Budin Azteca

Name: Budin Azteca
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Chicken breast; Corn tortillas; Fat-free Greek yoghurt; Melting cheese; Tomatillos; Jalapeno chillies; Onion; Garlic; Fresh coriander; Salt

373 kcal a serving, against 663 for the traditional version. That is 290 kcal off, or 44%, with 41.8g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour.

What the traditional version is

Corn tortillas briefly fried in vegetable oil, layered in a baking dish with shredded chicken thigh, a vibrant salsa verde, heavy soured cream and massive handfuls of melting cheese, then baked until bubbling.

What changed, and what each change costs

600g of chicken thigh swapped for 800g of chicken breast

Using breast meat strips out the fat while letting you pack in a lot more chicken. It anchors the dish and makes it incredibly filling.

What it costs you. Breast meat lacks the deep flavour of the thigh and dries out faster. Sitting in a wet sauce protects it here, but you'll miss that rich, dark meat taste.

300g of soured cream and 300g of melting cheese swapped for 250g of zero-fat Greek yoghurt and 100g of melting cheese

The traditional dairy load makes this dish very heavy. Greek yoghurt mimics the tang of Mexican crema brilliantly while acting as a lean binder. I keep a smaller amount of cheese just for the top crust.

What it costs you. This is a sharper, leaner bake. Nobody is going to mistake it for a rich, gooey mess. You lose the heavy, comforting blanket of fat between the layers that makes the original so good.

400g of corn tortillas and 50g of vegetable oil swapped for 250g of dry-toasted corn tortillas

Skipping the frying step removes a lot of pure oil. Dropping the tortilla quantity shifts the entire balance of the plate towards the chicken.

What it costs you. Because the tortillas lack their fried oil barrier, they soften and break down heavily in the sauce. This structural shift is the first compromise you'll notice, giving the dish a softer pudding texture.

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.

Chicken breast
Corn tortillas
Fat-free Greek yoghurt
Melting cheese
Tomatillos
Jalapeno chillies
Onion
Garlic
Fresh coriander
Salt

How it starts

Put the tomatillos and jalapenos in a saucepan, cover them with water and bring to a boil.
Blend the boiled tomatillos and chillies with the onion, garlic, coriander and salt until you've got a smooth salsa verde.
Place the chicken breasts in a wide pan, cover with water and bring to a gentle simmer.

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

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	663	373
Protein	38g	41.8g
Fat	39.7g	10.5g
Saturated fat	17.1g	4.2g
Carbohydrate	40.4g	27.8g
Protein per 100 kcal	5.7g	11.2g

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

The method is in the book

This bake hits all the right notes for a Tuesday night dinner. The salsa verde cuts through the creamy yoghurt, and the massive amount of chicken means you won't leave the table hungry. You're giving up the distinctly firm, oil-fried tortilla layers of a classic budin, accepting a much softer texture in return. I think it's a fair trade for a massive wedge of Mexican comfort food.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback