Fat, Wonderful Fat : Health: The danger of fat lies not in its nature but in the quantity it’s eaten.

I have been so well nurtured throughout my life that I’m sure to die completely cured.

--Fernand Point

Like the ascetic cults that attempted to censure sensuality in past times, dietitians, consumers and much of the food media seem hell-bent on carving all that is delicious from food in the name of good health, while making fat the supreme taboo.

Research linking a fat-laden diet to a host of ills from cancer to heart disease has given rise to a panicked view that fat in itself is dangerous, as though blame could be laid to a single sinister cause.

In truth, there are a broad range of factors--some culinary, many not--that have led to the present dilemma, including stress and lack of exercise, as well as over-consumption of fats and highly processed foods. The danger of fat lies not in its nature but in the quantity in which it’s eaten.

One outcome of this nationwide fat phobia is that fat is being excised totally from recipes without regard for texture and flavor and the deeper needs that food satisfies. Food is a primal source of pleasure, comfort, joy and sharing with friends. It is a link to culture and roots. Fats have traditionally played a vital role in this more soulful side of eating.

As catalysts of many chemical interactions in cooking, fats are the medium by which flavors are harmonized. Fats are critical to the perception of satisfaction. They are simply too delicious to do without. Proust’s madeleines-- the inspiration for probably the most-often quoted example of the transcendent power of food--could never have been made without butter.

The question, then, is how to make use of fats’ special qualities to enhance the deeper experience of eating, while respecting the realities of health and diet.

The answer lies in a simple premise: Use delicious fats in small amounts to provide flavor and the unctuous texture that we crave. If the fats we choose are the most flavorful possible, we need to use very little to achieve a satisfying effect.

Extra-virgin olive oils and pungent nut oils, in particular, bear out the radical notion that there are “good fats.”

The term “extra-virgin” describes an unrefined oil that has been extracted by pressure, rather than with solvents or heat, from premium-quality olives; by law it has less than 1% acidity. Such strict quality control yields oils with dazzling flavors ranging from buttery to fruity to nutty, with colors from golden yellow to deep green, depending on the climates in which the olives are grown and the method of production.

A drizzle of fine extra-virgin olive oil (no more than a teaspoon) seems to harmonize with practically any savory food, acting as the simplest imaginable embellishment for everything from raw fennel to mashed potatoes.

The oils can be further flavored by infusion with fresh herbs, such as basil, chives or cilantro, or even dried wild mushrooms, roasted peppers or truffles. This flavored olive oil can be used as a perfect instant sauce for anything from crudites to pastas or as droplets of flavor in soups and stews.

Excellent extra-virgin olive oils are produced in France, Spain, Greece, Italy and California. The best are not always the most expensive; as with wine, tasting and personal preference should be one’s guide.

Fine cold-pressed nut oils taste like essences of nuts. They are invaluable in low-calorie and low-fat preparations because they are not nearly as calorie-dense as the nuts from which they are made. A little goes a long way, making them quite economical as well. A teaspoon or two of hazelnut oil can impart the flavor of a cup of roasted hazelnuts to a sponge cake or a pie crust, for example, with many fewer calories and much less fat. Walnut oil can be drizzled into chocolate pudding, apple cakes or cookies to lend an underlying aroma of nuts.

And these oils--in league with an excellent vinegar--make sublime salad dressings, particularly for bitter and peppery greens and for chilled cooked vegetables such as leeks, beets and artichoke hearts. A little walnut oil lends a lovely note to a buttermilk-based Roquefort or chevre salad dressing.

Not all nut oils are alike. Health food store varieties can be as flavorless as plain vegetable oil because of the refining processes to which they are often subjected.

Until recently, the best nut oils have come from France. Neal Rosenthal, an American wine merchant, is importing extraordinary hazelnut, walnut and almond oils made by J. LeBlanc in the Charlerais region of France. LeBlanc grills the nuts to bring out the flavor before pressing the oils. They are available at gourmet stores or may be ordered by mail (write Neal Rosenthal, P.O. Box 52, Golden’s Bridge, N.Y. 10526).

An American firm called Loriva produces a variety of interesting oils, including a pungent California walnut oil, made from raw rather than roasted walnuts, and a fantastic roasted peanut oil.

Toasted sesame oil, used widely in Asian cooking, imparts the potent flavor of roasted sesame seeds to salad dressings, sauces and marinades. It can be used in lieu of tahini, the Middle Eastern sesame seed paste, to make lighter dressings for sesame noodles, hummus and baba ghannuj at a great savings in fat and calories.

Warning: Nut and seed oils are extremely volatile and get rancid easily. Stored in the refrigerator, however, they will last for many months.

Few people realize that all fats, from lard to canola oil to margarine, have about the same amount of calories, from 35 to 40 per teaspoon, and about 4 grams of fat. Given this formula, even normally shunned saturated fats such as cream, sour cream, butter and duck, goose and ham fats can be used occasionally to add their inimitable flavors to a dish. Often it takes only a teaspoon or two of any of these fats to flavor four or more servings, adding few additional calories or grams of fat to each serving.

Butter and cream are perhaps the most delicious fats of all and the ones for which there are the most unsuccessful imitations. Yet one tablespoon of whipping cream is frequently all that it takes to finish a soup or enrich a sauce. Two teaspoons of butter give a buttery flavor to potatoes that have been mashed with the cooking water or buttermilk. A teaspoon of browned butter, splashed with a little vinegar, is a wonderful warm dressing for root vegetables or leeks.

