Low-Fat & Luscious Italian

Classic Italian cuisine, the editors note (they are not the first), is based on fresh ingredients, simply prepared and accented with such high-flavor, fatty ingredients as olives, pine nuts, cheese and meat. Approximately 100 recipes and accompanying nutritional analyses articulate the culinary message of the 1990s-food need not be high in fat to be delicious. Pine Nut Bread made with cracked wheat boasts only one gram of fat, and even the Tiramisu offered here-made with angel food cake and Neufchatel-translates into some 150 calories per slice. With only a few exceptions, ingredients called for are fresh, unprocessed and affordable. None of the recipes is beyond the reach of most home cooks. Crab and Fennel Risotto; Chicken Manicotti with Red Pepper Cream Sauce; and Veal Scaloppine with Marsala will take an hour or less to prepare and cook. Breads and pizzas merit a chapter; pasta recipes are among the Main Dishes. Most of the Side Dishes (Zucchini alla Romana; Country-Style Peas with prosciutto and toasted nuts) call for a few ingredients quickly cooked. Such desserts as a Fresh Pear Custard Tart, Caramelized Apple Wedges, which the Florentines are said to eat during Epiphany, and Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake round out these uncomplicated, generally authentic and broadly appealing recipes for the family kitchen. (Mar.)