A Taste Of Stardom Rich And Famous Serve Up Fabulous Recipes In Leach’s Cookbook

He’s taken us into the bedrooms and bathrooms of the rich, along the poolsides of the famous, and to lavish hotels and resorts beyond our wildest imaginations.

Now Robin Leach, whose syndicated “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” has fulfilled TV viewers’ “champagne wishes and caviar dreams,” is taking us into famous kitchens.

“Robin Leach’s Healthy Lifestyles Cookbook: Menus and Recipes From the Rich, Famous, and Fascinating” (Penguin Studio, $27.95) presents 100 recipes and 300 color photographs of such celebrities as Cheryl Tiegs, Kenny Rogers, Fabio, Jackie Collins, Mary Lou Retton, Leeza Gibbons, Gladys Knight, Marla Maples Trump and Ivana Trump (on separate pages, of course).

The recipes rely on readily accessible ingredients, and most are designed to fit into a busy cook’s life.

Leach said the book shows how to balance all aspects of life, from work and play to eating.

“Not every recipe or menu is low in fat, low to moderate in protein, and high in grains, fruits and vegetables,” he said. “But all can be part of a healthy lifestyle, which will benefit you for life.”

The British-born Leach, who moved to New York in 1963, wrote for several newspapers and magazines and eventually landed in television by contributing to morning talk shows. “Lifestyles” premiered in 1983, and he now travels some 300,000 miles a year filming segments for the show.

In an interview, we asked Leach about his adventures and lifestyle. Here are some highlights:

Q: I know that you’re an accomplished cook, but how did you get started?

A: “When I came to America in ‘63, I had never cooked a meal in my entire life. Never. I hadn’t even opened a can of baked beans and put ‘em on toast.

“So when I came to New York and I got my first apartment, I put a Pyrex dish which I had filled with oil and a slab of steak, a box of french fries and something else - which I can never remember to this day - into a gas oven. And about 25 minutes later, the lot went up in flames.

“Not only did I ruin my oven, but I set fire to my kitchen, which set fire to my living room, which set fire to my apartment. Within 30 minutes, I had burned the building down.”

Q: What is your favorite thing to make?

A: “I guess chicken is my favorite, and I can make it a hundred different ways. I love it with fresh pasta. I love it with basil picked right out of the garden.”

Q: I notice that some of your recipes in the book don’t give quantities of ingredients.

A: “I can’t cook with quantities. It’s like somebody who plays the piano by ear - I cook by smell, taste and by look.”

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat?

A: “I have a weakness for tomatoes and mozzarella. I have a weakness for caviar. I love caviar. But I realize you have to do everything in moderation, as the book says.”

Q: What’s your idea of the perfect dinner party?

A: “I think it’s very important when people come to somebody’s house to really feel as comfortable in that person’s home as the person giving the dinner party. So there’s nothing wrong with having people in the kitchen helping chop tomatoes and wash lettuce and do all of that.”

Q: What is your perfect menu?

A: “Butternut squash soup, whole-wheat bread (Leach bakes his own), Rich and Famous Chicken (from his first cookbook), poached red snapper, pizzas or pastas, papaya salad, eggplant and tomato pie, beet salad and black Antiguan pineapple sorbet with fresh mangoes.”

Q: What is the most outrageous activity you’ve ever done on camera?

A: “I think it was when we went into a restaurant called Le Pirat just outside Monte Carlo. It’s the most expensive restaurant in the world. It cost $10,000 for four people for dinner. We paid the 10 grand and filmed it.

“It’s the only restaurant in the entire world that is burned to the ground every night. I’m serious. It’s absolutely destroyed every night.

“It’s the ultimate adult sand pit. The food is disgusting. You’re not allowed to have knives and forks. You have to pick up the food with your hands. You have to wash it off with champagne.

“It’s an absolute party that goes completely out of control, and before the end of the evening all the furniture is thrown into the fireplace. They clean it all up with a giant fire hose and wash it all down, and they rebuild the restaurant for the next day.”

Fabio’s Chickpea Soup

This hearty soup is a meal in itself. It doesn’t require long cooking, and you can vary it by using whatever vegetables you have available. Serve with warm whole-grain rolls or bread.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes OR carrots OR winter squash, such as acorn or butternut

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 large ripe tomato, chopped

10 ounces fresh green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 2-inch lengths, or 1 package (10 ounces) frozen green beans, thawed and cut into 2-inch lengths

1 can (12 to 16 ounces) cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

Warm oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over moderate heat. Add onion, garlic and sweet potatoes and saute 5 minutes.

Stir broth, bay leaf, basil, thyme, paprika and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderately low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes.

Stir in tomato, green beans and chickpeas. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes more. Serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings.

Marla Maples Trump’s Lemon-Caper Chicken

Serve this with steamed or boiled brown rice and some perfectly ripe cherry or pear tomatoes.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1-1/2 tablespoons drained capers

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Cayenne pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Pound gently and evenly until 1/2-inch thick. Set aside until needed.

Melt butter with oil in a large nonreactive skillet or saute pan over moderately high heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in wine and capers and simmer 1 minute.

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add to pan, cover and saute until just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Uncover pan and drizzle chicken with lemon juice. Transfer to warmed dinner plates and spoon some of cooking sauce over top. Serve at once.

Yield: 2 servings.

Gladys Knight’s Vegetable Casserole

Gladys Knight is a demon of efficiency in the kitchen, making quick work of layering the ingredients for this creamy casserole. You’d think she had to catch a midnight train to Georgia!

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 large bags (1 pound EACH) frozen mixed vegetables, such as a combination of broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, French-cut green beans and mushrooms

Salt and freshly milled pepper

1 quart (4 cups) part-skim ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (12 ounces)

2 pints (4 cups) nonfat cottage cheese

1-1/2 cups shredded jack cheese (6 ounces)

1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

3 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted until crisp, torn into crumbs

Lightly oil or spray a large rectangular baking dish.

Warm oil in a large saute pan over moderate heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and cook, tossing, until warmed through. Season vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.

Spread 1/2 of ricotta cheese over bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and top with 1/2 of cottage cheese.

Mix together jack and Cheddar cheeses; sprinkle on 1 cup mixed cheeses. Spread 1/2 of vegetable mixture over top; sprinkle on 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat layers, using remaining ricotta, remaining mozzarella, remaining cottage cheese, 1 cup mixed cheeses and remaining vegetables. Top with remaining 1 cup mixed cheeses. Evenly sprinkle toasted crumbs over top.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 1 to 1-1/4 hours, until cheeses are bubbly and casserole is browned on top. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 to 12 servings.

Leeza Gibbons’ Orange-Basil Shrimp Kebabs

Here’s a simple formula for healthful kebabs; the quantity of protein is within recommended limits, you can use a wide variety of firm vegetables, and the marinade is delicious over chicken or fish as well.

1 long, thin zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

18 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

Juice of 1 orange

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Soak 6 long (9 inches or so) bamboo skewers in a bowl of cold water, or use metal skewers.

To assemble kebabs, thread each skewer with 1 chunk of zucchini, 1 square of red bell pepper, 1 shrimp and 1 square of yellow bell pepper, then repeat sequence, using 3 shrimp on each kebab.

In a bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, basil, garlic, pepper, salt and oil until emulsified. Pour marinade into a nonreactive shallow baking dish. Arrange skewers in marinade in a single layer. Turn to coat on all sides. Set aside 1 to 2 hours.

Prepare a barbecue grill or a stovetop grill or preheat a broiler.

Grill or broil kebabs, brushing with marinade, about 3 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are cooked through. Serve with steamed couscous and green beans.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.