Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Pollo alla Milanese
335 kcal a serving, against 669 for the traditional version. That is 334 kcal off, or 50%, with 41.7g of protein. Serves 4. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chicken breasts beaten flat with a meat mallet, dredged in plain flour, dipped in beaten whole egg, and coated in a heavy mix of dried breadcrumbs and parmesan. The whole thing is then shallow-fried in a generous mix of butter and olive oil until golden. It gets served with lemon.
What changed, and what each change costs
100g of butter and 50g of olive oil down to 15g of olive oil
The traditional frying method uses an absolute ocean of fat. The breadcrumbs soak it up like a sponge as soon as they hit the pan.
What it costs you. You lose the rich, buttery flavour and the perfect, even golden fry. Baked breadcrumbs dry out if you aren't careful. You've got to trust the high oven heat and use a wire rack to stop the bottom going soggy.
100g of whole eggs down to 100g of egg white
Whole eggs add fat to the dredging station. Egg whites do the exact same glueing job for a fraction of the calories, leaving you more room for the cheese.
What it costs you. None at all. You literally can't taste the difference once the chicken is covered in baked cheese and toasted breadcrumbs.
50g of plain flour down to 30g
You only need a microscopic dusting of flour to make the egg stick to the wet chicken. Anything more just turns to wallpaper paste under the crust.
What it costs you. It requires a bit more care. You have to shake the chicken hard to knock off the excess flour before it hits the egg white.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 669 | 335 |
| Protein | 45.1g | 41.7g |
| Fat | 43.2g | 10.3g |
| Saturated fat | 18g | 2.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 23.2g | 16.1g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 6.7g | 12.4g |
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, eggs, milk.
The method is in the book
You're trading away the buttery fry, and I won't lie to you about that. But you're keeping the crunch, the parmesan tang, and the massive hit of poultry. This is a brilliant midweek dinner that absolutely hits the spot. Nobody is going to mistake it for a deep-fried masterpiece.
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.