If you have seen the movie “Julie & Julia,” you may remember its truly defining scene: when Julia Child (Meryl Streep) whisks together her white sauce with one pound of butter. For many foodies, that speaks volumes about the underlying opulence and glory of French cuisine.
As it turns out, however, not every French woman creating meals turns to butter, heavy cream and duck fat. Consider the case of Annie Leconte, the brains and energy behind L Street’s French-food-as-health-food restaurant, Litestars.
In her French-accented English, this native of Normandy explains that after moving to the Washington area some 20 years ago, she and her family gained weight on the typical American diet. “When I came,” she said, “I tasted it all, hot dogs, pizzas, burgers. After a while, I felt it on my body and my hips.”
| If you go |
| Litestars |
| Where: 2101 L St. NW |
| Info: 202-293-0281 |
| Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday |
As an antidote to her and her family’s weight gain, Leconte turned back to her cookbooks, and to the culinary lessons learned from her mother’s kitchen. “My mother was adventurous, a good cook,” she said. “She taught me to use always-fresh ingredients. … She went to market to buy fresh ingredients. In a supermarket, you don’t feel anything … all is in clear plastic.”
With her kitchen skills and passion for cooking, Leconte set about creating recipes stripped of excess fat and calories. “I learned myself,” she said. “I followed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration code and labeling and used nutrition software.” As she cooked, Leconte weighed all the ingredients and took extensive notes. This way, she says, all the dishes turn out the same.
After several years of trial and error, she developed numerous healthful recipes, and as a result, both she and her family lost the weight they had gained. “For my boys,” she said, “they loved the pizzas and burgers. They complained to the doctor, ‘My mom doesn’t give us pizzas and burgers except once a week.’ ”
Not only has her family benefited, but their increased health inspired her to open Litestars, a restaurant dedicated to fine dining but minus the fat and calories lurking in similar dishes at standard restaurants. Take the bison tartlet, for example. Geared to serve as a light lunch or dinner, the tartlet consists of cooked ground bison from Gunpowder, Md., on a crust made by mixing white whole-wheat flour, high in fiber, with shortening made of palm oil — lactose-free, with no cholesterol, sodium and trans-fatty acids — and complementary seasonings. All this, for a mere 330 calories.
What pleases Leconte the most, probably, is that her family enjoys eating at Litestars. “They say it is like eating at home,” she said. “They are all now in good shape.” No wonder the restaurant motto is “Healthier, Fresher, Tastier.”
Q&A
What is your comfort food?
Chocolate, an 80 percent cocoa bar
What’s in your fridge?
Soy milk, lots of soy yogurt, also whole-milk yogurt, wheat germ, flax seed and produce
Which is your favorite restaurant?
Westend by Eric Ripert and Gilbert’s Steakhouse in McLean. It’s simple but good.
What is your must-have ingredient?
Flour. Here we use white whole-wheat flour. Before, I used only white flour.
Where are your favorite places?
Paris and Annapolis, because we love sailing on the Chesapeake. It is so peaceful.
Litestars Chicken Tartlet
Yield: 5 tartlets
Enjoy with a side of mixed greens.
Dough:
About 3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon shortening
1/4 Tbsp. water
Filling:
3 teaspoons canola oil
About 2/3 cup peeled and diced yellow onion
4 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
About 1/2 cup chopped spinach, blanched
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons diced, roasted free-range chicken
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup egg whites
1/2 cup light natural sour cream
About 1/4 teaspoon crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
To make the filling, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, and sweat them until translucent. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add garlic; stir for 5 minutes. Add all the spices, and let cool down. Mix spinach with this mixture.
Mix dough ingredients and arrange into a mold. Mold should be 4 3/4 bottom diameter and 3/4-inch side wall. Arrange diced chicken evenly on each dough mold. Whisk together egg whites and sour cream. Pour into each unbaked dough mold. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding.
