Julee Rosso’s version of Greek spinach pie does away with the feta, substituting a cup of low-fat mozzarella. I guess it’s healthful, but it tastes like shredded erasers. More disappointing still was a baked item she describes as “a classic sour-cream coffee cake that I’ve loved for ages.” This is a misnomer, if not a felony. For the sour cream she substitutes nonfat yogurt and cottage cheese; instead of butter she uses a little canola oil. When I turned over the pan to get the cake out, it simply dropped on the counter with a thud. There’s no mystery behind these disasters: fat carries flavor and provides texture, while the substitutes do neither.
To slim down the zabaglione, normally a rich Italian custard, Rosso cut most of the egg yolks from the traditional version and thickened hers with melted miniature marshmallows. “But it works!” she writes. Nope, it doesn’t. The stuff is so sweet it makes your teeth itch, and the combination of marshmallows with Marsala is a cruel one.
Only the asparagus marinated in an orange-soy dressing came by its healthful virtues effortlessly. I couldn’t taste the asparagus, but there was nothing else wrong with the recipe. Except for this: why bother? Great good food doesn’t start with a marketing concept, it starts with an honest appetite. I wonder if Rosso still has hers.
