Verdure Grigliate

Name: Verdure Grigliate
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Aubergine; Courgette; Red pepper; Olive oil; Garlic; Red wine vinegar; Flat-leaf parsley; Salt

Verdure Grigliate, plated as one serving.

109 kcal a serving, against 285 for the traditional version. That is 176 kcal off, or 62%, with 3.1g of protein. Serves 6. 45 minutes.

What the traditional version is

Aubergines, courgettes and red peppers sliced thin, grilled dry on a cast iron pan until heavily charred and completely soft. They're immediately submerged in a deep puddle of olive oil, smashed garlic, fresh herbs and a tiny splash of vinegar. They sit at room temperature, absorbing every drop until saturated.

What changed, and what each change costs

150g of olive oil down to 30g

The original dish uses oil as a soaking liquid. I use it strictly as a seasoning. Dropping the oil removes a massive block of fat, turning a heavy side dish back into an actual plate of vegetables. It stops them acting like sponges.

What it costs you. You lose that slippery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The traditional vegetables feel like they've been candied in fat. Mine just feel like grilled vegetables. Call it just a drier plate of food rather than a disaster and you'll be about right.

45g of red wine vinegar up to 60g

Fat carries flavour. When you remove it, food can taste a bit flat. You've got to replace that missing richness with something aggressive. Extra vinegar provides a sharp, bright punch that distracts you from the missing oil.

What it costs you. The dish is noticeably sharper. The original is mellow and soothing because the oil rounds off the acid. This version has a sharp bite that cuts through whatever else is on your plate. It wakes you up.

Leaving the garlic raw and crushed instead of sliced

Because I use less oil to carry the flavour, the aromatics have to work harder. Crushing the garlic to a paste means it coats the vegetables evenly, rather than sinking to the bottom of the bowl.

What it costs you. Raw crushed garlic is fierce. If you eat this immediately, it'll blow your head off. You've got to let it sit for at least 1 hour so the vinegar can tame the raw heat.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Aubergine
Courgette
Red pepper
Olive oil
Garlic
Red wine vinegar
Flat-leaf parsley
Salt

How it starts

Slice the aubergines and courgettes lengthways, about 1 centimetre thick.
Get a griddle pan or a heavy frying pan blisteringly hot.
Grill the vegetables in batches.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Italian.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	285	109
Protein	3.1g	3.1g
Fat	25.6g	5.6g
Saturated fat	3.6g	0.8g
Carbohydrate	14.3g	14.3g
Protein per 100 kcal	1.1g	2.8g

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. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. sulphites.

The method is in the book

I miss the oil, I really do. There's a specific joy in eating an aubergine that has soaked up its own body weight in fat. But this version is sharp, smoky and incredibly useful. You can eat a massive pile of it without feeling sluggish, and the sharp vinegar cuts through a heavy piece of grilled meat perfectly. It's a fair trade.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Italian, along with 59 more. Buy the paperback