Spanish · Authentic-ish Spanish
Champiñones al Ajillo
128 kcal a serving, against 318 for the traditional version. That is 190 kcal off, or 60%, with 5.9g of protein. Serves 4. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Whole button mushrooms cooked gently in a deep puddle of olive oil, with plenty of chopped garlic and a few slivers of chilli. You let them sizzle until they're soft, golden and almost meaty, with the oil turning into liquid garlic. Best eaten with crusty bread, and don't be shy about pouring the garlicky oil over everything else on the table.
What changed, and what each change costs
Olive oil slashed from 80g to 10g, finish only
Mushrooms love to drink oil. You can't get round that, but you can choose how much you pour in. I cook them in wine and their own juices, then finish with a swirl of oil so you still get that Spanish perfume.
What it costs you. You don't get that slippery, unctuous mushroom interior. The olive oil note is there, but as a top note, not a base chord. If you eat this straight after the original, sorry: the old one's richer.
Add dry white wine for steam
Without enough oil, mushrooms want to shrivel. White wine gives you steam and acid, stopping them from drying out and letting them soak up flavour instead.
What it costs you. They shrink more, and the texture is a bit less silky. But you get a bit of a saucy puddle rather than an oil slick, which isn't exactly tragic.
Bread reduced by half
The original is more about dunking than restraint. Halving the bread means you still get the joy of mopping up juices, but less starch and more room for the rest of the tapas.
What it costs you. Anyone who's come for the bread and oil will notice. But with mushrooms this garlicky you'll barely need a second swipe.
Extra garlic for punch and a touch more chilli
With less oil carrying flavour, you need the garlic and chilli to shout a bit louder. I up the garlic and keep the chilli at full volume.
What it costs you. No cost, unless you're planning to snog someone who hasn't eaten it.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 318 | 128 |
| Protein | 7.4g | 5.9g |
| Fat | 21.9g | 3.7g |
| Saturated fat | 3.2g | 0.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.4g | 16.3g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2.3g | 4.6g |
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.
Allergens. gluten, sulphites.
The method is in the book
If you want the classic pool of garlicky oil to soak your bread through, this isn't it, it's fresher and a bit less lush. But the mushrooms pop with garlic and wine, and the bite at the end is all chilli. The bread's still there for tradition, but you'll eat these for the mushroom, not just because you want an excuse to mop up olive oil. It's not the original, but it gets you most of the way for a lot less fuss.
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.