Chraime

Name: Chraime
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: Cod fillet; Tinned plum tomatoes; Vegetable oil; Garlic; Paprika; Ground cumin; Caraway seeds; Dried chilli flakes; Salt; Water

265 kcal a serving, against 394 for the traditional version. That is 129 kcal off, or 33%, with 39.2g of protein. Serves 4. 45 minutes.

What the traditional version is

Thick chunks of white fish - usually cod, but any firm white fish works - simmered gently in a tomato sauce bursting with garlic, paprika, chilli and caraway, easily 60-70ml of oil, and sometimes a little sugar to round out the heat. Served with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the rich, spiced sauce floating with crimson drops of oil.

What changed, and what each change costs

Cutting oil from 70g down to 15g

70 grams is three shot glasses. It's not a drizzle, it's a commitment. Swapping for 15g means just enough to soften the spices and stop things sticking, but the sauce never thickens the same way. The lid does the rest.

What it costs you. You lose the luscious red slick on top and the sauce turns a bit watery. It also doesn't carry the heat and spice quite as well. If you want to dip challah and get slick fingers it's the wrong dinner.

Keeping cod at 800g but cutting more sauce calories by skipping the sugar

Cod's got a good amount of protein for the calories, so I've left it alone. But ditching the sugar means the sauce is sharper and the tomatoes a bit bossy, especially if they're not the best tinned ones.

What it costs you. You'll miss the rounded sweetness, so use a pinch of good salt and hope nobody's comparing it to their grandmother's.

Turning up the garlic and chilli, and winding the paprika down to 7g

More garlic (up to 30g) and a touch more chilli try to make up for the missing oil and sugar. You have to get flavour somewhere, and it's not coming from fat.

What it costs you. It'll feel hotter and sharper than the original, with less of that smooth warmth. Not subtle, but it'll keep your tastebuds moving.

Cooking with a tight lid on

Since there's less oil to keep the fish moist, the lid traps steam and stops the cod turning stringy. Old trick, useful here.

What it costs you. Sauce stays thin. You can't get away from it: it isn't rich, it's practical, and it's got more in common with a spicy fish stew than the chraime you'd serve for a special Friday night.

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.

Cod fillet
Tinned plum tomatoes
Vegetable oil
Garlic
Paprika
Ground cumin
Caraway seeds
Dried chilli flakes
Salt
Water

How it starts

Chop or crush the garlic and open the tomatoes.
Heat the 15g of oil in a deep frying pan or wide casserole.
Tip in the tomatoes and season with salt.

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

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	394	265
Protein	39.2g	39.2g
Fat	20g	6.2g
Saturated fat	2.7g	0.9g
Carbohydrate	14.2g	12.9g
Protein per 100 kcal	9.9g	14.8g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Jewish 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. fish.

The method is in the book

The first thing you'll spot is the missing slick of red oil on top. Some will say that's half the point, and honestly, they've got a case. The fish is tender, the sauce's got punch, and you'll get all the warmth, but not quite the deep, clingy flavour or the shabbat-table gravitas. Good for a midweek dinner, less for making a statement. If you're really craving the Saturday-night version, make it when your doctor's on holiday.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Jewish, along with 51 more. Buy the paperback