Oyster Soup

48 oysters

olive oil, salt, milled black pepper

100 g chopped onion 100 ml white wine

15 ml chopped fresh fennel

1 litre Fish Stock (page 209)

1 litre Mussel Stock

70 g butter

70 g (150 ml) cake flour 125 ml cream

chopped chives for garnish

Carefully open the oysters over a bowl to retain the liquor. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the wine, fennel and oysters, with their liquid. Bring to the boil, then strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pot. Discard onion and fennel. Add the fish stock.

Gently rinse the oysters to any grit.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and blend in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until a sandy texture is obtained. Cool.

Bring the stock to the boil. Slowly whisk it into the flour and butter mixture over moderate heat until smooth and thicked. Season with salt and pepper. Bring o the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. dd the oysters and heat through.

To Serve: Ladle soup into warm bowls opped with lightly whipped cream and chives.

Serves 8

Linefish Bakedin a Reunion Parcel

6 x 180 g portions filleted linefish, skinned salt, milled black pepper, olive oil

200 g green ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

200 g onion, peeled and roughly chopped

100 g garlic cloves, peeled

1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green pepper, seeded and sliced into julienne strips

12 sheets phyllo pastry

(large enough to enclose fish and filling) melted butter

1 egg yolk

Reunion Sauce

butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, blanched and finely chopped 5 ml turmeric

500 ml cream

250 g butter, cut into blocks

'/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped

Place the fish on a greased baking tray and grill under a hot grill until lightly coloured. (Don't cook it through, as it will be finished in the oven.) Season. lightly with salt and pepper. Cool.

Grind together the ginger, onion and garlic in a food processor. Panfry in a little olive oil with the yellow, green and red pepper until soft. Cool.

Reunion Sauce: Heat a little butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion, tomato and turmeric until the vegetables are soft. Add the cream and simmer uncovered until reduced by half. Whisk in the butter block by block. Add the chopped coriander.

Set the oven at 180° C. Place 6 sheets of phyllo pastry on a worktop, brush with melted butter and place another sheet on top in the shape of a star.

Spoon on the ginger/pepper mix, then a portion of linefish. Enclose in pastry and brush with egg yolk. Place in a greased baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes until cooked.

To Serve: Place fish parcels on warm plates and pour a little Reunion sauce around.

Serves 6

Dietary Stocking: Cupboard, Refrigerator, and Freezer

To cook low calorie, you don't need to keep many bottled salad dressings, canned cream soups, and oils in your kitchen. Instead, stock your pantry with canned tomatoes, a flavorful olive oil, vinegars, and herbs and spices. Keep reading to find out about some good foods to keep on hand, by category.

On the shelf

You may have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets for these basics, but after you taste them, you'll agree that paying more is worth the extra flavor they deliver.

A good stock: Use stock (or broth) in salad dressings in place of some of the oil, to cook vegetables for more flavor, to start a homemade soup, or in place of butter or oil when a recipe says to saute in oil. Store extra> stocks (or broths) frozen in an ice cube tray to punch out. 2 tablespoons whenever needed. You also can buy canned broth. We think low-sodium chicken broth has the best flavor. For beef or fish, try stock base. They're super concentrated, and you must add water to them before use. Look for them in gourmet shops. They're pricey but worth it.

A selection of vinegars: Sherry, rice, raspberry, wine, and balsamic vinegar are all milder than acidic white or cider vinegar. To make a lowfat vinaigrette, you must cut back on oil as you do when you cook low-cal. But oil helps tame the punch of vinegar's acid, making the dressing taste mellower. Therefore, you need a milder vinegar. Also consider using vinegar to saute chicken breasts, or add a splash instead of fattening butter or cream sauces.

Hills of beans: You can keep beans dry and cook them or stock many different kinds in cans. Either way, beans can be pureed into sandwich spreads and dips, added to soups, and sprinkled on salads as a nearly fat-free yet protein-packed alternative to meats and cheeses.

Tomatoes galore: Take advantage of the variety of canned tomato products sprouting in the supermarket. Many of them are already seasoned, which is a time-cutting, but not calorie-building, bonus for you. Thicken them with a little cornstarch (about 1 teaspoon to an 8-ounce can) or reduce them simply by boiling, and you have the start of a sauce for pasta, vegetables, grilled fish, or chicken.

In the refrigerator and freezer

Of course, your fridge will be stocked with many fresh fruits and vegetables and plain frozen ones, which are a lot lower in calories than the frozen ones packaged in sauce or butter. But leave room for these diet helpers, too:

Lowfat and reduced-fat cheeses: These can help you save fat and calories. Lowfat American, Monterey Jack, cheddar, and Havarti are good bets.

Good extra-virgin olive oil: You should use less oil on a reduced-calorie diet, so flavor counts. The earlier the press, the more flavor the olive delivers. Extra-virgin oil is made from the first press and has much more flavor than oil made from olives pressed several times.

Olive oil spoils quickly. In a hot kitchen, it can turn rancid in as little as six months, so keep it in the fridge. It thickens and turns cloudy when chilled, but a few minutes at room temperature returns it to a golden liquid without damaging the flavor.

Lowfat and reduced-fat cheeses: These can help you save fat and calories. Lowfat American, Monterey Jack, cheddar, and Havarti are good bets.

Aged cheese: Compared to soft cheese, aged ones are typically high in fat, but because their flavor is so pungent, you can use less - a cooking bonus. (See the section "Becoming a Calorie-Conscious Cook," earlier in this chapter.)

Whole grains: Whole grains don't have fewer calories than white, but they do have extra fiber, which helps fill you up. Studies show that people who eat an abundance of fiber have diets that are low in fat. Because whole grains go rancid quickly, store them in the fridge. Wholewheat flour, corn meal, cracked wheat, brown rice, and wheat germ lasts longer when kept in cold storage.

Fresh herbs:Use fresh herbs for garnish and flavor. Piney herbs, such as rosemary, sage, and thyme last longer than basil, oregano, cilantro, and mint. When using fresh herbs in recipes, add them at the end of cooking so that their flavors don't dissipate. (Dried herbs, on the other hand, are generally added early in the cooking process to coax as much flavor as possible from them.) Treat bunches of fresh basil like flowers; keep their stems in a vase of water outside of the refrigerator. Cold temperatures blacken and wilt the leaves.