The Cream Cure

Yearning for the rich pleasures of days gone by, I recently had a charming, old-fashioned French dinner. It was like meeting an old love who had become very fat.

The menu was rich: artichoke bottoms with Bearnaise sauce, baked sole mousse, strawberries Romanoff, and petits pots de creme au chocolat . But though the food was well prepared, every dish was disappointing.

I had forgotten that in that style of cooking there is nothing to chew. Everything is pureed, creamed or whipped; one simply swallows. With all that butter and cream, there was no pizazz. I missed today’s bold, bare flavors and earthy textures.

Long ago, every cook had a generous supply of butter, cream and wine. We were like doctors with penicillin, armed with a cure for dishes that suffered the doldrums. Cream and butter can smooth away raw edges of taste, and wine can give depth to insipid food. But times have changed, and food fashion has turned our buttery rich world upside down. In trying to think of what I use today, I came up with tomato sauce and roasted peppers.

They both add flavor to lots of dishes and smooth away the edges. They don’t add richness, but they do add pizazz. And they can be so simple: A sandwich spread with this sauce and topped with roasted peppers and cheese becomes a toasted pizza.

ALL-PURPOSE TOMATO SAUCE

12 (about 5 1/2 to 6 pounds) large ripe tomatoes

Salt

1 teaspoon sugar, optional (if tomatoes lack sweetness)

7 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Cut each tomato into about 8 pieces. Do not peel or seed. Place tomatoes in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and add sugar. Toss to mix well, add garlic and olive oil and toss again. Brush film of olive oil over bottom of 13x9-inch glass baking dish.

Spread tomato mixture evenly over baking dish and bake at 325 degrees about 2 hours, stirring mixture every half hour, if possible. (This cooks down and has pleasing concentrated flavor.) Store covered in refrigerator. If keeping longer than 10 days, freeze in small amounts so it is easy to thaw and use. Makes about 5 cups.

Each cup contains about:

258 calories; 87 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.99 grams fiber.

ROASTED SWEET PEPPERS

6 sweet green, red or yellow or mixed peppers, cored, seeded, cut into 3-inch squares

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt

Spread pepper squares, skin-side up, over baking sheet that has been brushed lightly with some olive oil. Salt generously or to taste.

Roast in 350-degree oven about 40 minutes or until peppers get black around edges of bottoms and lightly browned on top. Store in large jar and pour over remaining olive oil. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups.

Each serving contains about:

134 calories; 38 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.25 grams fiber.

John Perreault, a young chef in Santa Barbara, developed this winning bean bread, which is just the kind of bread you want to use for the tomato sauce and roasted peppers.

JOHN’S BEAN BREAD

1 cup bread flour

1 cup water

1 package dry yeast

1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 cups bread flour

Combine bread flour, water and yeast in bowl. Stir to mix well. Let stand, uncovered, 1 hour at room temperature.

Puree beans with sugar, salt and olive oil. Add starter and mix well. (This can be done in food processor.)

Place bean mixture in large bowl and add enough flour to make manageable dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured board. Knead dough, adding only enough flour that it doesn’t stick to board. Knead about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down. Shape into round loaf and place on greased baking sheet or place in greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Let rise again until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 1 (10-inch) round loaf or 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

317 calories; 2 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 1.19 grams fiber.