Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Pastitsio
512 kcal a serving, against 814 for the traditional version. That is 302 kcal off, or 37%, with 39.7g of protein. Serves 8. 90 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A dense base of pasta tossed with whole eggs and grated cheese. A rich beef and tomato sauce flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, swimming in olive oil. A heavy bechamel lid built on a massive butter roux, whole milk and extra egg yolks.
What changed, and what each change costs
15% fat beef mince down to 5% fat beef mince
The traditional meat sauce stews in its own rendered fat. Moving to a 5% lean beef mince strips out a huge chunk of oil but keeps the meaty structure.
What it costs you. Lean mince dries out quickly if you fry it too hard. You'll need to simmer it gently in the tomatoes to keep it tender.
Butter roux down to dry-toasted flour and 0g of butter
Butter adds a sweet richness, but it comes at a massive cost. Toasting the plain flour dry in the pan before whisking in cold milk works just as well to thicken the sauce.
What it costs you. You miss that glossy, luxurious mouthfeel that only melted fat provides. The sauce is a bit more matte.
Whole milk and egg yolks out for semi-skimmed milk and fat-free Greek yoghurt
Greek yoghurt replicates the thick, wobbly texture of a set bechamel. It also packs a serious amount of protein into the topping.
What it costs you. The topping gets a slightly sharp, tangy flavour from the yoghurt, which pushes it away from the purely sweet, milky original.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 814 | 512 |
| Protein | 38g | 39.7g |
| Fat | 40.9g | 12.5g |
| Saturated fat | 17.5g | 5.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 68.1g | 54.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.7g | 7.8g |
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, milk, sulphites.
The method is in the book
The dry-toasted flour trick saves this bake. Call it a deeply savoury, structural triumph rather than a rich, fatty slab of dairy and you'll be about right. The lean mince holds its own against the cinnamon, and the yoghurt gives the topping a brilliant, firm wobble. You've got all the comfort of the original without feeling completely weighed down.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback