Evaporated milk is an old-fashioned product - a pantry staple since the 1920s. Yet it fits into the low-fat scheme of '90s cooking.
Evaporated milk lends much the same smooth, thick, creamy texture to recipes that butter or cream can. But the canned milk product is available in regular, low-fat or skimmed versions, and all are lower in fat and calories than butter or cream.It's lower in cost, too, and evaporated milk needs no refrigeration until it's opened.
A slight drawback to evaporated milk is the cooked taste, but that is easily disguised.
This easy cream of tomato soup has a sunset-pink color and gentle sweet-sour flavor reminiscent of the Spanish salad-soup, gazpacho, but this variation is quick to make. Just allow a few hours for thorough chilling. You can speed the process by chilling all the major ingredients ahead of preparation.
As a cool snack on a hot day, as a fancy first course or main-dish soup supper, it's super nutritious, brimming with vitamin C and calcium. The milk component even adds a little protein.
The soup recipe calls for just 1 cup of evaporated skim milk. If you can't find an 8-ounce can and must buy a larger 12-ounce can, refrigerate the remaining milk and use it to make French toast. (Carnation recommends whisking 3 eggs with about 2/3 cup undiluted evaporated milk or skim evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; this is enough to dip 12 slices of French bread. Adjust the egg-milk ratio according to how much milk you have left in the can.)
Menu suggestion: This pale-pink soup can be served in "icers" for a fancy first-course at parties. Or use as the main event of a simple supper for hot summer nights. It's good accompanied with pita toast triangles brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and a little paprika and toasted in the oven or on a covered grill. Great with skewers of grilled shrimp.
Canned milk is also a handy sauce ingredient. Lightly thickened with cornstarch, it mixes beautifully with Dijon mustard to make a "creamy" sauce for serving with quickly sauteed boneless chicken breasts.
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(Recipe)
`SIMMERTIME' CHILLED TOMATO SOUP
1 cup evaporated skim milk
1 3/4 cups (14.5-ounce can) diced tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes in season, seedy pulp removed)
2 cups tomato juice or vegetable cocktail
3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar (or a little more to taste if fresh tomatoes are used)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt (less if desired)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
2 cups (2 medium) peeled, seeded and diced cucumbers
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
Yield: About 7 cups
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
Place evaporated skim milk, diced tomatoes, tomato juice or V-8, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and hot sauce in a blender (container will be very full, so cover tightly). If using a food processor, mixture will not be smooth unless you reserve most of the liquid until last. Cover and blend thoroughly.
Pour soup into a pitcher or tureen and add the finely diced cucumber, bell pepper and onion. Stir well, cover and chill at least 4 hours. Serve cold, garnished with a squiggle of piped-on yogurt. Sprinkle with additional diced vegetables, optional.
- Recipe adapted from Carnation.
- 1 cup (1/7 of recipe) has 144 calories, 4 g fat, 1 mg cholesterol.
`CREAMY' MUSTARD SAUCE
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups (a 12-ounce can) evaporated milk
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sliced green onion, with tops
1/3 cup finely diced green or red bell pepper
1/3 cup brown or Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt, or as desired
1/4 teaspoon turmeric, optional (lends bright-yellow color)
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Whisk together the cornstarch and undiluted evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in water, green onion and bell pepper. Cook over medium heat a few min-utes, stirring frequently with a whisk, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard, salt and turmeric, if using. Serve hot with meat or poultry of choice.
- Recipe adapted from Carnation
- 1/4 cup of sauce has 119 calories, 7.5 g fat and 18 mg cholesterol (if made with regular evaporated milk, not skim).