Dining With The Stars
Friday, 8 June 2007
Written by by Lauren Greschner of That's Fit
Sources: Self Magazine, Self Magazine's Recipe Page (Ann Stratton, Art Streiber)
Additional writing by Phyllis, HH Admin
When Scarlett Johansson, Heath Ledger, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Courtney Cox Arquette & Jennifer Aniston crave comfort food, they all love head to Hollywood hotspot Il Sole, famed for its mouthwatering authentic Italian fare.
Any of you out there who love a creamy pasta dish or a deep-fried bocconcini cheese ball know the potential effects of too much Italian (and I'm not talking about a steamy evening with your better half courtesy of a bit too much vino). But you can also share these favorite dishes of the stars, without putting on the pounds, by preparing some of their favorites from Il Sole. SELF Magazine has slimmed down seven of chef Todd Butler's most popular dishes.
Heath Ledger loves the Saffron Risotto, a great side dish that can be paired with your favorite lean meat.
Saffron Risotto
This side dish is practically a meal in itself, clocking in at 575 calories and 26 grams of fat. But with the recipe below, SELF Magazine has cut 277 calories and 17 grams of fat.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 28 oz chicken stock
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 cup white wine
- Large pinch of saffron
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus shavings for garnish (optional)
Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute. Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice and a pinch of salt. Sauté until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and saffron; bring to a simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of wine. Add 2 ladles of stock to rice; simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of stock. Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladleful. Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose. Stir in butter. Turn off heat. Stir in grated cheese. Cover and let sit 2 minutes. Divide among 4 bowls. Garnish each with cheese shavings, if desired.
The skinny: 298 calories per serving, 8.3 g fat (2.8 g saturated), 39.2 g carbs, 0.7 g fiber, 5.1 g protein.
Cox Arquette is a fan of the Linquine ai Frutti di Mare. Demi Moore likes to dine on Pollo Montecristo, while Drew Barrymore prefers the Creamy Aspargus Soup, Leo DiCapprio the Raspberry-Marzipan Tarts, and Scarlett Johansson the Chocolate-Banana Tarts.
Attached is the Il Sole menu, in .pdf format.