Getting fine flavor into a low-fat dish with a few common ingredients is a neat trick. It helps to get a hefty nudge from a recipe that’s not so pared down, that’s topped up with extras, i.e., helpful hints.
A new cookbook, “Prevention’s Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes” by Linda Gassenheimer ($19.95 paperback), seems to have that approach as its pattern and deserves review from cooks looking for smart ideas in pursuit of good (healthy) food.
The book features some 175 recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less.
This recipe for burgers for two would be a tasty way to start checking out what the book offers. They are tuna burgers with a Texas taste, the book tells us. That means the juicy burgers, flavored with scallions and onion, get a kick from jalapeno peppers mixed into mayonnaise.
The book puts this recipe in the lunch section, which runs after the breakfast section, and is followed by chapters for dinner (including meatless), desserts and entertaining.
Lunch and dinner recipes include an appropriate dessert; the entertaining section features complete menus that each serve six; all recipes have countdowns and shopping lists – so there are no excuses left not to be organized.
The lunch and dinner recipes each make two servings, but Gassenheimer promises the recipes double easily if you’re cooking for more people.
1medium jalapeno pepper, seeded (about 1 tablespoon)
2tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
6ounces fresh tuna, coarsely chopped
2scallions, sliced (about 3/4 cup)
1/4cup frozen chopped onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive-oil spray
2whole-wheat hamburger rolls (about 3 ounces)
1small tomato, sliced
2romaine lettuce leaves
Chop jalapeno peppers in a food processor fitted with a chopping blade. Remove and mix with the mayonnaise. Set aside. Without washing the food-processor bowl, add the tuna, scallions and onion and pulse several times until ingredients are finely chopped. Add salt and pepper to taste. Form into 2 patties, about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with olive-oil spray. Add the burgers and cook 2 minutes. Turn and cook 2 minutes longer. Place each burger on the bottom half of a hamburger roll. Place several slices of tomato on each burger and lettuce leaves over the tomato. Spread the mayonnaise on the top half of the roll and close.
Makes 2 servings. Per serving: 298 cal., 9.3 g total fat (1.6 g saturated), 44 mg chol., 26.1 g pro., 29.1 g carbo., 5.6 g fiber, 384 mg sodium.
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