Cooks' Books by Lisa Messinger

"Pintxos: Small Plates in the Basque Tradition" by Gerald Hirigoyen with Lisa Weiss (Ten Speed, $24.95)

Do the math. If you're making "small plates" — called "tapas" in much of the world and "pintxos" (pronounced PEEN-chos) in the Basque region of Spain — it's a delicious way to trim your food budget.

If you were going to try a handful of gourmet full-size recipes, the savings are significant when you instead ply your trade on hearty appetizers.

Gerald Hirigoyen has had his hands full with finger foods from the Basque region where he grew up for many years. Most of those petite plates pile up on tables at his two popular San Francisco restaurants, Piperade and Bocadillos, for which he has been named best chef in the Bay Area twice by San Francisco magazine.

Now, Hirigoyen has stuffed 75 distinctive small plates in "Pintxos." They bear the chef's distinctive Basque stamp flavored with fresh California touches. Easy gourmet fare is for the picking from this book, which can't help but save money at the supermarket or farmer's market, since you'll be buying in much smaller portions.

For instance, just one-half cup of chichi creme fraiche is infused into a fresh spring fava bean and mint dish. When you prepare ceviche, the famed marinated raw fish meal, you'll just be using one-half pound of snapper fillet to serve four to six people. You'll use small amounts of scallops, sherry and lychees to create a one-of-a-kind gazpacho.

The biggest revelation about these small plates, though, is not the reduced price, but the magnificent melding of varying flavors and textures. Meyer lemon, Manchego (Spain's most famous golden, semi-firm mellow cheese), tart Granny Smith apples, crunchy pine nuts and basil leaf chiffonade combine in a dazzling white bean and avocado salad. Smoked, spicy tomatoes flank clams. Roasted fresh sweet peaches, Manchego cheese, walnuts and ground black pepper are "perfect!", as Hirigoyen proclaims, when he puts them onto French dinner rolls.

There's more than enough to stuff even those with hefty appetites, as chapters take on "A la Plancha" (on the griddle), "Habas" (shelling beans), "Bocadillos" (little sandwiches), "Estofados" (stews and braises), "Organos" (innards), "Fritos" (fried bites), "Ensaladas" (salads), "Pintxos" (skewers), "Montaditos" (bites on bread) and "Sopas" (soups).

The cuisine is so substantial, Hirigoyen — who admits even from his earliest memories to a lifelong obsession with small plates — advises you to think twice before literally making the fare finger food and to instead use a fork and knife as they do in Spain.

FAVA BEANS WITH CREME FRAICHE AND MINT

2 pounds fava beans in the pod

1/2 cup creme fraiche

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup mint leaf chiffonade

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

To prepare the fava beans: Split open the pods and remove the beans.

Meanwhile, bring a saucepan filled with salted water to a boil over high heat. Place a bowl filled with ice water near your stove top. Carefully drop the beans into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes (this is longer than most recipes instruct because the beans are not cooked again). Carefully drain the beans and quickly plunge them into ice water. After plunging them into ice water, with your fingernail, pierce the skin of each bean near one end and squeeze the bean gently to pop free of the skin. Don't worry if the beans separate into halves. You should have about 2 cups of beans.

In a bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, olive oil and salt and pepper. Add the fava beans, mint leaves and lemon zest and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours before serving to chill and allow the flavors to meld.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper before serving. Serve chilled.

WHITE BEAN SALAD WITH MANCHEGO

1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 large Granny Smith apple or other tart green apple, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 1/2 cups cooked small white beans

3 ounces Manchego cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup fresh basil leaf chiffonade

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice or 1/4 cup regular lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

In a large bowl, combine avocado, apple, beans, cheese, basil and pine nuts and toss gently to mix.

Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil in another small bowl and toss gently with the bean mixture until combined. Season with salt and pepper. The salad should not be mixed more than 30 minutes before serving so the apple and avocado don't darken.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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