Spanish · Authentic-ish Spanish
Padron Peppers
44 kcal a serving, against 136 for the traditional version. That is 92 kcal off, or 68%, with 1g of protein. Serves 4. 15 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Whole padron peppers, washed and left whole, fried in a generous layer of olive oil (enough to half-submerge the peppers). They're cooked hot and fast so the skins blister but the flesh stays bright and just tender. Finished with a deluge of coarse salt. Served piping hot, sometimes with a sliver of bread to catch the oil.
What changed, and what each change costs
Frying in deep olive oil swapped for sparing oil and a hot grill
50 grams of oil for a pile of peppers is most of the energy in the dish. Instead, I spray or toss the peppers with just 8 grams of olive oil, then let a hot grill blister them, not the oil.
What it costs you. It isn't that slippery, rich finish, it's a drier char - the peppers are still lovely, but they won't have that plush, slightly oily mouthfeel. If silk is what you want, use the pan and don't count.
No bread for mopping up oil
Normally you'd mop up the puddled oil with bread (which is delicious and, frankly, the right thing to do). Here, there's virtually no oil left, so no bread.
What it costs you. You'll miss out on that last, oily mouthful. This is the bit austerity ruins.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 136 | 44 |
| Protein | 1g | 1g |
| Fat | 12.8g | 2.3g |
| Saturated fat | 1.8g | 0.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 6g | 6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 0.7g | 2.3g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Spanish prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
The method is in the book
I'll level with you: if you live for the velvet luxury of olive oil and you want your padron peppers to glide across your tongue, do them in a frying pan, don't worry about the oil, and be happy. This grill version is still salty, still smoky, and still a dead simple snack, but the extravagance is dialled down. It's perfect on a weeknight, but it isn't a holiday in the Basque Country.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Spanish, along with 57 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.