Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Peperonata
152 kcal a serving, against 347 for the traditional version. That is 195 kcal off, or 56%, with 4.1g of protein. Serves 4. 50 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Yellow and red peppers sliced thick, slowly sweated in a wide pan with a huge glug of olive oil and sliced onions. Once soft, fresh tomatoes go in to break down into a sauce. No water, no stock, just vegetables melting in oil.
What changed, and what each change costs
110g of olive oil down to 20g
Olive oil is pure fat, costing you roughly 1,000 calories here. Slashing it changes the maths entirely and keeps the dish light.
What it costs you. You lose the confit effect. The peppers will want to catch and burn rather than melt. You've got to use a lid to trap the steam, plus a splash of water, stirring frequently so the vegetables soften without frying. It's more work and a slightly less luxurious mouthfeel.
400g of fresh tomatoes swapped for 400g of tinned plum tomatoes
Without the heavy oil to enrich the sauce, fresh tomatoes can taste thin unless you buy the best of the summer crop. Tinned tomatoes bring their own thick juice, which helps braise the peppers.
What it costs you. What you've got is a slightly heavier, richer braise. A fresh summer stew anymore is a different dish and you know where to find it. You lose a bit of the bright acidity that fresh tomatoes bring to the party.
Adding 15g of red wine vinegar and extra garlic at the end
With the fat stripped out, the dish needs another way to carry flavour. Vinegar wakes the whole thing up and replaces the richness you lost.
What it costs you. Traditionalists might tell you agrodolce flavours belong in Sicily, not in a standard peperonata. It gives the dish a sharp edge that not everyone wants.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 347 | 152 |
| Protein | 3.8g | 4.1g |
| Fat | 28.4g | 5.8g |
| Saturated fat | 4g | 0.9g |
| Carbohydrate | 23.8g | 24.1g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.1g | 2.7g |
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
It's a brilliant side dish that brings a huge amount of flavour to the table. You get all the sweetness of the peppers and the sharp tang of the tomatoes, minus the heavy slick of oil that usually pools at the bottom of the plate. The numbers look vastly different, but let me be honest with you. Even with the fat stripped out, this is just a bowl of cooked vegetables. It won't hit your daily goals on its own, and treating it like a main course is a mistake. Eat a massive portion of it next to some grilled fish or a lean pork chop.
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.