Italian Salt Free Diet

This collection may not be as tantalizing as the specious title implies, but it does contain enough flavorful recipes to keep many cooks contented. The recipes are not ""salt-free,'' although they do tend to be low in sodium, and the amount of sodium is indicated for each dish. For example, chicken tetrazzini made with unsalted margarine, homemade stock and low-sodium Swiss cheese offers only 28.2 mg. of sodium per portion. Calorie counts accompany each recipe, and these, too, are modest. Enticing entrees under 300 calories per portion include veal scallops and leeks in lemon-basil sauce, swordfish in pepper-wine sauce, and chicken with lemon sauce. Schell (Tasting Good: The International Salt-Free Diet Cookbook, etc.) is less persuasive with her pizza topped with sausage and cheddar cheese. A serving contains only 264.2 calories, but the one-twelfth of a pie she allows is meager. Although reduced in calories and salt, the recipes impart an Italian accent. Vermicelli and squid in garlic sauce, baked polenta with tomatoes and eggplant, and veal with artichokes and mushrooms will soothe dieters yearning for a taste of the exotic. (January 21)