Tomato Soup, Marshmallow Bars, Snapper Mexicano

DEAR SOS: Lunaria Restaurant in West Los Angeles has the finest cold cream of tomato soup I ever tasted. Please try to obtain the recipe.

--LOUIS

DEAR LOUIS: Lunaria owner Bernard Jacoupy sent us chef Jean Pierre Bosc’s recipe. Filled with the fragrance of fresh tomatoes, olive oil and basil, the soup will remind you of a garden in the south of France. The chef’s trick of adding brown sugar when sauteing shallots helps counteract the acidity of the dish, according to Bosc.

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LUNARIA COLD TOMATO, CUCUMBER, PEPPER AND BASIL SOUP

2 pounds tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon minced shallots

1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Salt, pepper

2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons mixed diced tomato, celery, green and yellow peppers

1 teaspoon julienne-cut fresh basil

1 tablespoon toasted, sliced almonds

Plunge tomatoes into hot water few seconds to loosen skin. Remove, cool slightly and peel skin. Squeeze out seeds and chop tomatoes coarsely.

Heat skillet and add olive oil. Saute shallots with brown sugar over medium heat until shallots are glazed. Add tomatoes, stir and cook 3 minutes. Cool slightly and puree in blender with extra-virgin olive oil, minced basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Add mayonnaise and vinegar and puree until smooth. Chill.

Serve soup chilled and garnished with chopped mixed vegetables, sliced basil and toasted almonds. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

142 calories; 114 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.65 grams fiber.

DEAR SOS: Can you please help me find a wonderful no-bake cookie made with oats and nuts? I would love to serve them to my kids.

--DENISE

DEAR DENISE: We have a no-bake cookie recipe that kids would love to make as well as eat. It uses crisp rice cereal.

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MARSHMALLOW BARS

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 pounds marshmallows

1 (6-ounce) box crisp rice cereal

1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir over low heat until very soft but still lumpy. Add rice cereal and mix thoroughly, then stir in chocolate pieces. Wet hands and press mixture firmly into greased 15x11-inch jelly roll pan. Cool until firm, then cut into squares. Makes about 4 dozen squares.

Each square contains about:

103 calories; 51 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.11 gram fiber.

DEAR SOS: I’ve lost my recipe for snapper Mexicano. Can you please locate it in your files and print it?

--HELEN

DEAR HELEN: We have several recipes with similar names. We hope this is the one you want.

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SNAPPER MEXICANO

1 pound red snapper or other firm fish fillets

Salt, pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

4 large mushrooms, finely chopped

1 medium Anaheim chile, seeded, and finely chopped

4 medium green onions with green tops, finely sliced

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Jack cheese

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper to taste. Pat dry with paper towels. Lay fish fillets in single layer in 9-inch-square baking dish or round pie dish. Sprinkle with half of garlic powder, half of cumin and half of cilantro. Add mushrooms, chile, green onions and tomato. Sprinkle with remaining garlic powder, cumin and cilantro.

Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes. Combine 2 cheeses and sprinkle over fish. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with fork and cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

211 calories; 298 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 27 grams protein; 0.3 gram fiber.