5 Low-Fat Cooking Techniques

by Sang An

Low-Fat Cooking Method: Puree

To say that something this creamy is good for you may sound dishonest. But it’s no lie. When you puree vegetables, they go from ordinary to velvety with the touch of a button.

Pureeing involves two basic steps: simmering the vegetables (say, squash or broccoli, sweet potatoes or cauliflower) until they’re tender, and blending them with broth until they’re smooth. (Adjusting the amount of broth determines whether you end up with a soup or a side dish.) If you want to put a little olive oil in your puree, fine. Wendy Bazilian, R.D., doctor of public health, and a nutrition specialist at the Golden Door Spa in Escondido, California, explains that eating low-fat isn’t just about avoiding fat. “It’s about choosing fats intelligently,” she says, adding that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend that fewer than 35 percent of calories come from fat.

Tool Kit
Food processors are terrific for chopping, but for a really smooth puree you’ll need to pull out the blender. If you’re using a traditional countertop model, whir hot vegetables in batches, filling the jar only halfway — unless you want to spend the night cleaning the ceiling. A time-saving alternative is an immersion blender. Basically a blender on a stick, it can be placed directly into a pot of hot liquid.

The Finishing Touch
To make a puree even more enticing, add a garnish. Choose something with a contrasting texture and color, like pumpkin seeds or fresh herbs. Chopping the seeds distributes the crunch and makes a small sprinkle seem like an abundance; heating the seeds brings out their flavor and aroma.

Low-Fat Cooking Method: Broil
Because it doesn’t require cooking oil, broiling is a great way to cook healthfully. It works particularly well with thin, lean cuts of meat, which cook through before they dry out.

Chicken cutlets, thin cuts of pork, and fish are perfect candidates. Low-fat cuts sometimes lack flavor, so you may want to compensate by using a marinade, a glaze, or a spice paste. Nutrition specialist Wendy Bazilian, R.D., suggests looking beyond traditional American ingredients and exploring other cuisines for low-fat condiments, like hoisin sauce and rice vinegar. A plus: Less than 10 minutes of a broiler’s intense heat creates something that’s too often lacking in low-fat cooking — a crispy crust.

Tool Kit
A broiler pan has two parts: a slotted tray and a pan the tray rests on. The slots siphon off any fat that drips off the food. If you don’t have a broiler pan, you can place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. To avoid hours of soaking and scrubbing, line the pan or sheet with foil.

The Finishing Touch
To reinforce the flavor of the marinade or glaze, baste the food frequently during broiling using a pastry brush or a paintbrush (a new one, of course). If you’re serving the liquid with the meal, be sure to set some aside before you baste so you don’t contaminate the cooked food with bacteria from the raw meat.

Low-Fat Cooking Method: Steam

Steaming has a nutritional advantage besides requiring no fat. “It retains among the highest amounts of nutrients of any cooking technique,” nutrition specialist Wendy Bazilian, R.D., says. Steaming creates a closed environment that envelops the ingredients in moisture.

Tool Kit
The standard steaming setup consists of a collapsible metal basket in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. For a makeshift version, place a small heatproof bowl upside down in a deep pot, add 1/2 inch of water, and balance a small heatproof plate on top. Place the food on the plate, then cover the pot with its lid. If you steam often and in large amounts, consider a bamboo steamer; its large, stackable trays allow you to steam fish on one layer, vegetables on another.

The Finishing Touch
Drizzling a few drops of olive oil over steamed food just before serving will impart far more flavor than sautéing the ingredients in an entire tablespoon of fat. Splurge on extra-virgin olive oil, and use a pour-spout (a standard bartender’s tool, available at kitchen stores) to ensure a judicious pour.

Low-Fat Cooking Method: Poach

When you poach, the liquid gives an exceptionally tender texture to the food, which in turn infuses the liquid with its own flavor.

To poach, place chicken or fish in a large, shallow pan, add just enough water or broth to cover it, simmer gently so that only a stray bubble breaks the surface, and wait while the house fills with a wonderful aroma. (If you’re making chicken, you can keep the meal on the skinny by removing the skin before you poach it. “You immediately cut the fat grams by more than half,” nutrition specialist Wendy Bazilian, R.D., says.) Instead of pouring the cooking liquid down the drain, turn it into soup by adding vegetables and perhaps some pasta for substance. Recent research indicates that when people eat soup, they tend to fill up quickly due to the volume of liquid. As a result, they consume fewer calories overall without feeling deprived. “That psychological satisfaction,” Bazilian says, “is very, very important.”

Tool Kit
You’ll need two things: a saucepan that’s deep enough to submerge the ingredients and a watchful eye, so that only an occasional bubble breaks the surface (cooking meat at a rolling boil will make it tough).

The Finishing Touch
It takes only a modest amount of a highly flavorful ingredient, like Parmesan, to lend depth to soup. Try grating the cheese using the small holes on a box grater for fluffy, delicate shavings. As Bazilian explains, low-fat isn’t just about reducing but also about asking, What can we add that really boosts the flavor?

Low-Fat Cooking Method: Wrap

A combination of steaming and baking, this cooking method works splendidly with fish and chicken, which dry out easily, because the paper pouch traps the moisture and the juices.

Recent research has found that people who eat baked or broiled fish are more likely to reap the heart-healthy benefits of fish consumption than those who eat it cooked by any other means. As nutrition specialist Wendy Bazilian, R.D., says, “How you cook is just as important as what you cook.” Parchment cooking looks fancy — and sounds fancy, when you use its French name, en papillote — but it’s simple enough for everyday meals. Just place food on a piece of paper, wrap it up, and put it in the oven. When it’s ready, as you pull away the crinkly, slightly burnished edges of the parcels, you’ll feel almost as if you’re unwrapping a gift.

Tool Kit
Waterproof and oven-safe, parchment paper is the perfect packaging for this cooking method (look for it near the plastic wrap). Don’t substitute wax paper, which shouldn’t be directly exposed to heat. If the seams start to unfold as soon as you let go, use a lemon half or a carrot as a paperweight.

The Finishing Touch
The ingredients for a parchment package are limited only by your imagination. Use a different fish. Add some olives. Try asparagus instead of fennel, potatoes in place of beans. Whatever your creation, include a variety of colors as well as some fresh herbs, finely chopped garlic, or thinly sliced fresh ginger.