Arroz Caldoso con Pollo

Name: Arroz Caldoso con Pollo
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: Chicken thighs; Olive oil; Onion; Garlic; Red pepper; Fresh ripe tomatoes; Short-grain rice; Chicken stock; Paprika; Salt; Optional - frozen peas

Arroz Caldoso con Pollo, plated as one serving.

619 kcal a serving, against 817 for the traditional version. That is 198 kcal off, or 24%, with 43.2g of protein. Serves 4. 1 hour.

What the traditional version is

Classic arroz caldoso calls for chicken thighs, cooked skin-on in a rich base of olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper and tomato. The rice goes in with plenty of stock, simmering until every grain is plump and the liquid's thick. The skin gives you a savoury, fatty depth you can't fake. Some cooks go in with peas or saffron, but the backbone is always chicken, oil, and the patience to let it bubble.

What changed, and what each change costs

Chicken thigh, skin on, swapped for skinless

You don't lose much protein by taking off the skin, but you ditch the biggest hit of fat. The meat browns fine if you sear it hard - just don't expect the slippery richness.

What it costs you. There's no layer of golden chicken fat drifting on the broth. The meat can go a touch drier if you overcook, so keep an eye out - this needs steady simmering, not boiling.

Olive oil halved from 60g to 30g

Sofrito with a lake of oil is lovely but brutal on the waistline. With a solid non-stick frying pan and a little patience, 30g lets you sweat off the veg and get the job done.

What it costs you. You won't get the deep, glossy mouthfeel, and you may need to watch the onions so they don't catch. Don't let them brown - patience gets you there.

Rice upped by 20g to cover for lost fat

With less oily richness, a touch more rice bulks out each portion, so you're not left eyeing up your neighbour's bowl. It keeps things hearty.

What it costs you. Less oil means the grains can stick, so stir often, especially at the start. Also, you're not getting paella with toasted bottoms here - this is spoon food.

Skinless chicken thighs, hard-seared

Searing the bare thighs straight in the pan gives you browned bits and a ton of flavour to scrape into the broth. The pan's your friend here.

What it costs you. Bits will stick. It's not clean work. Scrape the pan with your spoon - that's flavour, not mess.

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 thighs
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Fresh ripe tomatoes
Short-grain rice
Chicken stock
Paprika
Salt
Optional - frozen peas

How it starts

Heat 30g olive oil in a large casserole or heavy pot.
Take the chicken out, chuck in the onion, red pepper and garlic.
Stir in the paprika and fresh tomatoes.

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

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	817	619
Protein	38.1g	43.2g
Fat	44.2g	18g
Saturated fat	10g	3.8g
Carbohydrate	64.5g	68.1g
Protein per 100 kcal	4.7g	7g

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. How every number is computed sets out the method.

The method is in the book

Here's the trade: you lose the shimmering puddle of chicken fat, but you get a bowl that won't leave your sink coated in grease. The meat's still soft, the rice is rich from the stock, and you can eat it and walk away. If you want that glossy finish, make it the old way and don't apologise - but if you like your shirt buttons done up, this one's for you.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Spanish, along with 57 more. Buy the paperback