Cypriot · Authentic-ish Cypriot
Souvlaki
418 kcal a serving, against 718 for the traditional version. That is 300 kcal off, or 42%, with 39.6g of protein. Serves 4. 1 hour.
What the traditional version is
The original Cypriot souvlaki is pork shoulder, cubed and marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt, threaded onto skewers and grilled over charcoal. The pork's juicy with a good layer of fat.
What changed, and what each change costs
Switching from 500g pork shoulder (with fat) to 500g lean pork loin
Pork shoulder is forgiving, juicy and almost impossible to dry out, but it's also carrying plenty of marbling. Pork loin is leaner, so you're getting more actual pork per gram, and less padding. Sear it fast and don't walk away.
What it costs you. You lose some of the sticky, lippy fat that makes pork shoulder king of the BBQ. The loin's chewier, and if you overcook it, you'll get dry cubes pretending to be erasers. It isn't juicy, it's efficient. Marinate well and cook hot.
Pitta from 300g white pitta to 300g wholemeal pitta
The pitta's the first carb to sneak up on you. All those soft pockets don't seem like much until you tally it up. Switching to wholemeal keeps the fibre and lowers the spikes - and, yes, it's got a bit more bite.
What it costs you. Wholemeal pitta isn't as soft as the white stuff. There's a bit of a trade-off: more chew, less fluff. But the salad and sauce soak in just as well, unless you're one of those who eats round the edges to save the filling for last.
Replace 80g tahini sauce with 160g fat-free Greek yoghurt, seasoned with garlic and lemon
Tahini is tradition and tastes like holidays, but it's also mostly fat. Swapping it for a thick yoghurt sauce cuts out the heaviness while keeping something creamy to bind it all together. The garlic and lemon still poke through.
What it costs you. The nutty, creamy sesame flavour is gone. The yoghurt is tangy, not deep, and you might find yourself missing that mouth-coating finish. On the upside, there's zero risk of reaching for a nap after two. You can always add a swirl of tahini if you miss it, but strictly speaking, that's cheating.
Skip the olive oil in the marinade, marinate with just lemon juice, oregano and a pinch more salt
Olive oil helps the marinade stick and adds some silky finish to the pork, but you're not getting much for your trouble, calorie-wise. Leaving it out saves you enough for another stick, if nothing else.
What it costs you. Without oil, the marinade clings less and the grilling isn't as forgiving. You'll need a hotter grill and a careful hand or you risk dry corners. But once it's stuffed in pitta with salad, you'll barely notice. The lemon's still working.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 718 | 418 |
| Protein | 33.2g | 39.6g |
| Fat | 42.9g | 5.9g |
| Saturated fat | 10.7g | 1.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 48.7g | 50g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.6g | 9.5g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Cypriot prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk, sesame.
The method is in the book
The original wins for juiciness and that unmistakable sesame blast from the sauce, but this version gets you a proper punch of pork and crunch without weighing you down. You do miss that soft, fatty shoulder, and the tahini's nutty whisper has become a yoghurt shout, but you can now eat an extra skewer and not need an emergency nap. I do sometimes sneak a teaspoon of tahini into the yoghurt if I'm feeling like a traitor, but you didn't hear that from me.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Cypriot, along with 47 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.