Soul Food · Authentic-ish Soul Food
Turnip Greens with Diced Turnips
106 kcal a serving, against 231 for the traditional version. That is 125 kcal off, or 54%, with 8.7g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour.
What the traditional version is
Down in the South, turnip greens and their roots get simmered together with a healthy slab of fatty pork - anything from streaky bacon to smoked ham hock, or a meaty bone if that's what's lying about. The pork melts down, giving the greens a silky, smoky backbone, and the liquor is ladled over cornbread or just drunk from the bowl. Chilli flakes aren't mandatory but they show up often enough.
What changed, and what each change costs
Fatty pork belly for more vegetables and smoked salt
The pork's there for depth, smoke and the feeling that you're eating a meal, not a punishment. Cutting it removes a heap of saturated fat, but it also means you need something else to bring body. Doubling down on veg and adding smoked salt nods at the pig without actually involving one.
What it costs you. There's no mistaking it: you lose the glossy mouthfeel and sticky lip-coating richness. If you're after porky gravy, this isn't it. You do, however, get to eat a bowl with nothing nagging at your conscience or your arteries.
Chicken stock for homemade vegetable stock
Chicken stock brings savoury backbone and a whisper of fat. Vegetable stock holds its own, especially if you go heavy on mushrooms and alliums. It's not as deep, but it's honest.
What it costs you. It tastes a bit cleaner and less rounded. If you like your greens to taste mostly of themselves, you'll be happy. If not, well, you might be reaching for the hot sauce.
Bumping up greens using extra spinach
The real thing uses young turnip tops, but they're not exactly stacked up in British shops. Spinach stands in and brings a mild flavour with a good chew.
What it costs you. You miss some of the spicy bitterness of true turnip greens. If you want a hit of brassica, chuck in some cavolo nero, but I'm trying to keep this friendly.
Omitting added fat entirely
Traditional greens always use either rendered pork fat or a glug of oil at the end. Here, everything stews in its own juice with just stock for company.
What it costs you. You lose that soft, unctuous finish. On the bright side, you can eat a double portion without feeling like you've just eaten Christmas dinner in summer.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 231 | 106 |
| Protein | 16.3g | 8.7g |
| Fat | 11g | 1.1g |
| Saturated fat | 3.7g | 0.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 18.7g | 19.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 7.1g | 8.2g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Soul Food prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
The method is in the book
You're not going to fool anyone who's spent their life fishing pork bones out of a pot. The real thing is all about pork fat and that luscious, smoky broth you want to mop up with bread. This one is the opposite: clean, punchy, a proper wallop of actual green vegetable with the odd sweet hit from the turnip cubes. It's no substitute for a bacon-drenched bowl, but it's plenty hearty. The first bowl makes you feel virtuous; the second is when you realise you actually like it.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Soul Food, along with 52 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.