TASTE OF THE SOUTH
A lighter take on an old favourite
Trusty broccoli can do with some variations. A new cookbook that lightens southern American cuisine contains this easy recipe. Virginia Willis, Atlanta cookbook author and TV cook, uses a food processor to break up long grain rice so it will make a creamy risotto when simmered in chicken broth. The broccoli is added for the final minutes of cooking. Her book, Lighten up, y’all: Classic Southern Recipes made Healthy and Wholesome (Ten Speed Press/Random House, $28.99) is an inviting approach to cooking deep south recipes with their fat and salt reduced.
Raised on the traditional recipes of her region, but determined to lower her weight, Willis developed satisfying, fresh versions of her family favourites. Eating her style of cooking has paid off; I met her in March at the conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals in Washington and she was considerably slimmer than when the photographs were taken for this book. The calorie count for this recipe is 206 with five grams of fat.