Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Rizogalo
194 kcal a serving, against 312 for the traditional version. That is 118 kcal off, or 38%, with 11.4g of protein. Serves 6. 45 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A heavy base of short-grain rice simmered slowly in whole milk until the grains completely break down. Huge amounts of caster sugar are poured in to make it sickly sweet. Egg yolks are often whisked through at the very end to create a rich, dense custard finish that coats the back of a spoon.
What changed, and what each change costs
Whole milk and egg yolks down to semi-skimmed milk and 0% Greek yoghurt
Whole milk and yolks bring heavy fats and calories without offering enough in return. Simmering the rice in semi-skimmed milk gets the grains soft. Stirring cold Greek yoghurt in at the end thickens the pudding beautifully while driving the protein right up.
What it costs you. A sharper dessert, then. Not a purely sweet, neutral cream, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. The yoghurt brings a distinct tang that changes the profile entirely. You also lose the golden yellow colour that the yolks provide.
150g of caster sugar down to 40g
Sugar is just dead weight in a recipe. I drop it to the absolute minimum required to stop the yoghurt tasting sour. I lean heavily on vanilla extract and ground cinnamon to trick your palate into thinking it tastes sweeter than it actually does.
What it costs you. You completely lose that sticky, jam-like sweetness. This becomes a subtle, milky pudding rather than an instant sugar rush. If you have a massive sweet tooth, you will definitely notice the difference.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 312 | 194 |
| Protein | 8g | 11.4g |
| Fat | 7.3g | 2.4g |
| Saturated fat | 3.8g | 1.4g |
| Carbohydrate | 53.7g | 30.6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2.6g | 5.9g |
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. milk.
The method is in the book
A massive bowl of empty carbs is a tough sell on a Tuesday night. The yoghurt trick completely saves the dish, turning a heavy dessert into something you can eat regularly. You definitely miss the luxurious, thick custard texture of the egg yolks, but the sharp tang of the yoghurt against the earthy cinnamon works brilliantly.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback