Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Kotopoulo Lemonato
446 kcal a serving, against 1054 for the traditional version. That is 608 kcal off, or 58%, with 44.9g of protein. Serves 4. 60 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Whole bone-in, skin-on chicken legs roasted over thick wedges of potato. The tray is flooded with a massive glug of olive oil, lemon juice and dried oregano. As the chicken skin renders, the fat drops down and essentially confits the potatoes until they break apart.
What changed, and what each change costs
Skin-on chicken down to skinless chicken thigh
Chicken skin is delicious, but it dumps a massive amount of unnecessary fat into the roasting tray. Skinless thigh stays beautifully tender during a long roast and keeps the meat focused on the lemon.
What it costs you. You lose the crispy, salty skin that usually crowns the dish. The meat won't look quite as spectacular when it comes out of the oven, because it doesn't blister.
150g of olive oil down to 20g
The original relies heavily on oil to conduct heat and soften the potatoes. I cut the oil back to a minimum, using just enough to coat the chicken and stop it drying out.
What it costs you. You don't get that glorious, separated layer of fat pooling in the bottom of the roasting tin. This is a lighter braise. Nobody is going to mistake it for a rich confit.
Raw potatoes up to parboiled potatoes in stock
Because there is no pool of oil, raw potatoes would just burn on the outside and stay hard in the middle. Boiling them first in chicken stock forces the flavour in early and starts the cooking process.
What it costs you. It takes an extra pot and adds 15 minutes of active work to the recipe. The edges of the potatoes get a bit battered in the water, though that actually helps them catch some colour later.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 1054 | 446 |
| Protein | 45.9g | 44.9g |
| Fat | 79.3g | 14.4g |
| Saturated fat | 16.6g | 3.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 39.8g | 33.4g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.4g | 10.1g |
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. celery.
The method is in the book
The potatoes are the true star here. By boiling them in lemon and stock first, they absorb all the sharp, savoury notes without needing a swimming pool of olive oil. You miss the crispy chicken skin, but the meat stays perfectly tender and the aggressive lemon cuts through beautifully.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback