Good -- And Good For You : <i> Four chefs show you how to make holiday meals with lots of flavor and very little fat.</i> : Is This Any Time to Be Thinking Light? : Holidays: Four renowned L.A. chefs say ‘yes’ with fantastic low-fat feasts.

A magnificent crown roast. Creamy mounds of mashed potatoes. Aromatic mincemeat pie perfumed with spices. This is the time of year when tables sag beneath the weight of sumptuous feasts. It is the time of generous holiday dinners, when we expect--and want --food to taste especially rich. This is not the time to even think about lean or light or low-fat fare. Or is it?

Is it possible to get through the holidays without wreaking havoc on your diet? Can eating right be every bit as delicious as eating wrong? The Times asked four well-known restaurant chefs to develop holiday menus using a minimum of fat. We suspected that even the experts would find it difficult to create a harmonious balance between food that is good for you and food that tastes wonderful.

We were wrong.

“Menus like these are great examples of how you can have wonderful, flavorful food that just happens to be healthy,” said Evelyn Tribole, the registered dietitian who helped develop the market basket of limited fats. “It shows that low fat doesn’t mean you have to choose between alfalfa sprouts and chocolate cream pie at the Christmas dinner table.”

Take Patrick Clark of Bice Ristorante. “We spare no amounts of butter,” Clark says of the Christmas dinner he cooks for his wife and four children. Though the restaurant features dishes such as cheese-stuffed ravioli in walnut sauce and scallops in a lobster-saffron broth, the Clark Christmas table reflects Southern hospitality at its finest: roast beef, ham and turkey, plus chestnut and oyster stuffing and sweet potatoes. “It’s very ethnic, hearty, hefty food,” Clark says, “and a lot of it.”

But Clark had no trouble coming up with a wonderful holiday menu that restricted the fat to 30%. His menu reflects his affection for lavish food, and you’d never know that the thick, smoky celery root soup is made with no cream (rice is the trick) and just a single strip of bacon. You couldn’t feel deprived after feasting on pheasant, couscous with pumpkin and pine nuts and a wonderful warm pear compote. Less than 30% fat? Nobody would ever know it.

When Tony Di Lembo of Indigo reminisces about Christmas at home, he remembers how well his family ate. “When I was a kid, we had a traditional non-meat day before Christmas Day,” he says. He recalls eating some “pretty weird stuff.” The Christmas menu in his Italian home often centered entirely around fish: an octopus salad or eels sauced with olive oil, garlic and perhaps some fresh tomato. “My grandmother used to buy live eels and she would keep them alive. I’d peer over the sink and see these live eels swishing around.”

With this background, it’s not surprising that Di Lembo had no trouble coming up with a festive holiday menu that is only around 30% fat. His salad is tossed with walnuts and just enough Roquefort to torque up the flavors; there’s a simple, but far from ordinary grilled breast of chicken served with a zesty cranberry-pear chutney and a truly spicy corn-and-wild-rice salad. By dessert time, you’re grateful for the cool simplicity of the fresh-squeezed orange juice gelatin.

Unlike Clark and Di Lembo, brothers Toribio and Javier Prado of Cha Cha Cha and Prado Restaurant were raised vegetarian; they learned early to appreciate the advantage of eating light--even at Christmastime. “We ate mostly grains and pasta and a lot of fruit and nuts,” says Toribio.

Their menu of low-fat party foods is notable not only for its good taste but also for its extraordinary eye appeal; this is very pretty food. It starts with a spectacular salad made of colorful grilled vegetables and goes on to Cornish hens served with a sauce made of papaya, pineapple, cranberries and herbs. The side dish, a colorful counterpoint of rice and beans, adds substance. For dessert there is a fruit “flan” flavored with vanilla and colored with pomegranate juice. Their menu is less than 25% fat--but this is entirely festive food.

THE PRADO’S

HOLIDAY MENU

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Cornish Hens With Papaya and Cranberry Sauce

Moros y Cristianos

Fresh vegetables

Toribio’s Caramel Pomegranate-Tangerine “Flan”

GRILLED VEGETABLE

SALAD

1/2 head romaine lettuce

1/2 bunch spinach

1/2 head Boston lettuce

1 small head radicchio

1 sweet red pepper

5 large asparagus

2 medium zucchini

3 yellow squash

1 ear corn

1 bunch green onions

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt, pepper

Cut romaine, spinach, Boston lettuce and radicchio into fine shreds. Place in bowl and set aside.

Grill red pepper, asparagus, zucchini, squash, corn and green onions until slightly charred but not burnt. Let vegetables cool slightly. Dice finely, then add to salad greens in bowl.

Combine olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over salad and toss gently, mixing just until vegetables and salad greens are moist. Makes 6 servings.

MOROS Y CRISTIANOS

1 cup dried black beans

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups long-grain rice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground mixed whole peppercorns

3 bay leaves

Place beans in colander and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Transfer beans to 3- or 4-quart saucepan. Add 7 cups water and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until beans are tender. Add more boiling water, if needed to prevent scorching.

Drain beans in colander. Mash 2 tablespoons beans to fine paste. Set paste aside.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper and garlic. Saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Do not brown. Stir in bean paste, then add beans and reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered.

Return bean mixture to saucepan and add rice, salt, pepper to taste, bay leaves and 2 cups water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Makes 6 cups.

CORNISH HENS WITH

PAPAYA AND

CRANBERRY SAUCE

6 Cornish hens

1 papaya or mango, peeled and sliced

5 ounces peeled fresh pineapple, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 bunch chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash cayenne pepper

Freshly ground mixed whole peppercorns

3/4 cup chicken stock

Brown hens slightly in non-stick skillet. Transfer to rack in roasting pan and bake at 325 degrees 1 hour or until juices run clear. Remove hens from oven and carefully remove bones, leaving birds whole. Set birds aside.

Saute papaya, pineapple, garlic and cranberries in non-stick skillet until tender. Add thyme, paprika, cayenne and pepper mix to taste. Stir in chicken stock and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Pour warm sauce over hens and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

TORIBIO’S CARAMEL

POMEGRANATE-

TANGERINE

FLAN

2 cups sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup fresh pomegranate juice

2 cups tangerine juice

1 vanilla bean

Make caramel sauce by slowly melting 1 3/4 cups sugar and 2 tablespoons water in saucepan. When mixture is smooth and caramel colored, stir in lemon zest. Pour small amount of mixture into 6 ramekins, just enough to cover bottoms.

Soften gelatin in 2 tablespoons water. Combine 1/2 gelatin mixture, pomegranate juice and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to boil. Cool slightly, then divide mixture equally among ramekins. Chill until almost set.

Bring tangerine juice, remaining 1/2 gelatin mixture and vanilla bean to boil. Continue to boil until mixture is reduced by half. Cool slightly, then divide equally between ramekins. Refrigerate overnight.

Invert desserts onto serving plates. Makes 6 servings.

TONY DI LEMBO’S

HOLIDAY MENU

Tossed lettuces with toasted walnuts, crumbled Roquefort and balsamic vinaigrette

Grilled, Herbed Breast of Chicken With Cranberry-Pear Chutney

Corn and Wild Rice Salad

Fresh - Squeezed Orange Juice Gelatin

HERBED CHICKEN

BREAST WITH

CRANBERRY-PEAR

CHUTNEY

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Fresh rosemary

Fresh thyme or sage

Black pepper

4 (1/2-pound) chicken breasts, skinned

Cranberry-Pear Chutney

Puree olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme and pepper to taste in blender until smooth. Spread mixture over both sides of chicken breasts. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Grill or broil chicken until cooked through, but still moist. Serve with Cranberry-Pear Chutney. Makes 4 servings.

Cranberry-Pear Chutney

2 firm pears

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

5 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained

1/2 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest

Peel pears and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Do not core. Bring sugar and water to boil. Add pears, cranberries, cinnamon and orange zest. Return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes, stirring frequently.

Mash small amount berries and pears on side of pan with fork. Stir mixture, then cool in pan to room temperature. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. Makes 4 servings.

