As we enter winter, many of us find with a secret craving for — dare I say it? — fat. And, just in the nick of time, chef Jennifer McLagan comes to the rescue with “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes” (Ten speed Press, 2008).

Poaching scallops in butter brings out their silky texture and highlights their sweet yet briny flavor. Photo Credit: Photograph by Leigh Beisch for “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes.”

McLagan does more than “appreciate” fat: She revels in it. Fat back, caul fat, suet, marrow, beef tallow, butter and especially lard star in McLagan’s mouthwatering recipes. Just as important is the well-researched and reasoned introduction in which McLagan — who, predictably, looks quite slim in her author photo — puts fat into perspective as part of a healthy diet.

“There are stacks of cookbooks that tell us how to cut fat, lose the fat, and cook without fat, but none tell us how to enjoy fat,” writes McLagan. “Fat makes everything we eat taste better and eating fat is satisfying, so we eat less and our desire to snack is reduced. Enjoying our meals makes us happy and lowers our stress.” For most of us, she writes, “fat is a necessary and important part of our diet.”

Hers is really a call to go back to a more old-fashioned style of eating, one in which snacking was unheard of, portions were moderate, and food was made from scratch. (And, not coincidentally, we were a less sedentary people.) Lest you think that McLagan gives you carte blanche to go stuff yourself with fatty foods, note that her recipes are generally both labor and time intensive and require high-quality ingredients, and thus are guaranteed to help you savor the fat you choose to eat. If, in addition to enjoying such delicacies as homemade chorizo sausage, terrine of foie gras and bone marrow in red wine, you also want to render lard, whip your own butter and make duck confit, this book is for you.

The late great Julia Child once told The New York Times that she ate six tablespoons of fat a day and was “very careful to eat two tablespoons of saturated fat a day, with greatest pleasure.” While far from being a supermodel, Child was weight-conscious and maintained a healthy weight until her death at age 91.

This is a provocative book, which may cause the reader to rethink his or her diet. It is a beautiful volume, containing lusciously rendered photographs and meltingly good recipes, and larded with historical and scientific information. Fat city, here we come.

BUTTER-POACHED SCALLOPS

For serving (optional):

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound spinach, trimmed and washed but not well drained

coarse salt

For the scallops:

12 sea scallops

water as needed

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

unsalted butter, as needed

a squeeze of lemon juice

If you want to serve the scallops with spinach, melt the butter in a large skillet and, when foaming, add the slightly wet spinach in batches. As it wilts, add more. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover and cook until well wilted, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Arrange the scallops in a saucepan that is just large enough for all the scallops to fit snugly in 1 layer. Add water so that it just covers the scallops. Then remove the scallops from the pan and pat them dry with a paper towel, and season them with salt and pepper. Pour the water into a measuring cup.

The amount of water in the measuring cup is the amount of melted butter you’ll need. Discard the water, measure and dice the butter, place in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and clip a kitchen thermometer to the side of the pan. Heat the butter, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer reads 185 F. Add the scallops and bring the temperature back to 185 F. Cook the scallops, turning once, until they are cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Test a scallop by cutting it in half; it should be opaque in the center. If not, cook a bit longer.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to warmed serving plates. Drizzle the scallops with a little of the cooking butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve immediately, with warmed spinach if desired.

Yield: 4 appetizer servings

Recipe slightly adapted from “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes,” by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed Press, 2008)

CHEONG LIEW’S BRAISED PORK BELLY

2 pounds pork belly, with skin (see Cook’s note)

3 tablespoons light soy sauce (available in Asian markets)

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (available in Asian markets)

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 whole tangerine

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces (available in most supermarkets)

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced, plus 1 teaspoon peeled finely grated fresh ginger

1 star anise, broken into pieces

1 to 2 tablespoons lard

2 cups water

6 dried serrano or cayenne chilies

4 cloves garlic, peeled

3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

cooked white rice, for serving

Cook’s note: Pork belly is essentially a boneless slab of unsmoked, unprocessed bacon, and can be found in some supermarkets and in specialty stores; ask the butcher.

Cut the pork belly into 1-1/2-inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Mix together the soy sauces, sherry, 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and salt, and pour over the pork. Remove a long strip of zest from the tangerine and set the tangerine aside. Add the zest, cinnamon sticks, sliced ginger and star anise to the pork, stir to combine, and cover and marinate for 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the pork and set the marinade aside; there will be a small amount. Pat the pork dry.

In a deep frying pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the lard over medium-high heat and brown the pork in batches, adding more lard as necessary. Transfer the browned pork to a plate. When all the pork is browned, pour off the fat and add the water. Bring to a boil and deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Add the reserved marinade to the pan (it will still have in it the cinnamon sticks, sliced ginger and star anise) and add the chilies, garlic and remaining brown sugar.

Return the browned pork to the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the pork, uncovered, until it is tender and the cooking liquid thickens slightly, about 1 hour. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from the tangerine and stir into the pork along with the grated ginger and scallions. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a serving dish and serve with rice.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

 

Recipe from “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes” by Jennifer McLagan (Ten Speed Press, 2008)

 

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.