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Video: Celebrity chefs’ secrets for staying fit

  1. Closed captioning of: Celebrity chefs’ secrets for staying fit

    >> this morning on small steps to a healthier you, learning from the pros. chefs work around great food all day every day. how do they keep their hands out of the cookie dough ? they're sharing secrets in a new book "smart chefs stay slim." journalist allison adono is the author, and allison one of the featured chefs in the book.

    >> how you doing?

    >> i'm doing great.

    >> allison , what a great idea. i've always wondered about this.

    >> thank you.

    >> because how do these chefs -- there are some bigger chefs but there are a lot of chefs, michelle bernstein is a great example, have to stay healthy and fit. how did you get this idea?

    >> the idea came to me, i work at "people" magazine where i'm a senior editor and i was covering celebrity chefs at the time and hanging around a lot of chefs and eating their food. and one of the things i noticed was just as you said, they're not all really big and i wanted to know, how do they do that?

    >> so michelle, you're going to show us a great sauce that you can use three ways.

    >> mm-hmm.

    >> and eat pretty healthy.

    >> and even more ways. it's really healthy. it's so good for you. has all the good fats. this is lamesco and it comes from catalonia , spain. in the blender i've got italian parsley. i've grilled, and you can roast in a hot oven or broiler, some peppers. you can use regular roast peppers, and a roast jalapeno for a little built of spice. then i have here, we call it a confit but you can also just call it a regular cook of shallots and garlic in a lot of olive oil . what i do is i strain out the garlic and the shallot and i use this in here. this oil is beautiful. it's good olive oil that has really delicious flavor, and later on you can use that oil in all kinds of good stuff.

    >> scented oil then.

    >> it's a scented oil. marcona almonds . they're so good for you. if you have hazel nuts or pine nuts around that's traditionally in this sauce. some dry bread.

    >> for a little body.

    >> just a little bit for body. and then sherry vinegar . and then i'm going to add just a tiny bit of water for that blender to run. and if we're in a hurry i can keep going fast. it's made already. and you want this to be really kind of rustic. not so smooth.

    >> so you want it kind of chunky.

    >> you want it really chunky. and it ends up like this.

    >> like peanut butter .

    >> or a good hummus. look how delicious this is and it's kind of spicy. it's just wonderful.

    >> oh, that's terrific.

    >> isn't it yummy? so it goes with everything. so what i have here, because it's spring, i really wanted to bring to you something that's just, first out of spring. we've got grilled asparagus. all you have to do is snap off the bottoms, throw them on the grill, olive oil , salt and pepper , and these are wonderful right now.

    >> i love these.

    >> rance is like a spring onion . in catalonia , their special is like a spring onion vegetable that comes out they grill them with a lot of fire, wrap them up and peel them off and dip them. it's anything you want it to be. and we have some beautiful hamachi or snapper, yellow tail , actually, and you can use whatever fish happens to be in your region. this is literally grilled -- about a medium. you know, not too much.

    >> i love the region you've been talking about. can we see that one more time?

    >> catalonia .

    >> oh, i love that.

    >> you only like it because of the way i say it.

    >> exactly.

    >> hi, ladies.

    >> hi.

    >> this looks so healthy.

    >> it is. but it's tasty.

    >> sure.

    >> and so any kind of a fresh fish, and you serve it with some of the ramesco on the side. and this is just wonderful, fresh food with a little hint of flavor on the side. a lot of health.

    >> what other tips do you have in there?

    >> there are about 40 chefs in the book.

    >> all thin.

    >> but you know what, there are chefs in the book who were big and lost the weight.

    >> thanks so much. coming up, kathie lee and billy ray cyrus . test. test.

TODAY recipes
updated 4/3/2012 9:07:10 AM ET 2012-04-03T13:07:10

Recipe: Romesco with grilled asparagus, fish and ramps

Ingredients
  • For romesco
  • 1 roasted and peeled tomato (grilled then peeled)
  • 1 roasted, peeled and seeded jalapeno (grilled then peeled)
  • 3 piquillo peppers (or 1 large roast red pepper, peeled and seeded)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 large shallot, cut in half
  • 1 cup marcona almonds
  • 1 ounce sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley
  • 1 piece of firm white bread, about 3/4 inch thick
  • A little water to run the blender
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • For asparagus
  • 1 pound asparagus, cut off tough ends
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • For fish
  • 4 fillet of yellowtail or any nice whitefish that is good for grilling
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 12 ramps, blanched in boiling salted water, then in ice water
Preparation

For romesco:
Add the garlic and shallot to the oil in a very small saucepan on low heat; cook until very soft and tender. Drain, and reserve the oil for other use.

Add the tomato, jalapeno, piquillos, garlic, and shallot to the blender, puree until smooth. Add all other ingredients into a blender, pulse until smooth but a little bit chunky, adding a tablespoon of water at a time if needed to run the blender. Season with salt.

For asparagus:
Toss the asparagus in oil with a little salt. Grill for about 6-8 minutes until a tiny bit charred and just cooked through, constantly turning.

For fish:
Coat the fish in oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes per side.

For ramps:
Toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, grill until the ramps have grill marks.

Serving Size

Makes 4 servings

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