German · Authentic-ish German
Senfeier
424 kcal a serving, against 525 for the traditional version. That is 101 kcal off, or 19%, with 29g of protein. Serves 4. 40 minutes.
What the traditional version is
The classic Senfeier is built from boiled potatoes, eggs cooked until the yolk just sets, and a silky-smooth mustard sauce. The sauce starts with butter, flour, and whole milk, and gets finished with a heavy hand of mustard. There are at least 20g of butter in every portion, and the eggs are not skimped on either. It's old-fashioned comfort food that doesn't pretend to be light.
What changed, and what each change costs
80g butter and 500g whole milk to 0g butter and 350g semi-skimmed milk
Butter is the other thing to go when you're looking to save calories, and swapping in semi-skimmed milk pulls a chunk of fat out of the sauce. The trick is to toast the flour hard to bring back some of the nutty flavour you lose when cutting butter. It's never going to be rich, but the mustard still comes through.
What it costs you. You lose the gloss and the rounded mouthfeel of real bechamel. The sauce is sharper and not as thick. It's not a showstopper, but if you're eating this for lunch, you probably don't want a nap at 2pm anyway.
600g potato down to 350g and add 200g cooked white beans
Boiled potato is just starch on starch. Cutting it makes room for a bit of actual protein in the form of cannellini beans. They bulk up the plate and soak up mustard sauce much better than they have any right to. The texture is not identical, but the trade-off is worth it for what you get back.
What it costs you. There's only so much you can do with a bean. Even disguised, it will never be the same as a waxy new potato. You'll notice, but you'll get over it.
4 eggs up to 6 eggs (400g to 300g extra), keep the yolks soft
Instead of cutting the eggs, I throw in two more. The sauce is leaner, so you need more actual egg to make the meal fill you up. That's the only way to hold onto the protein.
What it costs you. You're left with a lot more egg and less sauce to drown them in. That's both a win and a loss, but it keeps the old spirit.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 525 | 424 |
| Protein | 21.4g | 29g |
| Fat | 30.5g | 17.5g |
| Saturated fat | 15.6g | 6g |
| Carbohydrate | 41.8g | 37.4g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.1g | 6.8g |
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. gluten, milk, eggs, mustard.
The method is in the book
The original is basically a poor man's Eggs Benedict, and the sauce is frankly better when it's thick and shiny with butter. But with toasted flour and plenty of proper mustard, you keep enough of the character to make it work. You actually get more egg, and the dish goes from something that sits in your stomach all afternoon to something you can eat and then actually go back to work. It's not a restaurant starter, but it was never meant to be.
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.