Italian Makes Lighthearted Salad

The natural reaction to the thought of Italian food is: Oh, be still my Heart Assn. guidelines.

Not! says Manuele Lira. Or at least not any longer.

Lira, chef at Il Fornaio in Irvine, says Italians are now leading the way in light and healthful cuisine and have been for the past five years or so.

A look at Il Fornaio’s extensive menu confirms his point. While pasta is still a mainstay, the heavy creams and sauces are not. Instead, you will find such items as angel-hair pasta with chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic, and you will find the words “no oil, no butter” alongside many of the dishes.

Entrees include chicken breast with puree of roasted garlic and rosemary, served on a bed of steamed spinach (with the menu notation “no butter or salt”) and whole boneless game hen marinated with fresh herbs and lemon.

“It’s a whole new way of cooking,” says Lira, who flies each year to his native Italy to study developing trends. “For two weeks, we travel up and down the country, eating out three times a day in restaurants large and small,” he says.

“The key today is using what’s freshest, what’s healthiest.”

His 10 or so daily specials--generally three main courses, four or five fish dishes and two pastas--make his point. Each morning, Lira and his staff hit the marketplace, “especially those that sell organically grown vegetables and fruits” and develop the specials based on their purchases.

“Americans today want their food fresh, healthy and inexpensive,” he says, “and that’s what we do best.”

The following light salad appetizer is one he created after a visit to Tuscany. The recipe, incidentally, will be included in a cookbook being prepared by the Il Fornaio staff.

Instead of salad dressing, the dish uses beef stock with just a touch of vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

PONZANELLA

8 ounces 2-day-old crusty peasant bread (Lira uses pagnotta)

3/4 cup beef stock

8 ounces plum tomatoes, quartered

1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1 small leek, thinly sliced (white part only)

10 basil leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

*

Pare crust from bread and cut bread into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Place on bottom of large salad bowl. Pour over the beef stock, mix and set aside. Top with tomatoes, cucumber and leek and toss well. Sprinkle the basil leaves on top. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle evenly over salad and toss again. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. (Serves 4)

Variation: Just before serving, add 8 1/2-ounce can of tuna, drained and flaked, and 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained.