Cookbook Pick: Healthy 1-2-3

by Paula Gray

1-2-3 recipe

When you glance through cookbooks, magazines, and, hopefully, the Co-op News for new recipe ideas, do you tend to shy away from those with long ingredient lists? Then do I have a wonderful resource for you! Every recipe in Healthy 1-2-3, by Rozanne Gold, contains just three ingredients.

All of Gold’s recipes follow these guidelines for healthy eating:
- Enjoying a combination of foods low in calories and fat
- Eating a broad array of foods
- Avoiding processed foods
- Balancing overindulgence with restraint
- Using a simple cooking style

This cookbook is a nice combination of the familiar and the not-so-familiar. Healthy 1-2-3 uses fresh, natural, nutrient-dense ingredients in order to yield the most flavor in a recipe. Gold considers water, freshly ground pepper, and salt as free ingredients — that is, essential to all cooking — and they are not included in the recipe ingredient triad. She also encourages you to use some out-of-the-ordinary ingredients for extraordinary flavor — for example, guava nectar, pomegranate molasses, or truffle oil.

You won’t need special kitchen appliances to make the delicious soups, entrées, side dishes, beverages, and sauces in this book. Many of the recipes do require a food processor or blender. The author also recommends using a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and a removable perforated steamer basket for steaming vegetables.

While the number of ingredients is few, Healthy 1-2-3 is not a quick, "throw-it-together-in-a-baking-dish" kind of a cookbook. Many of the recipes require slow-cooking methods such as braising, caramelizing, and roasting. Gold’s main objective with these techniques is to achieve depth of flavor. By limiting the ingredients, the author encourages you to concentrate on the flavor, texture, and combination of foods used in each recipe. The author does acknowledge, however, that sometimes it’s "better to leave well enough alone." She also embraces simple cooking, such as a quick sauté or brief steaming of vegetables.

This cookbook has an intriguing dessert section comprised of many fruits used in unusual ways. In particular, there are several fresh fruit and herb combinations such as "Peaches with Basil" or "Rosemary Poached Pears."

There is even a cake that is made with just three ingredients. Gold’s book also contains over 30 menus, along with wine suggestions for each. The index lists the calorie count and fat content of each recipe.

The author says, "I believe the look of the dish is as important as its taste," and Healthy 1-2-3 has great photographs that inspire and instruct.

Sometimes the recipes include detailed directions to guide you in the final presentation at the table.

If you are looking for new ways to eat healthy, simple, delicious, and beautiful food, then Healthy 1-2-3 truly lives up to its claim on the book cover as the "ultimate three ingredient cookbook."

1-2-3 recipe

A Trio of Roasted Peppers and Radish Sprouts, Creamy Feta Dressing

Serves 6
Bell peppers are native to the Americas and have been used as a food and medicine for thousands of years. They are a terrific source of vitamin C. Feta cheese makes an exuberant dressing. The crowning touch? A tuft of sprouts — you can use any kind, from radish to broccoli, alfalfa to soybean.

3 each of red, yellow, and green bell peppers

4 oz. feta cheese

2 oz. organic sprouts, any variety

Preheat broiler. Put peppers on a baking sheet and broil for several minutes on each side until skins are very black and blistered. Immediately seal peppers in a paper bag to steam for 10 minutes. Remove peppers and carefully peel away all charred skin. Cut peppers in half; remove core and seeds. Let cool.

Crumble cheese into a food processor bowl. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. While gradually adding 7 to 8 tablespoons cold water, process until very smooth.

Arrange peppers in blocks of color on each of 6 plates. Place a mound of sprouts in the center. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

—Healthy 1-2-3