Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Pollo alla Cacciatora
363 kcal a serving, against 534 for the traditional version. That is 171 kcal off, or 32%, with 41.3g of protein. Serves 4. 50 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chicken thighs, heavy with bone and skin, aggressively browned in plenty of olive oil. Onions, garlic and herbs fried in the rendered fat until sweet. Red wine to deglaze the pan, followed by tinned tomatoes and a massive handful of black olives. Left to simmer until the oil splits.
What changed, and what each change costs
Ditching the skin and dropping 60g of olive oil to 15g
Chicken skin is delicious when roasted, but in a braise it goes flabby and dumps pure fat into the pan. Cutting the olive oil does the exact same thing to the numbers. The original dish swims in a pool of orange oil.
What it costs you. You lose the rich mouthfeel that rendered fat gives a sauce. You end up with just a thinner gravy. The version that's a disaster is still out there and still better. You have to reduce the tomatoes harder to get the texture right.
1000g of bone-in skin-on thighs becomes 800g of pure skinless thigh meat
This is how you keep the meat portion large while stripping out the fat. Thigh meat stays incredibly juicy during a braise. Breast meat would turn to absolute sawdust here, so don't even think about it. I want actual chunks of tender meat.
What it costs you. Skinless thigh fillets can be slightly more expensive at the butcher. They also lack the bone, which traditionally adds a tiny bit of body to the sauce, so you lean harder on the herbs.
80g of black olives down to 40g
Olives are little fat bombs. Halving them gives you the salty, earthy kick you need for a true cacciatora without the heavy load. They provide the sharp contrast to the sweet tomatoes.
What it costs you. You have to hunt a bit harder for an olive on your plate. I chop them in half rather than leaving them whole, just to spread the joy around the pan.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 534 | 363 |
| Protein | 51.2g | 41.3g |
| Fat | 27.8g | 13.4g |
| Saturated fat | 5.4g | 3g |
| Carbohydrate | 11.6g | 11g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 9.6g | 11.4g |
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. sulphites.
The method is in the book
A massive win for common sense. The sauce is slightly less unctuous without the thick layer of chicken fat, but the flavour is entirely intact. You get a huge plate of rich, tomatoey chicken that delivers hard on satisfying meat while stripping away the heavy grease. Serve it with a massive handful of steamed green beans.
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.