Substitutions Can Save Time

The first thing to do when you see a recipe is take a quick mental count of how to save time by substituting ingredients.

While there’s no replacement for fresh, diced tomatoes in today’s egg dish, you can certainly find a wonderful substitute for fresh basil. The dehydrated basil in your spice rack won’t do, but the prepared basil that comes in a glass jar is perfect. Refrigerated after opening, its pungency is pure pleasure for those who love the distinctive flavor and odor.

You’ll find the basil next to prepared, ground garlic at your grocery store. There’s nothing more time-consuming than trying to chop up garlic, but the prepared works beautifully. About 1/2 teaspoon prepared garlic equals 1 clove (garlic lovers will probably use more!). I like to rub a little prepared garlic in a salad bowl; the taste is a nice complement to strongly flavored vegetables.

Scallions are small, green spring onions, but many times you can substitute any onion you have on hand. In this recipe, however, the green onion is the best choice for a color contrast to the yellow eggs. It’s also just flavorful enough to complement the egg, tomato and basil combination.

The other substitution I regularly make is nonfat Cheddar cheese for regular or even low-fat cheese. It tends to coagulate easily, but there are only 45 calories in 1/4 cup, so you can be a little more liberal with it.

The secret to cooking the eggs is to wait until until they’re partially set, but not yet browned, before you stir them. Then use a spatula and gently lift and turn the eggs for an even finish.

Concasse (kawn-ka-SAY), a French term for coarse chopping, frequently describes fresh tomato combinations like the one here.

Cheddary Eggs with Fresh Tomato-Basil Concasse

From “Quick & Healthy” (Rodale Press).

1 cup diced tomatoes

6 tablespoons snipped fresh basil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Black pepper (to taste)

2 cups fat-free egg substitute

6 tablespoons skim milk

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup low-fat Cheddar cheese

To make concasse, combine tomatoes, 4 tablespoons basil, vinegar and black pepper. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk egg substitute, milk, remaining basil and pepper.

Coat a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and warm over medium heat for 1 minute. Add scallions and garlic, and saute until tender. Move scallions to side of pan.

Remove pan from heat and coat again with nonstick spray. Return pan to heat. Add egg mixture; stir in scallions and low-fat Cheddar cheese. Cook until cheese melts and eggs are set. Serve with concasse.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: About 113 calories, 2.7 grams fat (22 percent fat calories), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 0.5 grams dietary fiber, 386 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15.

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