CORN AND WILD RICE

SALAD

3/4 cup wild rice

Salt

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1 medium red onion, diced

2 canned chipotle chiles, minced

2 teaspoons sauce reserved from chipotle chiles, about

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Pepper

Add rice to 2 quarts boiling salted water. Return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 50 minutes, covered, until tender. About 5 minutes before end of cooking time, add corn and red pepper. Drain in colander.

Transfer mixture to large bowl and add red onion, chipotle chiles and sauce, cilantro and olive oil. Toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. May be served warm or at room temperature. Makes about 5 cups.

FRESH-SQUEEZED

ORANGE

JUICE GELATIN

2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice, at room temperature

1 package unflavored gelatin

Mint leaves

Place 1/4 cup juice in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over juice and let stand until softened. Do not stir.

Heat mixture, stirring, just until gelatin dissolves. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in remaining juice.

Pour into 9-inch baking pan and refrigerate until chilled. Cut into 1-inch cubes and serve in chilled glasses garnished with mint leaves. Makes 4 servings.

PATRICK CLARK’S

HOLIDAY MENU

Smoky Celery Root Soup

Roasted Pheasants with Madeira, Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Couscous With Pumpkin and Pine Nuts

Warm Pear Compote With Almonds and Rosemary

SMOKY CELERY ROOT

SOUP

1 slice bacon, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 leek, white part only, diced

1/3 cup long-grain rice

3 large celery roots, peeled and diced

1 to 1 1/2 quarts defatted chicken stock

Bouquet garni

1/2 cup milk

Salt, pepper

Sour cream, optional

Saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon. Add onion and leek to fat in pan and cook until tender. Add rice, celery roots, 1 quart chicken stock, bacon and bouquet garni. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice and celery roots are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Puree mixture in blender and strain. Return to boil, then stir in milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining stock, if thinner soup is desired. Serve hot topped with dollop of sour cream. Makes 6 to 8 generous servings.

Note: Sour cream will affect fat content of menu.

CLAY POT ROASTED

PHEASANTS WITH

MADEIRA, SWEET

POTATOES AND

APPLES

3 large sweet potatoes (yam variety)

2 female pheasants, cleaned and trussed for roasting

Salt, pepper

3 shallots, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup Madeira

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

Fresh thyme

Lemon juice

1 tablespoon diet margarine

Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until 3/4 done, about 30 minutes. Let cool, then peel and set aside. Soak clay pot according to manufacturer’s instructions, about 15 minutes.

Season pheasants to taste with salt and pepper inside and out. Place shallots, carrot and garlic in bottom of clay pot. Place birds on top and pour Madeira over. Add 1 sprig thyme and cover. Place in cold oven, then turn oven to 400 degrees and bake 35 minutes.

Using small melon baller, remove as many perfect apple and potato balls as possible. Sprinkle apples with small amount lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.

Remove birds from pot and let stand about 10 minutes. Cover with foil and keep warm.

Melt margarine in non-stick skillet and saute apple balls until just tender. Add sweet potatoes and heat through.

Untruss birds and carve into halves. Place on platter surrounded by potatoes and apples. Pour sauce left in clay pot over. Garnish with chervil and additional sprigs thyme, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

COUSCOUS WITH

PUMPKIN

1 1/2 cups peeled pumpkin or squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 medium onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups defatted chicken stock

Leaves of 1 sprig fresh thyme

Dash ground cinnamon

1 (10-ounce) package quick-cooking couscous

Salt, pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Steam or boil pumpkin until tender-crisp. Set aside.

Saute onion in olive oil in non-stick pan over low heat until just tender. Add to stock in saucepan. Bring onion and stock to boil. Add thyme, cinnamon and couscous. Stir, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Fluff with fork and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pumpkin and pine nuts. Serve immediately. Makes 8 cups.

WARM PEAR COMPOTE

WITH ALMONDS

AND ROSEMARY

1 cup sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon butter

1 1/4 pounds pears, peeled and diced

1 sprig rosemary, or to taste

6 whole almonds, shelled, toasted and chopped

Heat sugar, lemon juice and butter in saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts and is caramel-colored, stirring occasionally. Stir in pears and rosemary. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then sprinkle with chopped almonds. Makes 4 servings.