Creamed vegetable dishes are delicious, comforting classics. But it can be a bit troubling to take nature’s healthiest foods and essentially nestle them in a pool of fat.
Many recipes for creamed corn or spinach call for using a traditional white sauce made from whole milk thickened with a butter-and-flour roux. Others are primarily reduced heavy cream and sour cream, which don’t have a stellar nutritional profile, either.
Yet creamy lower-fat vegetable dishes can be every bit as tasty and satisfying as their full-fat cousins.
One way to go is to make a low-fat white sauce by heating 3/4 cup of skim or low-fat milk until steaming. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup of cold milk. Stir the flour mixture into the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thick, 2 to 3 minutes.
Once thickened, add 1/4 cup of any extra-sharp cheese (use full fat, because with its superior flavor even a little will go a long way) and a bit of Dijon-style mustard to make a cheesy sauce, or add herbs and spices, such as snipped chives and a pinch of nutmeg, to make a more traditional white sauce. Mix the sauce with any cooked vegetables you like.
You also can thicken a cup of skim or low-fat milk by stirring in 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch as it heats, then seasoning in the same way as when thickened with flour.
This recipe uses some cornstarch as a thickener, but also gets much of its velvety texture by pureeing two-thirds of the corn in a blender. A mere teaspoon of butter goes a long way in adding a familiar richness to the complex blend of sweet and spicy flavors.
Look for smoked paprika in the spice section of most grocers, or in a pinch just use plain paprika instead.
Smoky Creamed Corn With Green Chiles
Start to finish: 20 minutes. Servings: 4.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon butter or canola oil
4-ounce can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 cups fresh corn kernels, divided (about 7 cobs)
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium, heat the oil. Add the chiles and paprika and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a blender, place 2 cups of the corn, the milk, cornstarch and salt. Blend until smooth. Transfer the puree to the saucepan with the chiles and add the remaining 1 cup of corn. Cook over medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture simmers and thickens and the corn is tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
Per serving: 163 calories; 19 calories from fat; 2g fat (0g saturated; 0g trans fats); 2mg cholesterol; 34g carbohydrate; 6g protein; 1g fiber; 216mg sodium.
