Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Tonno alla Siciliana
273 kcal a serving, against 422 for the traditional version. That is 149 kcal off, or 35%, with 40.4g of protein. Serves 4. 35 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Tinned tuna swimming in extra virgin olive oil, pitched into a wide frying pan with a huge handful of black olives, salted capers, sliced garlic and crushed tomatoes. It cooks down slowly into a rich, dark stew. You mop up the resulting sauce with massive tears of crusty white bread.
What changed, and what each change costs
80ml of olive oil down to 20ml
Olive oil is pure fat. Pouring it into the pan by the mug load drags the dish down heavily. Cutting the fat back to an absolute minimum forces the tinned tomatoes and capers to carry the sauce.
What it costs you. You lose that luxurious, mouth-coating finish that oil brings to a sauce. The dish feels less like a thick, rich stew. It becomes a bright, acidic pan sauce instead. You'll miss the richness.
100g of black olives down to 40g, and doubling the capers to 40g
Black olives bring a huge amount of fat and very little protein. Capers bring the exact same briny punch for virtually zero cost. Swapping the ratios heavily in favour of capers keeps the Sicilian flavour profile intact while shedding the fat.
What it costs you. Capers are incredibly sharp. The original dish has a deep, mellow background from all those black olives. This version hits you much harder with sheer acidity, and you lack the fleshy bite that a whole olive provides.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 422 | 273 |
| Protein | 40.5g | 40.4g |
| Fat | 24.2g | 7.6g |
| Saturated fat | 3.7g | 1.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 10.5g | 9.9g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 9.6g | 14.8g |
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.
The method is in the book
I actually prefer this sharp interpretation to the authentic original. The traditional version can be overwhelmingly heavy and slightly cloying when it starts to cool down on the plate. This version stays sharp, clean and fresh from the very first bite to the last. You get all the firm texture of the fish and all the aggression of the capers.
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.