Sour cream, at half the calories of whipping cream, can lend body and creaminess to a sauce with a low-fat base--such as buttermilk or yogurt--or pureed vegetables such as roasted peppers, garlic or artichoke hearts.

A teaspoon or two of rendered goose or duck fat, upon which the sublime cooking of Southwest France is based, lends a marvelous flavor to sauteed duck steaks, potatoes, fava beans or onions, and to a low-fat cassoulet.

Ham fat, melted and emulsified with wine vinegar and a little water, makes a smoky-flavored dressing for bitter greens such as chicory and dandelion, as well as fresh black-eyed peas.

The few added calories of these additions are amply justified by the degree to which they carry a dish to fruition. And the total amount of fat remains low in the context of a sensible diet abundant in vegetables, legumes and grains.

In essence, this flavor-based approach to cooking and eating bows to the research that too much fat will do us in, but admits, too, that some will make us happy and satisfied.

The simplest way to flavor olive oil is to infuse the fresh herbs in the oil for at least a week. For a quicker, more brilliantly flavored oil, blend the oil with blanched herbs as in this method.

HERB-INFUSED OLIVE OIL

4 cups fresh basil, cilantro or arugula leaves, rinsed and picked over

1 quart virgin olive oil

Bring large pan water to boil. Submerge basil in boiling water until tender, about 5 seconds. Drain and transfer to bowl of ice water. Drain again and squeeze leaves to remove as much water as possible.

Process basil and 1 cup olive oil in food processor or blender until leaves are reduced to fine puree, about 1 minute. Transfer puree to medium bowl and add remaining 3 cups olive oil. Cover and let stand 1 or 2 days. Strain oil through fine strainer or cheesecloth and filter into clean dry bottles. Makes about 1 quart, 40 calories per teaspoon.

Bottled blue cheese dressing averages about 70 calories per tablespoon. My alternative is made with real Roquefort cheese and scented with Sherry vinegar and walnut oil. It is slightly thinner than the old-fashioned thick “blue cheese dressing,” but for my money, the flavor is much better.

ROQUEFORT DRESSING

2 ounces Roquefort cheese or other crumbly aged blue cheese, at room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

1/2 teaspoon walnut oil

Freshly ground pepper

Combine cheese, buttermilk, vinegar and walnut oil in food processor or blender. Process about 1 minute until smooth and creamy. Transfer to jar. Stir in pepper to taste. Dressing will keep about 1 week refrigerated. Makes 1 cup, 20 calories per tablespoon.

Variation:

Goat Cheese Dressing:

Follow recipe substituting 2 ounces aged goat cheese, such as Boucheron, for the Roquefort.

Sweet yellow or red peppers roasted over an open flame and peeled take on a sweet, smoky flavor and are wonderful as an hors d’oeuvres with cocktails with thin garlic croutons, or as an accompanying salad with cold roasted meats or grilled fish. Or for a light lunch, add 1 1/2 ounces of thinly sliced fresh mozzarella to each serving for an additional 120 calories.

ROASTED PEPPERS WITH CARAMELIZED GARLIC

4 medium sweet yellow and red peppers, in any combination

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

18 garlic cloves, sliced

4 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley or basil

Freshly ground pepper

Roast sweet peppers directly over gas flame or under broiler as close to heat as possible, turning, until charred all over. Enclose peppers in paper bag to steam 10 minutes. Using thin knife, scrape skin off peppers and remove cores, seeds and ribs. Rinse. Cut peppers lengthwise into 1-inch strips.

Combine olive oil and garlic in small skillet. Cover and cook over very low heat until garlic is very tender, about 7 minutes. Uncover pan. Increase heat to moderate and cook until garlic is lightly browned. Stir in vinegar. Strip leaves off thyme branches and add leaves to pan. Simmer 1 minute.

Arrange pepper strips in fan or criss-crossing pattern on platter or individual salad plates. Spoon caramelized garlic and dressing over peppers. Sprinkle with parsley and plenty of pepper. Serve at room temperature. (Salad will keep refrigerated 3 days.) Makes 4 servings, 102 calories per serving.

These wonderful lumpy mashed potatoes (with the skins left on) taste as if they have far more butter than 1/2 teaspoon per serving. Adding the small amount of butter at the end creates a buttery finish. Buttermilk and baking soda react to lighten potatoes and make them very fluffy. For an even more buttery look and taste, use yellow Finnish potatoes if available.

BUTTERMILK MASHED POTATOES

1 1/4 pounds thin-skinned yellow potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed or peeled, if desired

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup warm buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Freshly ground pepper

Place potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan and add enough cool water to cover. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with fork, about 45 minutes. Drain, reserving few tablespoons cooking liquid.

Place potatoes in large bowl and mash with potato masher or fork until fairly smooth (with some lumps remaining). Combine buttermilk and baking soda and beat into potatoes with wooden spoon until thoroughly incorporated. If creamier potatoes are desired, add reserved cooking liquid. Stir in butter and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Season to taste with pepper. Makes 4 servings, 147 calories per 3/4 cup serving.

Variation:

Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables:

Replace 6 ounces of potatoes with equal amount of pared cooked chunks of turnip, celery root or parsnips and 3 whole cooked, peeled garlic cloves. Proceed with mashing. 149 calories per serving.