Comfort Foods Even a Nutritionist Can Love : Trends: New Southern cooking keeps the down-home flavor but cuts down on the fat, calories and cholesterol.

By the end of the ‘80s, the comfort-food trend, which celebrated homey dishes such as mashed potatoes and pecan pie, found its way into the hearts of sophisticated diners fed up with the latest gourmet-this and nouvelle-that.

These down-home flavors soothed the soul, but their loads of fat, calories, salt and cholesterol were hardly a comfort to the health-minded. Now, professional food watchers see signs of a move toward slimmed-down versions of “mom” dishes--comfort foods even a nutritionist could love.

Nowhere have the results been more mouthwatering than in the hands of Southern chefs, and Southern touches are turning up in surprising places.

“The Russian Tea Room in New York City now serves chicken paillard on a mess o’ collard greens for lunch,” reports Manhattan-based food and restaurant consultant Clark Wolf. “And chefs are serving mashed potatoes made with olive oil or pureed or mashed turnips rather than carloads of butter and sour cream.”

Experts on Southern food say this new way of cooking stems from traditional Southern home cuisine, which emphasized fresh vegetables and used meats sparingly. Like all Southern cooking, these lighter versions are based on the region’s rich gastronomic heritage.

Southern hospitality has always been reflected in cooking dished out in third-helping portions. Most of the ingredients have come from the South’s own fertile pastures and teeming coastal waters.

The first Southern cookbook, “The Virginia House-Wife,” written in 1824 by Mary Randolf and reissued by the University of South Carolina Press in 1984, was enormously successful in its day and remains a valuable study of the roots of modern Southern cuisine.

According to food historian Karen Hess, who edited the reissue, most of the book’s recipes were basically British, altered by the use of local produce and staples such as grits, and by the exotic styles of the African slaves who actually prepared the meals.

“The near-mythic quality of so much Southern cookery is due in large part to the African presence,” Hess says. “Above all, this is what differentiated it from cooking in the North.”

Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, currently at work on a book of African-Atlantic coastal cuisine and author of “Vibration Cooking: The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl” (Ballantine Books, 1986), agrees. “You can’t have African people come and cook for over two centuries and not feel their influence. You can’t even talk about Southern cooking without taking into account the Native American and African flavor of it.”

This flavor is especially evident in South Carolina’s cuisine, where some of the most important ingredients--okra, eggplant, watermelon, sesame or “benne” seeds, black-eyed peas and sorghum--are all transplants from Africa. In the low country (lower coastal South Carolina and the area around Savannah, Ga.), cooking was also heavily influenced by the slave trade, reflecting a variety of cultures while mostly using foods that thrived in the area--seafood, rice, figs, peaches, tomatoes and muscadine grapes.

A Caribbean touch was also introduced throughout the South due to the slave trade, Hess says. “Some black cooks had passed through way stations in the West Indies--or knew others who had. There they picked up a number of dishes and tricks of seasoning, primarily with peppers and tomatoes. Once in America, they adapted the dishes of their masters--whether French, Spanish or English--with marvelous results.”

From Louisiana, the melting pot of many nationalities, came Cajun food--gastronomic mingling at its best. A spicy combination of French-Canadian cuisine blended with that of the Louisiana Indians and Africans, Cajun recently became one of the hottest food trends to sweep the country. Its more refined relative, Creole, adds touches of traditional French, Spanish, Caribbean and African cookery.

Though traditional Southern home cooking can be full of nutritional pitfalls, its ingredients are rarely to blame, says dietitian Martha M. Jones, director of the division of nutrition at the Ochsner Medical Institution’s Outpatient Clinic in New Orleans. “The food itself,” she says, “fish, chicken, dark leafy greens and all the other things that grow in Southern gardens, is wonderful to start with. The problem comes in how it’s prepared.”

Southern greens cooked with salty meat, “fried everything” and rich sauces made with cream and butter are completely inconsistent with today’s lighter, heart-conscious eating.

“In Louisiana,” says Jones, “every recipe begins ‘Start with a roux,’ which is flour browned in equal parts of fat. Then we add salt--either from the shaker or from salty, fatty meat.”

“At Ochsner,” she says, “we work with local chefs to encourage restaurants to offer meals prepared with less fat that still taste good. And we’ve persuaded many chefs to demonstrate heart-healthy methods at the New Orleans School of Cooking.”

Among the practical tips Jones offers her clients are steaming greens until just tender and flavoring them with lean meat and one to two drops of liquid smoke or crab boil seasoning rather than with fatty bacon or ham hocks.

If a home chef insists on cooking vegetables Southern style (until soft), Jones recommends consuming the cooking liquid--as a soup, perhaps--so as not to lose the vitamin content. (Some water-soluble vitamins, including B and C, will be lost during cooking.)

And, rather than frying chicken in a pan of oil, she suggests removing the skin, coating the meat with a batter of milk, flour and egg whites and then sprinkling it with a little polyunsaturated oil before baking in the oven.

But the best approach, Jones says, “is to eat a balanced selection of foods and not go overboard with the high-fat ones.”

Such a common-sense approach will allow most of us to safely enjoy the comfort of Southern cooking. A number of Southern-food luminaries insist traditional Southern home cuisine can be nutritious as well as delicious as long as you focus on plenty of vegetables--cooked with small amounts of lean meat--seafood and low-fat carbohydrates, such as corn bread, rice and dried beans. End meals with a bread pudding, fresh fruit or angel food cake.

John Martin Taylor, a food authority and one-time owner of a cookbook store in Charleston, S.C., is currently writing a guide to foods of the low country. Known for his dedication to authenticity, Taylor is adamant about freshness and purity of ingredients--the key, he says, to healthful eating and to producing the best possible meals.

“In this day and age of overprocessed foods, it’s important to avoid dangerous additives,” he says. “I would call for a return to those wholesome natural foods that, until recently, were the hallmark of Southern cooking.” If you plan to be a serious Southern cook, Taylor recommends you buy only from trusted butchers, farmers and bakers who “go the extra yard” to produce such foods.

For example, Taylor buys local stone-ground cornmeal and grits, then freezes them to protect their quality. He catches his own shrimp and blue crabs and has befriended farmers who are now cultivating Carolina Gold, a strain of rice that hasn’t been grown in South Carolina for 60 years.

Taylor even purchases fresh pork fat to render his own lard. “According to U.S. Department of Agriculture tables,” he explains, “lard contains only 12 mg. of cholesterol per tablespoon as compared with butter’s 31 mg. It reaches a much higher temperature than vegetable shortenings, so things cook faster, absorbing less grease. To remove even more fat, always drain fried food on a rack before serving.”

“Southerners have always eaten a great many vegetables,” says Nathalie Dupree, host of the PBS series “New Southern Cooking” and author of its accompanying cookbook of the same name (Knopf, 1986). “And they were always really good ones such as collards, turnips, cabbage and sweet potatoes.”

The habit of using fatty meats to flavor vegetables has a long history--that meat (along with eggs) may have been the only animal protein a family would have for a day or two, says Dupree. “In some respects, we were more like vegetarians, and, because we were a poor economy after the War Between the States, we needed the fat to sustain us while working the fields. But we never ate fried chicken every night.”

Dupree watches her own diet by charting a common-sense path when selecting the food she eats. “Many days, lunch for me will be just corn bread and cabbage,” she says. “I think if people eat balanced meals, it will all work out. If you get crazy about changing your entire diet, odds are that you won’t stick to it, defeating the purpose. It’s better to eat a biscuit if you crave one, then cut back on fat for the rest of the day.”

Roy F. Guste Jr., former proprietor of Antoine’s in New Orleans, worked closely with nutritionists at the Ochsner Medical Institution to produce a new cookbook, “Louisiana Light: Low-Fat, Low-Calorie, Low-Cholesterol, and Low-Salt Cajun and Creole Cookery” (W.W. Norton & Co., 1990). In it, Guste offers simple techniques that improve the nutritional content of traditional recipes without losing their Southern accent.

As a replacement for the high-fat roux Southern cooks thought they couldn’t live without, he lightly browns flour in a dry pan (it should be either nonstick or one that distributes heat efficiently) over low heat, stirring carefully. The result is the same characteristic flavor essential to etouffees, gumbos and other Creole dishes. Although this roux will not look as dark as traditional versions, Guste asserts it will turn a deep, rich brown when added to cooking liquid.

Guste’s basic rule in his cookbook is to add no fat or salt. “I didn’t try to replace taste, but when you don’t add fat or salt there is a noticeable difference in the food, so I emphasized flavors elsewhere.” Guste makes good use of onions, garlic and sweet peppers, “dry-cooking” them, using the same technique he follows for the roux. Such innovations may seem like heresy to traditionalists, Guste says, but they are necessary to reduce the fat content of many dishes.

Guste cautions that his book is only for people willing to sacrifice some authenticity for a healthier meal. “If people try the recipes looking for real Louisiana food, they may feel there is something missing,” he says. But his dishes are simple, appealing and trimmed to the bone--fit choices for diners seeking hard-core, healthy fare.

Ruth Adams Bronz is an ebullient proponent of the foods of her native Texas, many of which she serves in her restaurant, Miss Ruby’s Cafe, in New York City, and includes in her book, “Miss Ruby’s American Cooking: From Border to Border & Coast to Coast, the Best Recipes From America’s Regional Kitchens” (Harper & Row, 1989). Bronz’s spirited conversation is punctuated with laughter: “I don’t believe you have to make Southern food healthy; you just need to make good choices.”

Even when it comes to dessert, Southern cooking offers a range of wholesome options. One low-fat favorite that Southerners historically adopted from the English is fruitcake. “I serve it in my restaurant as the Southerners did, all winter long,” says Bronz. “Instead of flavoring it with bourbon, you can soak it in orange juice and then keep it refrigerated to preserve it.”

A French influence turns up in Floating Island, a version of oeufs a la neige that’s light and airy, thanks to whipped egg whites. And then there’s Bronz’s angel food cake, a specialty of her grandmother, Lucy Tucker Adams, a native of Louisiana who emigrated to Fort Bend County, Texas. “It has virtually no fat or cholesterol,” says Bronz. “You can adjust the amount of sugar and top it with delicious but healthy things such as yogurt and berries.”

OKRA, CHICKEN AND CRAB GUMBO WITH RICE

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped green onions

1 cup chopped green peppers

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup sliced okra

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/3 cup Dry Roux

6 cups water

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 gumbo (blue) crabs, cleaned and quartered

3/4 pound cooked, lean chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 cups hot cooked rice (no oil or salt added during cooking)

Combine onions, green onions, green peppers, celery, okra, garlic and parsley in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in roux and slowly blend in water. Add bay leaves, thyme, black pepper and cayenne and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer.

Add crabs and chicken. Continue simmering, covered, 30 minutes. Spoon into warm soup bowls. Top with 1/2 cup rice in center of each.

Make 6 servings--282 calories, 24 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fat, 56 milligrams cholesterol, 95 milligrams sodium, 88 milligrams calcium, 3 milligrams iron.

Dry Roux

1 cup flour

Place flour in heavy skillet over moderate heat. Stir often with wooden spoon as flour cooks. Flour begins coloring in 5 to 7 minutes, becoming blond roux. During next 5 to 7 minutes flour will darken to light wood color. Stir constantly to keep flour in bottom of skillet from burning and so all flour in pan colors evenly.

Whole process takes about 15 minutes of close attention to get good rich roux. Roux can be stored unrefrigerated in tightly covered jar almost indefinitely. Makes 1 cup.

VERTA’S NAKED GREENS

3 pounds mixture of turnip and mustard greens

1 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

1 reduced-sodium bouillon cube (beef, chicken or vegetable)

6 tablespoons finely chopped onion

Thoroughly wash and drain greens. Cut up and place in heavy pan along with water, oil and bouillon cube. Cook, covered tightly, 25 minutes.

Serve with chopped onion on side. Makes 6 servings--86 calories, 5 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 76 milligrams sodium, 335 milligrams calcium, 3 milligrams iron.

RUTH ADAMS BRONZ’S PICKLED BLACK-EYED PEAS

1/4 cup cider or wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heavy dash hot pepper sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled

Oregano

1 whole clove

3/4 cup light-colored olive oil

3 cups cooked black-eyed peas

1 cup finely diced sweet red and green peppers

3/4 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1 head ruffled green, red leaf or romaine lettuce, washed and drained

Whisk vinegar together with mustard, Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, thyme, basil, sprinkle of oregano and clove. Add oil, drop by drop, to form light emulsion, whisking constantly.

Remove cloves from mixture, then add peas, peppers, celery and onion and toss gently. Serve on bed of lettuce. Makes 6 servings--359 calories, 7 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrate, 28 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 46 milligrams sodium, 43 milligrams calcium, 3 milligrams iron.

JOHN TAYLOR’S CORN BREAD

1 teaspoon shortening or oil

1 egg, at room temperature

2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups stone- or water-ground cornmeal

Place shortening in 10-inch, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet and place in cold oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine egg, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl, mixing well. Stir in cornmeal. Batter will be thin.

When oven reaches 450 degrees, shortening should be just at point of smoking. Remove skillet from oven and pour batter into skillet all at once. Bake at 450 degrees until top begins to brown, about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately turn onto plate, keeping bottom up to preserve crispness. Makes 8 servings--149 calories, 5 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fat, 29 milligrams cholesterol, 504 milligrams sodium, 104 milligrams calcium, 1 milligram iron.

Note: Taylor uses 1 teaspoon bacon grease for more authentic Southern flavor.

MISS RUBY’S ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH BERRIES AND SWEETENED YOGURT

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 cup sifted cake flour

12 egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

Berries

Sweetened Yogurt

Sift together powdered sugar and cake flour, repeating twice. Set aside.

Combine egg whites in large bowl with cream of tartar, vanilla and salt, beating with large balloon whisk or electric mixer. As egg whites stiffen, gradually add granulated sugar, sprinkle at time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Sift about 1/4 flour mixture over whites, folding in lightly with large rubber spatula. Repeat until all flour mixture is folded in.

Turn into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until surface springs back when touched. Invert cake pan on wire rack and cool completely.

Loosen cake from pan with knife or metal spatula and invert onto platter. Cut into slices and top each with Berries and 2 teaspoons Sweetened Yogurt. Makes 12 servings--248 calories, 6 grams protein, 55 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fat, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 128 milligrams sodium, 81 milligrams calcium, 0.3 milligrams iron.

Berries

4 cups berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or sliced strawberries or combination of any or all)

1/2 cup superfine sugar

Wash berries. Drain and toss lightly with sugar. Refrigerate about 30 minutes. Makes 4 cups berries.

Sweetened Yogurt

1 cup plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Stir together yogurt, vanilla and powdered sugar until well blended. Makes 1 cup.