Your cookbook shelf may be jammed with volumes that promise quick, easy, healthful meals, made in a nanosecond and cleaned up in less. They lie -- or most of them do. But this year, it's worth making room for a new book that delivers what it promises. "Glorious One-Pot Meals" by Elizabeth Yarnell (Broadway Books, 2009) is not particularly impressive. It's small, lacks photos and the title seems recycled. But Yarnell has developed -- indeed, patented! -- a method of cooking that results in quick-to-prepare, healthful, delicious and satisfying meals. And, unlike most "one pot" cookbooks, her meals are indeed complete. They include starch, protein and lots of vegetables. No need to cook rice or potatoes or toss a salad to "round out the meal."

Here's her method: You layer a bunch of stuff -- let's say rice, chicken and vegetables -- in a Dutch oven. No sauteing, no browning, no crisping -- just layer the raw ingredients. You add a bit of liquid (water, broth) and maybe 1/2 teaspoon of oil. And you bake it at 450 F. Forty-five minutes later, you are serving up a delicious, complete, from-scratch, low-fat, delectable and highly satisfying meal, and you have only one pot and your plates and utensils to wash. The method, which Yarnell calls "infusion cooking," works, almost magically, with all types of protein -- fish, poultry, red meat, tofu -- as well as pasta, potatoes and grains, and every vegetable imaginable. You can even use frozen foods and subtract or add ingredients. This may not be "revolutionary," as the book cover proclaims, but it's really, really useful.

Yarnell's journey into cooking began about 10 years ago when, at the age of 29, she woke up one morning blind in one eye. She had just finished grad school, bought a fixer-upper, and was engaged to be married. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was a shocker. After intensive research, Yarnell -- interviewed recently by phone from her home in Denver, Colo. -- said she decided that one of the things she could do to help herself was to eat well, "but I had no idea what that meant." More research persuaded her that a varied diet with a heavy emphasis on vegetables and whole -- not prepared -- foods was the way to go. The problem: "I had no idea how to cook," she says. As a single 20-something, she had eaten out several nights a week, dined on the leftovers, or subsisted on her then-favorite food: Gummi bears. She wanted to get her nutritional act together, but, facing the fatigue that accompanies MS, she knew she was not up to spending loads of time and effort in the kitchen, whether preparing or cleaning up.

She and her fiance (now her husband) began growing organic vegetables in their garden, and the night of their first harvest, Yarnell says she "just threw a bunch of stuff in a pot, cranked up the oven, and stuck it in." Her "glorious one-pot meals" were born, followed by 10 years of recipe development, a successful self-published book, a Web site (www.gloriousonepotmeals.com) and now national publication. She has since become a certified nutritional consultant, and, without making medical claims, she notes that has not had an MS "attack" since 2001.

This book offers great recipes: Adobo Pork, Almond Curried Lamb, Lemon-Rosemary Salmon, Fiesta Steak and Sweet-and-Sour Tempeh, to name a few, as well as encouragement on making your own combinations. Here are two of my favorites so far.

Cook's note: All recipes call for a 2-quart, cast-iron (or enameled cast-iron) Dutch oven and serve two, very generously. To serve four, use a 3-1/2- to 4-quart Dutch oven, double the recipe, and increase the baking time by 8 minutes. To serve six, use a 5-1/2- to 6-quart Dutch oven, triple the recipe, and add 16 minutes to the cooking time.

CIOPPINO (SEAFOOD STEW)

olive-oil spray

1 cup rotini (corkscrew pasta; I used whole wheat)

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 pound (10 to 12) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 pound bay or sea scallops (halved horizontally, if huge)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 medium onion, peeled and diced

3 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced or crushed

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch-thick slices

1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch-thick slices

1/2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, or 3 to 4 medium fresh tomatoes, stemmed and chopped

1 celery stalk, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray the inside and the lid of a 2-quart, cast-iron Dutch oven with the olive oil.

Scatter the pasta in the pot. Add the water and olive oil. Stir gently to coat the noodles, and distribute evenly. Place the shrimp and scallops on top of the pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

Scatter the onion and garlic over the seafood, followed by layers of bell peppers and zucchini. Pour the tomatoes over all (drain the can if you want a less soupy stew, but I recommend using the juices) or, if using fresh tomatoes, arrange slices on top. Scatter the celery and fennel over all, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes from the oven. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 generous servings

Recipe from "Glorious One-Pot Meals" by Elizabeth Yarnell (Broadway Books, 2009)

MEDITERRANEAN  STEAK

Olive-oil spray

4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup whole-wheat couscous (see Cook's note)

1/2 cup broth (beef or vegetable) or water

1/2 to 3/4 pound boneless beef tenderloin, trimmed of all excess fat

1/4 cup red wine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon  juice

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or 1 tablespoon fresh

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh

2 cups fresh or frozen peeled pearl onions

4 plum tomatoes, quartered

1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray the inside and the lid of a 2-quart cast-iron Dutch oven with the olive oil.

Scatter half the garlic in the pot. Pour in the couscous and liquid. Stir to distribute the couscous in an even layer. Add the steak, and sprinkle with the remaining garlic.

In a small bowl, stir together the wine, olive oil, lemon juice, marjoram and thyme. Pour half the wine mixture over the meat.

Drop in the onions, and arrange the tomato quarters skin side down. Fill the rest of the pot with the broccoli florets, and pour the remaining wine mixture over all.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a full cooked meal escapes from the oven. Serve immediately.

Cook's note: The South Beach Diet popularized whole-wheat couscous. As a result, it is now available in many supermarkets and natural-food stores. You can also buy it online from Hodgson Mill at www.hodgsonmill.com.

Yield: 2 generous servings

Recipe from "Glorious One-Pot Meals" by Elizabeth Yarnell (Broadway Books, 2009)

 

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.