Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Panzanella
360 kcal a serving, against 472 for the traditional version. That is 112 kcal off, or 24%, with 14.4g of protein. Serves 4. 45 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chunks of stale bread soaked in fresh tomato juices, red wine vinegar and a heavy pour of olive oil. Tossed with sliced raw onions, fresh basil and whatever crisp vegetables are lying around. It relies on the oil.
What changed, and what each change costs
100g of olive oil down to 30g
A traditional panzanella dressing uses plenty of fat to soften the bread and coat the vegetables. Cutting it removes hundreds of calories.
What it costs you. You lose that rich mouthfeel that coats your tongue. The salad leans much harder on the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar to wet the bread. The result is a sharper, punchier bite that feels slightly less luxurious.
300g of stale bread down to 200g, and adding 400g of tinned cannellini beans
Bread brings plenty of calories but very little protein. Cannellini beans are cheap, traditional and do a fantastic job of bulking out the bowl. They soak up the dressing beautifully and actually keep you full.
What it costs you. The texture of the salad changes completely. Beans are soft and creamy, whereas stale bread has a fantastic slight chew when hydrated. It becomes a bean salad with bread, rather than a pure bread salad.
500g of fresh tomatoes up to 600g
With far less oil in the bowl, you desperately need more liquid to soften the bread. Extra tomatoes bring juice and flavour without adding many calories.
What it costs you. Nothing. More tomatoes in a summer salad is never a bad thing.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 472 | 360 |
| Protein | 8.8g | 14.4g |
| Fat | 28g | 11.3g |
| Saturated fat | 4.1g | 1.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 48.1g | 52.6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.9g | 4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Italian prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, sulphites.
The method is in the book
The original is a masterpiece of peasant cooking, designed to make cheap ingredients taste incredible. What you've got is a sharper, heavier bean salad that happens to feature bread. A perfect replica of the original is a different dish and you know where to find it. It lacks the sheer indulgence of oil-soaked starch, but it hits exactly the same summer flavour notes. It serves as a brilliant, massive lunch that actually keeps you full until dinner, rather than leaving you starving an hour later.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Italian, along with 59 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.