Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Bakaliaros Skordalia
398 kcal a serving, against 1095 for the traditional version. That is 697 kcal off, or 64%, with 49g of protein. Serves 4. 45 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Thick fillets of salt cod soaked for 48 hours to remove the harsh cure, then dipped in a heavy beer batter and deep-fried. The skordalia is a dense, sticky paste of boiled potatoes, raw garlic and huge amounts of olive oil, emulsified until it looks and acts like mayonnaise.
What changed, and what each change costs
Deep-fried batter down to a baked breadcrumb crust
Frying batter traps massive amounts of oil, turning a lean piece of fish into a fat bomb. I brush the fish with egg white and press on dried breadcrumbs before baking it in a very hot oven. It gives you the necessary crunch without the grease.
What it costs you. This is just a crisp outer shell. Nobody is going to mistake it for a thick, greasy chip-shop batter. You lose that heavily saturated crunch that makes deep-fried food so addictive.
Olive oil and potatoes down to cannellini beans and zero-fat yoghurt
Traditional skordalia relies on raw oil for its creamy, rich texture. Blending tinned white beans with a small amount of potato and Greek yoghurt gives you the same thick mash. You drop the fat through the floor and raise the protein sharply.
What it costs you. The puree lacks the rich, oily gloss of the original dish. It tastes slightly earthier from the beans, and the yoghurt brings a sharp tang that wasn't there before.
Salt cod down to fresh cod
Salt cod requires days of soaking and constant water changes to become edible. Fresh cod is ready immediately, flakes beautifully in the oven, and holds the breadcrumb crust perfectly.
What it costs you. You miss the dense, meaty texture that salt cod develops during the drying process. Fresh fish is much softer and wetter.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 1095 | 398 |
| Protein | 133g | 49g |
| Fat | 33.8g | 7.3g |
| Saturated fat | 5g | 1.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 56.9g | 33g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 12.1g | 12.3g |
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. fish, eggs, gluten, milk, sulphites.
The method is in the book
A brutal compromise that actually works. You don't get the heavy, greasy satisfaction of a deep-fried fish supper, but the flavours are spot on. The fierce garlic punch of the puree cuts right through the flaky cod, giving you a sharp, savoury dinner that won't leave you feeling sluggish. It captures the spirit of the Greek original with a fraction of the heavy lifting.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback