Italian · Authentic-ish Italian
Patate al Forno
253 kcal a serving, against 377 for the traditional version. That is 124 kcal off, or 33%, with 7.2g of protein. Serves 6. 75 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Chunks of floury potato, sometimes parboiled, bathed in a heavy pour of olive oil. They go into a hot oven with bruised garlic cloves and sprigs of fresh rosemary until the edges fry, blister and crisp.
What changed, and what each change costs
120g of olive oil down to 30g
Olive oil is pure fat. It makes things taste fantastic, but 120g is just too heavy if you want to eat a decent portion. Slashing the oil saves a massive amount of fat while letting the potato flavour actually come through.
What it costs you. You lose that rich, fried mouthfeel. There's no denying the original tastes more decadent and luxurious. Mine are drier, though they still deliver on crunch.
Adding 100g of egg white
This is the trick. If you whip egg whites until they're frothy and toss the parboiled potatoes in them, the protein forms a brittle, glass-like shell in the hot oven. It gives you the crunch of deep-fried potato.
What it costs you. It takes an extra bowl and 2 minutes of whisking. You might think they'll taste like an omelette, but I promise they don't. The egg white is entirely flavourless once baked, it just acts as a structural glaze.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 377 | 253 |
| Protein | 5.4g | 7.2g |
| Fat | 20.4g | 5.4g |
| Saturated fat | 2.9g | 0.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 45.4g | 45.6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.4g | 2.9g |
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. eggs.
The method is in the book
Call it a modern kitchen hack that happens to work perfectly rather than a traditional Italian roasting method and you'll be about right. You get a massive pile of crunchy, rosemary-scented potatoes that won't weigh you down. They're brilliant alongside a piece of grilled chicken or fish, and you won't miss the extra 90g of oil.
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.