Don’t Forget the Sour Cream

Food styles change almost without our realizing it. One day we are cooking spaghetti and meat balls and, the next thing you know, it’s pasta and porcini mushrooms. With the ever-changing style and taste of food, we often discard a fine recipe because it seems passe.

I was looking through recipes from cooking classes in the early ‘70s and came upon one on which I had noted in the margin, “very good, repeat this.” So, 20 years later, I made “spinach, noodles and sour cream,” and, indeed, it is very good. It’s also an ideal dish for the working family of the ‘90s: It’s simple to make, reheats well, takes care of vegetable and starch for a meal and can be a main dish if a cup or two of a grated cheese is added.

As we’ve become more conscious of the fat content in food, sour cream has disappeared from our refrigerators and yogurt has replaced it--or tried to. But they are two different products: Yogurt doesn’t hold together when heated and it does not have that creamy ability to smooth out and blend the flavors in a dish. Low-fat sour cream works very well in savory dishes, but don’t use it in desserts, especially cake, because sour cream’s fat is necessary to keep the cake moist and the crumbs tender.

The recipe for orange sour cream cake makes a very flavorful cake that doesn’t need frosting. Slice it thinly--it is like a pound cake--and serve a bowl of fresh fruit with it. The cake keeps very well for a week or more refrigerated.

SPINACH, NOODLES AND SOUR CREAM

Low-fat sour cream works well in this dish.

Salt

Water

1/4 pound fettuccine noodles

2 bunches (1 pound) fresh spinach, stems and coarse leaves removed

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Pepper

Bring 4 to 5 quarts lightly salted water to boil. Add noodles and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove noodles and add spinach to boiling water. Cook about 10 seconds, then scoop out in into colander and drain. Run cold water over spinach and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Chop into small pieces and set aside.

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion until soft but not golden.

Combine noodles, chopped spinach, onion, eggs, sour cream and nutmeg in greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well-mixed.

Bake at 350 degrees until thoroughly heated, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

269 calories; 229 mg sodium; 109 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.85 gram fiber.

ORANGE SOUR CREAM CAKE

Do not use low-fat sour cream. The fat in the sour cream is necessary to keep the cake moist and the crumbs tender.

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

Beat butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until light, at least 2 minutes. Add orange extract and peel and blend.

In another bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to butter-egg mixture little at a time, alternating with sour cream, and beat until well-mixed.

Pour batter into greased and lightly floured 8x5-inch loaf pan or 7 1/2-inch diameter souffle dish 2 1/2 inches deep. Bake at 325 degrees about 40 minutes. Begin checking doneness at 30 minutes by inserting toothpick into center of cake. If toothpick comes out with few damp crumbs, cake is done.

Remove from oven, let rest 5 minutes and turn out onto rack to cool.

Makes 16 servings.

Each serving contains about:

138 calories; 134 mg sodium; 45 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.02 gram fiber.

* Baking dish and teapot from Bristol Kitchens, So. Pasadena.