cookbook, and when The Vegetarian Feast came out in 1979, my career had evolved from cook/caterer to food writer and cookbook author. The Vegetarian Feast won a 1979 Tastemaker Award (a precursor of the prestigious James Beard Awards) for Best Book, Health and Special Diets category, and remains in print. I was never doctrinaire about vegetarian cooking; I just felt that I'd had my quota of meat by the time I reached the age of 21. I admired all good cooks, especially Julia Child, with whom I corresponded. In my first letter to her, a fan letter dated September 2, 1976 in which I described my cooking classes and my supper club, my catering service and the book I was trying to get published, I told her I was "trying to shed a new light on vegetarianism, to present it as an unmysterious, classical, and memorable cuisine. The art of cooking with an emphasis on nutrition as well as flavor is my interest, and because I am a vegetarian my cuisine is a meatless one." Two years after the publication of The Vegetarian Feast I moved to Paris, where I continued to write cookbooks and articles, revived my Supper Club, and became a much better cook. During the twelve years I lived in France I traveled extensively in the Mediterranean to research its many cuisines. My book Mediterranean Light was published in 1989, just as the benefits of the Mediterranean diet were coming to light in the United States. The region continues to be my richest source of culinary inspiration. To date, I have 27 cookbooks to my name. My work has been of a piece; not all of my books are vegetarian, but they all have a healthy focus. Several of my books have been nominated for cookbook awards and three have won them. In addition to the 1979 Tastemaker Award for The Vegetarian Feast, I've received the following nominations and prizes for my work: *2001: International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), The Best Vegetarian Recipes, Nominee, Single Subject category *1995 James Beard Awards, Great Breads, Nominee, Bread and Pastry category *1994 Bertolli Olive Oil Award, Provençal Light, First Prize, Health and Special Diets category, Julia Child Awards *1991 International Association of Culinary Professionals, Entertaining Light, First Prize, Health and Diet category *1991 James Beard Awards, Entertaining Light, Nominee, Entertaining category *1989 Tastemaker, Mediterranean Light, Nominee, Health and Special Diets category *1988 Tastemaker, Supper Club chez Martha Rose, Nominee, Entertaining category
My cooking continues to evolve, as I hone and simplify my recipes to make them accessible to a wide range of cooks. I feel that I have played a role in improving the eating habits of many Americans, particularly since I began writing a daily recipe feature called Recipes for Health for the health section of The New York Times on the Web, in 2008. Its purpose is to empower people to cook healthy meals every day by giving them straightforward, delicious recipes. Each week's column is themed around a fresh ingredient from the market, a pantry item or a type of dish, with a new recipe posted every day. The reader response has been enthusiastic; my recipes regularly appear in the "10 Most Emailed" list on the health page. It has been extremely satisfying to know that I am reaching so many people and having an impact on their cooking.
Martha Rose Shulman truly is a delight. She has written a book that is as fun to sit down and read... as it is to pull out and plan a menu. With each page and each chapter it is obvious to the reader the care and passion the author has towards preserving the essence of Provencal cuisine. Balance this with a healthful approach of minimizing fat without sacrificing flavour and you have the perfect book to add to any healthy gourmand's collection. Unlike many "light" cookbooks, which equate healthy with "fat-free," resulting in tasteless food, Shulman takes the wise approach of moderation. In many recipes, if your diet allows it, you can even add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to further enhance the flavour. A true student of gastronomy and culinary tradition, the author has thoughtfully sluethed, interviewed, practiced and refined plates and recipes from an assortment of kitchens and chefs. The result: a thoughtful and diverse cookbook of flavours that are respectful to their authenticity but balanced with healthful influences. Such approach has garnered her praise from some of the "toughest" food critics, including the hilarious Jeffrey Steingarten in his wonderful "The Man who Ate Everything" (another must-read). Particularly inviting are the recipes for tartes and gratins, rabbit and fish, and an assortment of different takes on clafouti. The tomato and rice soup is delightful with a garden salad for a light dinner... the eggplant and tomato gratin excellent as a side dish at dinner. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book in the few weeks I have had it... and anticipate making it dog-eared in the years to come.
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I've traveled in Provence, and own many Provencal cookbooks (some, I admit, just for the beautiful pictures!) but this is my favorite. It may be because I attended a cooking class taught by Martha and really got hooked on her approach, which aims at keeping authentic flavors while cutting back on some of the outrageous amounts of fat that are in some of the original recipes. She succeeds at this in almost all of her recipes. Try her green bean and potato salad, redolant of wonderful south France flavors, or her fabulous cherry clafouti, sparked with kirsch, and lightened a little with the addition of yoghurt. If you can only buy one Provencal cookbook and can forego the pictures, get this one.
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This is a cooks recipe book, no pictures, yet just reading the recipes made my mouth water for the flavors. Martha Rose Shulman truly knows her cooking. Most recipes have calories, fat, protein, sodium, carbs and cholesterol listed. There are lessons on individual items of interest such as Goat Cheese. Measured items in the recipes are in english and metric measure.
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