Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Youvetsi
471 kcal a serving, against 1035 for the traditional version. That is 564 kcal off, or 54%, with 43.3g of protein. Serves 6. 90 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A heavy, oily stew made from untrimmed lamb shoulder cooked down in red wine and tomatoes. An enormous quantity of dried orzo is stirred in at the end, baking in the oven until it absorbs every drop of the fatty braising liquid. It gets finished with a thick layer of grated pecorino.
What changed, and what each change costs
Lamb shoulder down to lean lamb leg
Shoulder dumps a massive slick of melted fat into the sauce as it braises. Leg is pure lean muscle, keeping the sauce rich but removing the grease.
What it costs you. Leg meat bites back a bit more. You lose that melting, gelatinous texture that slow-cooked shoulder fat gives to the dish.
500g of dried pasta down to 250g
The original is basically a pasta dish with some lamb on the side. Cutting the orzo in half flips the ratio, putting the focus entirely on the lean meat.
What it costs you. You end up with a meat stew with pasta in it. The version that's a vast bowl of comforting starch is still out there and still better. You get less volume on the plate.
60g of olive oil down to 15g
You'll only need a tiny bit of oil to brown the meat and soften the onions. The tomatoes and wine do the rest of the work.
What it costs you. The dry orzo doesn't get a coating of oil before it absorbs the liquid, meaning the grains stick together a little more in the oven.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 1035 | 471 |
| Protein | 49.8g | 43.3g |
| Fat | 57.9g | 12.1g |
| Saturated fat | 22.5g | 4.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 71.6g | 40.9g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.8g | 9.2g |
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, milk, sulphites.
The method is in the book
A spectacular winter dish. The lamb leg falls apart under the fork, and the reduced pasta portion means you can actually taste the wine and tomatoes. You'll miss the oily, crispy edges on the top layer of the bake, but the flavour is completely intact.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback