Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Keftedes
247 kcal a serving, against 779 for the traditional version. That is 532 kcal off, or 68%, with 30.9g of protein. Serves 6. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Minced lamb or heavily fatted beef mixed with a large quantity of white bread soaked in milk. The mixture is shaped into balls, dredged heavily in plain flour, and shallow-fried in a deep pool of olive oil until severely crusted on the outside.
What changed, and what each change costs
Shallow frying in a deep pool of olive oil down to baking on a wire rack
Submerging flour-dusted meatballs in hot oil adds a staggering amount of fat. Baking them on a wire rack allows any excess grease to drip away while the hot air crisps the outside.
What it costs you. What you've got is a slightly smoother baked meatball. A blistered taverna snack is a different dish and you know where to find it. You undeniably lose that jagged, fiercely deep-fried crust.
Fatty lamb mince down to 5% fat beef mince
Lamb mince carries huge amounts of fat, which tastes fantastic but costs you heavily in calories. Switching to a very lean beef mince cuts the fat right down and keeps the protein high.
What it costs you. Lean beef dries out much faster than fatty lamb. You have to grate the onion to build moisture back into the meat, and you lose that distinct, slightly grassy lamb flavour.
Milk-soaked white bread down to a few dried breadcrumbs
Traditional recipes use thick slices of soaked bread to keep the meatball soft. A small scattering of dried breadcrumbs provides just enough structure to hold the meat together without bringing a heavy load of starch.
What it costs you. The baked meatballs are undeniably denser and require a bit more chewing. They don't have the pillowy, almost spongy texture of the original.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 779 | 247 |
| Protein | 29.2g | 30.9g |
| Fat | 59.5g | 9.5g |
| Saturated fat | 18.1g | 3.5g |
| Carbohydrate | 30.8g | 8.1g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 3.7g | 12.5g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Greek prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, eggs.
The method is in the book
A very solid compromise. You absolutely sacrifice the rich, oily crunch of a thick fried crust, but you gain a highly savoury, incredibly lean meatball. The fresh mint and dried oregano still punch through perfectly, and you avoid smelling like a chip shop for the rest of the day.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback