99% Fat-Free Meals in 30 Minutes: Scrumptious Menus for Complete Meals That Can Be Made in About 30 Minutes-With No More Than 1 Gram of Fat Per Dish - Rilegato

Curried Mussels
Portobello Stir-Fry with Mushroom Orzo

This is a truly transcultural meal--pairing an Indian curry with a Chinese stir-fry and Italian orzo.  Together, these recipes make for a very abundant table.  If you wish to serve the mussels as a first course, delay the start of the stir-fry.

99% Fat-Free Fast Strategy:

1.  Rinse the mussels under cold running water.

2.  Prep the potato and celery for the curry.  Meanwhile, preheat a saucepan.

3.  Cook the orzo in the hot saucepan.  Between additions of stock, prep the bok choy for the stir-fry and preheat a Dutch oven.  Remove the orzo from the heat, cover, and set aside.

4.  Begin to cook the curry in the hot Dutch oven.  Meanwhile, make the sauce for the stir-fry and preheat a wok or skillet.

5.  Add the mussels and other remaining ingredients to the curry.  While it continues to cook, make the stir-fry in the hot wok or skillet.

6.  Mix the finishing ingredients into the orzo.

7.  Divide the orzo among four dinner plates and serve alongside about 1 1/4 cups of the stir-fry.
Curried Mussels

2 pounds debearded mussels (32 to 36 mussels)
6 ounces red potato (about 1 potato)
1 ounce celery (about I small stalk)
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped white onion (precut)
1 cup dry white wine or water (or a mixture)
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1teaspoon curry powder

Put the mussels in a colander and shake under cold running water for about 1 minute.  Discard any mussels that do not close when tapped.

Peel and dice the potato (about 3/4 cup) and trim and dice the celery (about 2 tablespoons).

Preheat a Dutch oven over high heat.

Add the potato, celery, tomatoes, onion, and wine and/or water to the hot pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the basil, curry powder, and mussels. Re-cover and cook, shaking the pan periodically, for 5 to 7 minutes more, until the mussels have opened.

Serve 8 to 9 mussels per person.

Yield=4 Servings
Fat per serving = 0.97 g
Calories per serving = 119.7

Look for debearded mussels in the market to save considerable time and effort; they usually come in mesh bags. Like clams, mussels should be put into a colander and held under cold running water; they can die if allowed to sit in fresh water for a prolonged period of time.  Discard any mussels with broken shells and those that .do not open while cooking.
Mushroom Orzo

2 tablespoons water
1 cup sliced white button mushrooms (precut)
1/2 cup chopped white onion (precut)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (precut)
1/2 cup orzo
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (see Pantry)
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preheat a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Combine the water, mushrooms, and onion in the hot pan.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the garlic and orzo to combine thoroughly, then stir in 1 cup of the chicken stock.  Continue to cook, stirring in the remaining stock 2 tablespoons at a time, until the pasta is al dente, about 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese and, if desired, the parsley.

Yield = 4 servings
Fat per serving = 0.89 g
Calories per serving = 106.5
Portobello Stir-Fry

11/4 pounds bok choy (about 1 head)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons Chinese oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cups chicken stock (recipe follows)
1 small dried hot pepper
6 ounces sliced portobello mushrooms (precut; about 16 slices)
1 cup shredded carrots (precut)

Cut the bok choy on the diagonal into thin strips (about 6 cups).

In a bowl, mix together the wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the chicken stock and set aside. Meanwhile, preheat a nonstick wok or a large nonstick skillet over high heat.

Put 1/4 cup of the remaining chicken stock and the dried pepper into the hot wok or skillet and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly and turning the mushrooms periodically, until they brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove and reserve the mushrooms.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken stock and the bok choy to the wok or skillet. Stir and add the carrots. Cook and stir for about 1 minute, until the carrots are limp. Add the reserved sauce mixture and stir to coat. Add the reserved mushrooms and any juice they have given off. Continue to cook and stir for another minute or two, until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Remove the hot pepper before serving.

Yield=4 Servings
Fat per serving = 0.50 g
Calories per serving = 92.1

This recipe showcases wonderful portobello mushrooms, which are meaty enough to satisfy a steak lover!
Chicken Stock

4 pounds chicken bones, with a few scraps of meat left on
Carrots, trimmed and cut into chunks (unpeeled)
2 parsnips, trimmed and quartered lengthwise (unpeeled)
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
5 stalks celery, trimmed and quartered sprigs
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, ends trimmed
Water to cover above ingredients by 2 inches (about 20 cups)
12 whole black peppercorns

Put the chicken bones, vegetables, and parsley in a large stockpot. Cover with water. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat, then skim the foamy residue off the top. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours, until the bones begin to disintegrate. Periodically skim the residue off the top.

Remove the pot from the heat. Discard all solid ingredients from the stock and strain the liquid into a large bowl. Add the peppercorns. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 2 to 3 hours. If refrigerating overnight, cover after 2 to 3 hours.

When you take the stock out of the refrigerator, use a large spoon to lift off as much as possible of the layer of fat that has settled on top. Using a dinner knife, scrape along the top of the stock to catch any additional small pieces of fat. Put the stock in a large pot and cook it over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until it has turned from a gelatinous state back into liquid. Pour the liquefied stock through a strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth (to strain sediment) into a clean bowl.

Yield=6 to 8 cups

Once the fat has been skimmed, good old-fashioned chicken stock is a fat-free cook's best friend! We recommend making your own stock in order to best control taste and fat content.  It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen in handy 2-cup portions in heavy-duty plastic freezer bags to have on hand for quick meal preparation.

By using a pressure cooker, you can cut down the cooking time to a little over 1 hour and eliminate the need to skim while cooking. To make this volume of stock, use at least an 8-quart capacity cooker, filled no more than two thirds full, and follow the manufacturer's directions.

If you use commercial chicken stock rather than making your own, refrigerate, skim, and strain it according to the directions below before proceeding to use the stock in a recipe.

ing authors of two previous "99% Fat-Free" cookbooks now provide complete quick-to-fix menus for every occasion.

With the overwhelming success of their first two books, The 99% Fat-Free Cookbook and 99% Fat-Free Appetizers and Desserts, Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey have proved to America that they know how to make virtually fat-free dining both sophisticated and delicious.  With 99% Fat-Free Meals in 30 Minutes, they prove that it can also be done quickly.

Although we now understand the need to adopt healthful eating habits, actually doing it on a daily basis has proved somewhat more difficult.  There's been an ongoing--and as Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey now prove, mistaken--perception that healthful eating is just too time-consuming and complicated.  But with this book, Bluestein and Morrissey have made it adaptable to even the busiest schedule.  

With forty c