What is the Food of Romance? : Valentine Food Fantasies : Please Be My Moderate Valentine

The hearts most people think of on Valentine’s Day are made of chocolate. But this might be a good year to focus on healthy hearts, instead.

That doesn’t mean you have to have some grim, strict meal. Jane Brody, for instance, author of “Good Food Gourmet” (W. W. Norton & Co.: 1990), believes that healthy cooking should be fun. Taste and appearance matter to her. So does simplicity: Most of the dishes in her book freeze easily and can be reheated in a microwave oven--she doesn’t think cooks should have to come home from work and prepare a whole meal from scratch.

Brody doesn’t even eliminate red meat, sausage, butter, egg yolks and cheese from her recipes--she just uses those foods in moderation. Because she doesn’t go to nutritional extremes, most people find it easier to incorporate her ideas in their lifestyles.

As Brody writes in the introduction to her book: “In the case of sausage and cheese, I use these more as flavoring agents than as focal points of a meal. In the case of butter and egg yolks, I use only enough to make the dish work. In the case of red meats, I use only very lean cuts and limit amounts to about 3 ounces per serving.”

She also uses lots of herbs and spices and plenty of freshly ground pepper, which helps food taste good when it’s low in fat and salt. For similar reasons, Brody recommends the very pungent black lampong from Thailand, as well as oils, vinegars, onions, hot peppers, lemons and a lot of garlic.

The following recipes, all adapted from Brody’s “Good Food Gourmet,” make a wonderful winter meal. They are flavorful, satisfying and surprisingly easy to prepare.

This dish was adapted from a recipe by home cook Beatrice Teitel. Note the long cooking time. This is a dish that is best prepared ahead and reheated at serving time since the flavor improves over time.

BEA’S UNSTUFFED CABBAGE

1 cup diced onions

1 (2-pound) head green cabbage, cored and diced

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 pound ground lean beef or veal or lamb

1/2 cup uncoooked rice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

Freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup raisins

Combine onions, cabbage, tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, honey and lemon juice in large heavy pot. Bring to boil over medium-high heat.

Combine meat, rice, Worcestershire in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stirring to mix thoroughly. With wet hands, roll meat mixture in 1 1/4-inch balls. Add meatballs to boiling cabbage soup. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 2 hours.

Remove cover, add raisins and cook meatballs another 30 minutes, uncovered. Makes 6 servings.

This recipe is from Ellen Brown, author of “The Gourmet Gazelle Cookbook.” For a full marinated flavor, make the salad a day ahead; for crisper vegetables, add the dressing about one hour before serving.

THREE-PEPPER SALAD

2 sweet red peppers

2 yellow peppers

1 green pepper

2 stalks celery, fine julienned

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and fine julienned

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, optional

Dash cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

Core and seed sweet peppers, then cut in fine julienne. Combine peppers, celery, cucumbers, red onion and tomatoes in glass or stainless-steel bowl.

Combine lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, cayenne to taste and cilantro in small bowl or jar. Stir or shake well.

Pour over vegetables and toss to combine. Cover salad and chill 1 hour, tossing occasionally. Serve well chilled. Makes 6 servings.

This is based on a recipe from Gourmet magazine.

GINGERED PEAR CRISP

1 cup flour

4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated ginger root

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 cup finely chopped pecans

6 large firm but ripe pears, preferably Bosc

Thoroughly mix flour, ginger root and brown sugar in small bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is pebbly. Stir in pecans.

Peel, core and quarter pear lengthwise, then cut each quarter in 4 slices. Spread slices evenly in greased 10- or 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle flour mixture over pears.

Place pan in top third rack of 450-degree oven and bake 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 servings.