Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Crostini di Fegatini
335 kcal a serving, against 438 for the traditional version. That is 103 kcal off, or 24%, with 20.4g of protein. Serves 6. 90 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chicken livers fried hard with onions, sage, anchovies and capers, then drowned in white wine and stock. It's blitzed into a rough paste with a massive block of butter and spread on toasted bread.
What changed, and what each change costs
100g of butter down to 20g, adding 60g of light ricotta
Butter gives the pate its rich, spreadable texture. Dropping 80g of it removes a huge chunk of fat. The ricotta steps in to bind the liver into a paste without ruining the macros.
What it costs you. You'll lose that glossy, butter-heavy finish that coats the mouth. The ricotta makes it slightly grainier, but the intense flavour of the liver and anchovy still punches through clearly.
Bread for 250g of dry polenta, cooked and grilled
Traditional unsalted bread is hard to find in a normal shop, and I like polenta better here anyway. It crisps up beautifully on a grill pan and offers a sturdy base for a heavy topping.
What it costs you. It'll take more time. You have to cook the polenta, let it set in a tray, then cut it and grill it. Toasting bread's obviously much faster.
30g of olive oil down to 15g
You only need enough oil to soften the onion and fry the sage. 15g does the job perfectly well.
What it costs you. The onions take a bit more watching so they don't catch and burn in the drier pan. Keep stirring them and you'll be fine.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 438 | 335 |
| Protein | 19.3g | 20.4g |
| Fat | 24g | 11.4g |
| Saturated fat | 10.4g | 3.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 35.1g | 35.9g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.4g | 6.1g |
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. fish, milk, sulphites.
The method is in the book
The pate lacks the heavy, silken mouthfeel of a butter-drenched original. So: a sharper, leaner spread. A perfect replica was never on the table once the fat came out. But it delivers a massive hit of protein for a fraction of the calories, and the grilled polenta base is a brilliant change.
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.