German · Authentic-ish German
Kartoffelsuppe
352 kcal a serving, against 609 for the traditional version. That is 257 kcal off, or 42%, with 21.9g of protein. Serves 6. 50 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A winter soup built on 1,500g of potatoes simmered in stock with onion and leek, blended until it eats like a blanket, then enriched with double cream and butter. Smoked back bacon is fried crisp and scattered over each bowl. Six bowls of this and you'll need the sofa, the fire and possibly a small brandy.
What changed, and what each change costs
300g of double cream and 60g of butter down to 300g of quark and 150g of semi-skimmed milk
Cream gives body by brute force of fat. Quark gives the same thickness with about 12g of protein per 100g and almost no fat, which is why it's doing the heavy lifting here. It's a German ingredient finishing a German soup, so nobody can accuse me of fusion.
What it costs you. Cream is silk. Quark is silk with a faint yoghurty tang, and you can taste the difference. It still eats like a proper Kartoffelsuppe, just one that has been to the gym exactly once.
250g of smoked back bacon down to 120g
Once it crisps up and the fat renders out, back bacon is mostly protein anyway. 120g is enough to smoke up six bowls if you cut it small and spread it like you mean it.
What it costs you. Fewer crunchy bits per spoonful. You'll notice. The answer is to eat slower, which I'll admit is the least fun sentence I've ever written.
1,500g of potatoes down to 1,100g
The original is essentially mashed potato with a ladle in it. Cutting a third of the spuds drops the starch load heavily, and the leek and onion keep the blend thick enough to stand a spoon in.
What it costs you. A bit of that wallpaper-paste body Germans secretly love. Blend it thoroughly and it still eats like soup rather than juice. Nobody writes home either way.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 609 | 352 |
| Protein | 20.7g | 21.9g |
| Fat | 31.9g | 6.4g |
| Saturated fat | 18.4g | 1.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 62.7g | 53g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 3.4g | 6.2g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish German prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. milk, celery.
The method is in the book
The original is a hug from a woman who thinks you're too thin. This is still a hug, just from someone who has read the back of a cream carton. You lose the velvet richness of double cream, and I'd be lying if I said you won't notice. What you get back is a bowl that keeps you full all afternoon on about 280 calories, with real protein from the quark and enough bacon to feel like nobody cheated you. On a wet Tuesday in February, that's a trade I'll take.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish German, along with 54 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.