Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Choriatiki Salata me Kritharaki
413 kcal a serving, against 728 for the traditional version. That is 315 kcal off, or 43%, with 35.1g of protein. Serves 4. 35 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A massive bowl of boiled orzo pasta tossed while warm in a heavy pour of extra virgin olive oil. Big wedges of full-fat feta cheese, handfuls of whole black olives, roughly chopped tomatoes, cucumber and red onion. It relies entirely on the oil and the cheese for its flavour.
What changed, and what each change costs
Adding chicken breast to a vegetarian salad
A bowl of pasta, oil and cheese is a nutritional nightmare if you want a solid hit of protein. Grilling marinated chicken breast and tossing it through the orzo fixes the maths completely.
What it costs you. You lose the simple, pure vegetarian nature of the classic dish. It becomes a heavy main course rather than a breezy, thrown-together side plate.
100g of olive oil down to 15g
Oil is just pure fat. Slashing the volume removes a massive wall of calories from the bowl. I use extra red wine vinegar and lemon juice to keep the dressing wet and sharp.
What it costs you. A very sharp, acidic one, then. Not a rich, mouth-coating dressing, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. You'll absolutely miss that luxurious slick of oil on the pasta.
250g of feta down to 75g
Feta brings brilliant flavour, but it brings a lot of fat too. Crumbing a small amount finely over the top gives you the salty punch you need without the heavy load.
What it costs you. You don't get a huge, soft chunk of cheese in every single forkful. You've got to hunt for it among the vegetables.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 728 | 413 |
| Protein | 21.5g | 35.1g |
| Fat | 41.8g | 12.3g |
| Saturated fat | 12.9g | 4.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 68.3g | 39.9g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 3g | 8.5g |
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, milk, sulphites.
The method is in the book
A brilliant trade. You miss the huge slabs of cheese and the oily finish, but the sharp dressing and the charred chicken make up for it. It holds together perfectly in a lunchbox and delivers exactly the sharp, salty Greek flavours you want, without putting you to sleep at your desk.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback