15 changes. That's the whole book, really, and the 60 recipes are just those 15 changes applied to dishes you already know.
Read this chapter and you can lighten an Italian recipe that isn't in here. That's the point of putting it near the front rather than burying it in an appendix.
Each one lists what you gain and what it costs. None of them are free. Anybody who tells you a swap is free is selling something.
The figures under each swap are computed from the ingredient list against USDA FoodData Central and McCance & Widdowson. Nothing here is estimated.
Italian
Italian swap 1 of 15
Stop deep-frying the aubergine
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g aubergine, deep-fried 100g aubergine + 4g olive oil 302 -> 60 (-242) 1.2g -> 1g The single biggest saving in Italian cooking.
What it costs you. You lose the melting, almost liquid texture that makes fried aubergine what it is. Roasted holds its shape. Get the oven to 220C and don't crowd the tray, or you'll steam it and lose the browning as well.
Works on: Parmigiana, caponata, pasta alla Norma, anything Sicilian and purple.
Italian swap 2 of 15
Trade yolks for whole eggs and whites
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g egg yolk 70g egg, medium + 30g egg white 322 -> 116 (-206) 15.9g -> 12.1g Same binding, far less fat, and the protein goes up rather than down.
What it costs you. Paler sauce and a shade less richness on the tongue. It also sets faster, so you have to keep it moving. Keep at least a third of the yolks or you lose the colour entirely.
Works on: Carbonara, frittata, zabaglione, anything bound with egg.
Italian swap 3 of 15
Toast the flour instead of buttering the bechamel
Instead of Use Calories Protein 80g unsalted butter + 80g plain flour + 1000g whole milk 20g unsalted butter + 80g plain flour + 1000g semi-skimmed milk 1475 -> 935 (-540) 40.4g -> 41.4g Nobody has ever picked this one out of a lasagne when I've served it.
What it costs you. Slightly less silky, and it sets firmer as it cools. You have to toast the flour in a dry pan for 3 minutes first, which is what puts back the nutty flavour the butter was there to provide. Skip that step and you'll taste it.
Works on: Lasagne, pasta al forno, anything gratinated.
Italian swap 4 of 15
Drop the mince from 15% fat to 5%
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g beef mince, 15% fat 500g beef mince, 5% fat 1075 -> 685 (-390) 93g -> 107g Same weight of meat, a third of the fat, more protein per gram.
What it costs you. Lean mince goes grainy if you rush it. Brown it in two batches over a proper heat and give it a long slow cook. In a 20-minute sauce this swap is a mistake. In a 3-hour ragu it's free.
Works on: Ragu, polpette, polpettone, anything braised for hours.
Italian swap 5 of 15
Halve the olive oil, finish with pasta water
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g olive oil 25g olive oil 530 -> 221 (-309) 0g -> 0g Oil is 884 kcal per 100g, which makes it the most concentrated thing in any Italian kitchen.
What it costs you. The sauce won't cling the same way on its own. You have to toss the pasta hard in the pan with starchy water for a full minute, which emulsifies what oil is left. Get lazy about the tossing and this swap makes a worse dinner.
Works on: Every pasta dish in the book. Puttanesca, vongole, aglio e olio, all of it.
Italian swap 6 of 15
Put the hard cheese on top rather than through
Instead of Use Calories Protein 150g parmesan 90g parmesan 588 -> 353 (-235) 53.6g -> 32.2g You taste cheese that browns on the surface. Cheese stirred into a bechamel mostly disappears.
What it costs you. The middle of the dish is less savoury, so salt it harder than you think and add a grating of nutmeg to cover the gap.
Works on: Lasagne, gratins, baked pasta, risotto.
Italian swap 7 of 15
Swap double cream for quark loosened with stock
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g double cream 180g quark + 60g chicken stock 680 -> 155 (-525) 5.7g -> 27.8g The biggest single number you can take out of a northern Italian sauce.
What it costs you. Quark splits if you boil it, so it goes in off the heat and never comes back to a bubble. It's also sharper than cream, so it needs a pinch of sugar or a splash of the pasta water to round it off. In a delicate sauce this swap is obvious. In a mushroom sauce with plenty of garlic it isn't.
Works on: Tagliatelle ai funghi, creamy risotto finishes, anything northern.
Italian swap 8 of 15
Buy more shellfish, not less
Instead of Use Calories Protein 250g clams 350g clams 215 -> 301 (+86) 36.7g -> 51.3g The one swap that goes the other way. Clams are 86 kcal per 100g and 15% protein, so more of them makes the plate lighter, not heavier.
What it costs you. Money. About 400g more in the shell. That's the entire cost and it's the best deal in the book.
Works on: Vongole, insalata di mare, risotto alla pescatora, zuppa di pesce.
Italian swap 9 of 15
80g of dried pasta a head, not 100g
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g dried pasta 320g dried pasta 1484 -> 1187 (-297) 52.2g -> 41.7g Pasta is most of the calories on any pasta plate. Cutting the sauce and leaving the spaghetti alone is theatre.
What it costs you. It's less food and it looks like less food. Use a smaller bowl. If you're feeding someone who's been on their feet all day, put the 100g back and skip a different swap.
Works on: Every pasta chapter, every book in this series.
Italian swap 10 of 15
Tinned fish in water, and more of it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g anchovy fillets in oil 100g tinned tuna in spring water 210 -> 116 (-94) 28.9g -> 25.5g Draining oil-packed fish still leaves a lot of oil behind in the flakes.
What it costs you. Water-packed tuna is drier and blander, so it needs the capers, chilli and lemon working harder around it. Don't do this with anchovies, which are flavour rather than protein and cost you almost nothing as they are.
Works on: Pasta al tonno, insalata di riso, vitello tonnato if you insist.
Italian swap 11 of 15
Double the onion, carrot and celery
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g onion + 100g carrot + 100g celery 200g onion + 200g carrot + 200g celery 95 -> 190 (+95) 2.7g -> 5.4g More body and more sweetness, which is exactly what you lose when the fat goes, for almost no calories and a lot more fibre.
What it costs you. It reads slightly more vegetal and a Bolognese grandmother would spot it. Chop it finer than feels reasonable and cook it 20 minutes at the start so it melts rather than crunches.
Works on: Ragu, spezzatino, minestrone, any long braise.
Italian swap 12 of 15
Blitz a roasted red pepper into the tomato
Instead of Use Calories Protein 30g olive oil 150g red pepper 265 -> 39 (-226) 0g -> 1.5g Gives back the sweetness and body that leaves with the pork fat, for about 40 kcal across 4 plates.
What it costs you. It's sweeter and less sharp, and somebody who knows the dish will notice. Blitz it completely smooth so at least the texture doesn't give you away.
Works on: Arrabbiata, tomato sauces that have lost their fat, anything from Lazio.
Italian swap 13 of 15
Bake breadcrumbed things on a rack
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g dried breadcrumbs + 60g olive oil 60g dried breadcrumbs + 12g olive oil 690 -> 266 (-424) 5.3g -> 5.3g Shallow-frying a breaded escalope puts most of a pan of oil into the crumb.
What it costs you. This is the swap I'm least happy about. Baked breadcrumb is not fried breadcrumb and it never will be. A rack, a very hot oven and a light spray get you most of the way, and you'll still know. Milanese twice a year should be fried.
Works on: Pollo alla milanese, arancini, melanzane, anything crumbed.
Italian swap 14 of 15
Part-skimmed ricotta, not whole
Instead of Use Calories Protein 250g ricotta 250g ricotta, part-skimmed 375 -> 345 (-30) 18.9g -> 28.5g A rare swap where the lighter version has more protein as well as less fat.
What it costs you. It's grainier and it weeps more, so drain it in a sieve for an hour before it goes anywhere near a filling. In a baked dish nobody notices. In a raw cheesecake filling they do.
Works on: Cannelloni, crostata di ricotta, stuffed pasta, sformato.
Italian swap 15 of 15
Halve the sugar, keep all the vinegar
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g caster sugar 30g caster sugar 232 -> 116 (-116) 0g -> 0g Sicilian sweet-and-sour dishes carry far more sugar than they need to taste balanced.
What it costs you. It's sharper, and it needs a day in the fridge to come together rather than an hour. Cut the vinegar as well and you've just made a stew.
Works on: Caponata, sarde in saor, agrodolce anything.
Mexican
Mexican swap 1 of 15
Stop frying beans in lard
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g tinned pinto beans + 60g lard 400g tinned pinto beans + 12g lard + 60g chicken stock 1009 -> 598 (-411) 28.2g -> 29.7g Lard is 902 kcal per 100g and a proper pan of refried beans takes a lot of it.
What it costs you. The gloss goes. Refried beans made with a spoonful of lard and a splash of stock taste right but look duller, and they set firmer as they cool. Keep some lard rather than none: a tablespoon carries the flavour and switching to oil tastes wrong in a way you can't fix with salt.
Works on: Frijoles refritos, tamale masa, sopes, anything a Mexican grandmother would start by melting fat in a pan.
Mexican swap 2 of 15
Bake tortilla chips and tostadas, never fry them
Instead of Use Calories Protein 120g corn tortillas + 50g vegetable oil 120g corn tortillas + 8g vegetable oil 716 -> 338 (-378) 6.8g -> 6.8g A corn tortilla is about 220 kcal per 100g. Deep-fried, it soaks up nearly its own weight in oil.
What it costs you. Baked chips snap rather than shatter and they go soft in salsa faster, which matters in chilaquiles. Cut them, brush with the measured oil, and give them 15 minutes at 190C until they're properly dry, not just coloured.
Works on: Chilaquiles, tostadas, sopa de tortilla, totopos, anything with a crunchy tortilla in it.
Mexican swap 3 of 15
Fat-free Greek yoghurt with lime instead of crema
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g soured cream 180g fat-free greek yoghurt + 15g lime juice 396 -> 110 (-286) 4.9g -> 18.4g The single biggest saving on the garnish table, and the protein goes up rather than down.
What it costs you. Yoghurt is sharper and thicker than crema, so it sits on top instead of running. Loosen it with the lime juice and a splash of water until it drizzles. Don't heat it, and don't use it in a sauce that has to simmer, because it'll split.
Works on: Enchiladas, chilaquiles, tostadas, tacos, anything that gets a white drizzle.
Mexican swap 4 of 15
Lean pork shoulder and a longer braise
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1000g pork shoulder, lean and fat 1000g pork shoulder, lean 2360 -> 1480 (-880) 171.8g -> 195.5g Same cut, fat trimmed. It's the biggest number in every pork dish in the book.
What it costs you. Lean shoulder dries out if you rush it, and it will not confit. Give it 4 hours at 150C with liquid in the pot, and crisp it at the end under a hot grill rather than in its own fat.
Works on: Carnitas, cochinita pibil, pozole, chile verde, tacos al pastor.
Mexican swap 5 of 15
Cheese on top, and less of it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g melting cheese 80g melting cheese + 40g queso fresco 746 -> 445 (-301) 49g -> 27.6g Melting cheese buried in a bake disappears. Crumbled salty cheese on top is the first thing you taste.
What it costs you. Less of the long cheese pull, which is a genuine loss in a quesadilla and a trivial one in a bake. Crumble the fresco on after it comes out of the oven so it stays sharp.
Works on: Enchiladas, budin azteca, quesadillas, enfrijoladas.
Mexican swap 6 of 15
Toast the rice dry instead of frying it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g long-grain white rice + 45g vegetable oil 300g long-grain white rice + 10g vegetable oil 1500 -> 1185 (-315) 21.4g -> 21.4g Arroz rojo starts by frying rice in a slick of oil. Most of that oil ends up in the finished bowl.
What it costs you. You have to watch it. Dry-toasting rice takes 4 minutes of stirring and it goes from nutty to burnt in about 20 seconds. The finished grains are slightly less separate, so fluff it harder with a fork.
Works on: Arroz rojo, arroz verde, any Mexican rice.
Mexican swap 7 of 15
Chill the braise and lift the fat cap off
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1200g beef brisket, lean 1000g beef brisket, lean 1884 -> 1570 (-314) 248.6g -> 207.2g A birria or barbacoa consomme carries a centimetre of rendered fat once it's cold. Lifting it off is free, takes 10 seconds, and needs no recipe change.
What it costs you. You lose some of the mouthfeel and the red sheen that makes a dipping consomme look right. Put a spoonful of the lifted fat back if you're dipping tacos in it, and leave it out if you're drinking it as a soup.
Works on: Birria, barbacoa, pozole, caldo de res, anything braised the day before.
Mexican swap 8 of 15
Grill the fish instead of battering it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g red snapper + 80g plain flour + 80g vegetable oil 500g red snapper + 10g vegetable oil 1511 -> 590 (-921) 110.8g -> 102.6g The batter is flour and the frying is oil, and neither is doing anything for the fish underneath.
What it costs you. This is the swap I'm least comfortable with. A Baja fish taco is a battered fish taco and a grilled one is a different, lesser thing. Char it hard, dress it with lime and a sharp cabbage slaw, and accept you've made a good taco rather than the great one.
Works on: Tacos de pescado, pescado frito.
Mexican swap 9 of 15
Put more beans in
Instead of Use Calories Protein 240g tinned black beans 400g tinned black beans 218 -> 364 (+146) 14.5g -> 24.1g Tinned black beans are 91 kcal per 100g and about 6% protein. More of them makes a plate lighter, not heavier, and this is one of the few swaps that goes upward.
What it costs you. Money and bulk. Nothing else, and beans are cheap.
Works on: Enfrijoladas, huevos rancheros, tostadas, burritos, any plate that needs filling out after something came off it.
Mexican swap 10 of 15
Corn tortillas rather than flour
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g flour tortillas 200g corn tortillas 650 -> 444 (-206) 17.4g -> 11.4g Flour tortillas are 325 kcal per 100g against 222 for corn, and they carry fat where corn carries none.
What it costs you. Corn tortillas tear if you don't warm them properly, and they're smaller, so you'll want three where you'd have had two. Warm them one at a time in a dry pan until they puff. In most of Mexico this isn't a swap at all, it's just what a tortilla is.
Works on: Tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, everything except a northern burrito.
Mexican swap 11 of 15
Yoghurt and lime on the corn, not mayonnaise
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g soured cream + 40g queso fresco 60g fat-free greek yoghurt + 30g queso fresco + 10g lime juice 265 -> 148 (-118) 9.5g -> 12.2g Elote is grilled corn, which is nearly free, wearing about 300 kcal of dairy.
What it costs you. It's sharper and it clings less, so roll the cob rather than brushing it. The chilli powder and the lime are doing more work than the fat ever was, so be heavy-handed with both.
Works on: Elote, esquites.
Mexican swap 12 of 15
Fewer seeds and nuts in the mole, more chilli
Instead of Use Calories Protein 120g pumpkin seeds, toasted + 80g almonds 60g pumpkin seeds, toasted + 30g almonds + 30g dried ancho chillies 998 -> 545 (-454) 39.2g -> 21.2g Nuts and seeds thicken a mole and they're 450 to 580 kcal per 100g.
What it costs you. The sauce is thinner and less velvety, which in a mole is most of the point. Toast the chillies harder and blend for longer to get body back. If you're making mole once a year for a party, make the real one.
Works on: Mole poblano, mole verde, pipian.
Mexican swap 13 of 15
Halve the sugar in the puddings
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g caster sugar 100g caster sugar 774 -> 387 (-387) 0g -> 0g Mexican puddings are built for a sweeter tooth than most British ones and take the cut without complaining.
What it costs you. Caramel won't set as hard, and a flan with half the sugar is a softer flan. In anything with cinnamon, chocolate or citrus in it, the cut is genuinely hard to spot.
Works on: Flan, arroz con leche, capirotada, champurrado, paletas.
Mexican swap 14 of 15
Treat chorizo as a spice, not a meat
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g chorizo 70g chorizo 592 -> 207 (-385) 27.3g -> 9.5g Chorizo is 296 kcal per 100g raw and renders a great deal of fat, most of which you then cook everything else in.
What it costs you. Fewer chunks of chorizo, which is a real loss in papas con chorizo where the chunks are the dish. Chop what's left much finer, render it slowly, and cook the potatoes in the fat that comes out.
Works on: Papas con chorizo, queso fundido, tinga, huevos con chorizo.
Mexican swap 15 of 15
Leave the avocado alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g avocado 300g avocado 480 -> 480 (0) 6g -> 6g Nothing. This is the one entry in the kit that changes nothing, and it's here because somebody will otherwise try.
What it costs you. Avocado is 160 kcal per 100g and a guacamole made with anything else is a different, sadder dip. Peas, courgette and cottage cheese have all been proposed by people who should know better. The cost of touching it is that you no longer have guacamole, which is too high a price. Eat less of it if you must, and eat the real thing.
Works on: Guacamole, and any recipe where somebody suggests bulking it out.
Indian
Indian swap 1 of 15
Measure the ghee instead of spooning it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 80g ghee 20g ghee + 10g sunflower oil 720 -> 268 (-452) 0g -> 0g Ghee is 900 kcal per 100g, the most concentrated thing in the whole series.
What it costs you. Less of that nutty richness coating everything, and you notice it most in a plain dal. Keep real ghee rather than swapping entirely to oil: 20g still tastes of ghee, and an all-oil version tastes of nothing in particular.
Works on: Dal, tarka, biryani, anything that starts with fat in a pan.
Indian swap 2 of 15
Full-fat yoghurt instead of double cream
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g double cream 200g full-fat natural yoghurt + 8g gram flour 680 -> 153 (-527) 5.7g -> 8.7g The biggest single number in a restaurant-style curry.
What it costs you. Yoghurt splits if you boil it, and that's the whole difficulty. Whisk the gram flour through it first, take the pan off the heat, and stir it in a spoonful at a time. Get impatient and you'll get a grainy sauce, and no amount of blending brings it back.
Works on: Korma, makhani, pasanda, anything a takeaway would call creamy.
Indian swap 3 of 15
Bake the fried things
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g gram flour + 120g sunflower oil 200g gram flour + 25g sunflower oil 1835 -> 995 (-840) 44.8g -> 44.8g A pakora is a sponge in batter. Deep-frying it puts most of a pan of oil inside.
What it costs you. This is the swap I'm least happy with in the book. Baked pakora is crisp on the outside and steamed inside, and a properly fried one is crisp all the way through. Get the oven to 220C, use a wire rack, and accept it's a good snack rather than a great one.
Works on: Pakora, bhaji, samosa, vada.
Indian swap 4 of 15
Fewer cashews, more onion
Instead of Use Calories Protein 120g cashew nuts 40g cashew nuts + 200g onion 664 -> 301 (-362) 21.9g -> 9.5g Cashew paste thickens a korma and it's 553 kcal per 100g. Slowly browned onion does much of the same job for 40.
What it costs you. The sauce is less velvety and slightly less sweet. The onions need 25 minutes on a low heat to go properly soft and dark, and if you rush them the sauce tastes raw and sharp.
Works on: Korma, pasanda, shahi dishes, white curries.
Indian swap 5 of 15
Dilute the coconut milk rather than buying the light tin
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g coconut cream 200g tinned coconut milk + 60g chicken stock 660 -> 416 (-244) 7.3g -> 5.6g Coconut cream is 330 kcal per 100g against 197 for tinned milk.
What it costs you. A thinner sauce that needs longer to reduce. Buying the reduced-fat tin instead is worse: it's the same thing already watered down, and you pay more for it.
Works on: Southern curries, Keralan fish, anything with coconut in it.
Indian swap 6 of 15
Skinless thigh, and don't switch to breast
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g chicken thigh with skin 800g chicken thigh, skinless 1768 -> 968 (-800) 132.2g -> 157.3g The skin is where the fat is, and it renders into the sauce rather than crisping when it's submerged.
What it costs you. None from the skin. The real cost is the temptation to go further and use breast, which dries out in a long-cooked curry and turns stringy. Thigh survives 40 minutes in a sauce. Breast does not.
Works on: Every chicken curry in the book.
Indian swap 7 of 15
Crisp the birista in the oven
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g onion + 150g sunflower oil 300g onion + 20g sunflower oil 1446 -> 297 (-1149) 3.3g -> 3.3g Deep-fried onions on a biryani are 150ml of oil that mostly ends up in the rice.
What it costs you. Oven-crisped onions take 35 minutes rather than 8, and they go from golden to black faster than you'd like at the end. Slice them thin, spread them out, and watch the last 5 minutes.
Works on: Biryani, pilau, anything topped with fried onion.
Indian swap 8 of 15
Chapati rather than naan
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g naan 120g chapati flour + 5g sunflower oil 582 -> 452 (-130) 19.2g -> 15.9g Naan is enriched with ghee, yoghurt and often sugar. A chapati is flour and water with a smear of fat.
What it costs you. A chapati is a plainer thing than a naan and it doesn't do the same job of mopping. Make them thin, cook them hot, and puff them over the flame.
Works on: Every meal in the book that comes with bread.
Indian swap 9 of 15
Put more dal on the plate
Instead of Use Calories Protein 150g red lentils 250g red lentils 537 -> 895 (+358) 35.9g -> 59.8g Dry red lentils are 358 kcal per 100g but about 25% protein, and they swell to three times their weight. More dal means a fuller plate with less meat on it.
What it costs you. Money, which is to say almost none. Lentils are the cheapest protein in any supermarket.
Works on: Tarka dal, sambar, any thali, any meal that lost some meat.
Indian swap 10 of 15
Take the sugar out of the curry
Instead of Use Calories Protein 40g caster sugar 10g caster sugar 155 -> 39 (-116) 0g -> 0g British Indian restaurant sauces carry a surprising amount of sugar, and home recipes copy them without asking why.
What it costs you. It's sharper. Balance it with slower-cooked onion and a little more tomato rather than putting the sugar back, and check the salt before you decide it needs sweetening, because it usually doesn't.
Works on: Makhani, jalfrezi, bhuna, anything modelled on a takeaway.
Indian swap 11 of 15
Less paneer, grilled hard
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g paneer 250g paneer 1312 -> 820 (-492) 104g -> 65g Paneer is 328 kcal per 100g and it's usually fried before it goes in the sauce.
What it costs you. Fewer cubes, which in a paneer dish is the thing you came for. Grill or dry-fry what's left until it's properly browned on two sides, because browned paneer tastes twice as much as pale paneer.
Works on: Palak paneer, paneer makhani, matar paneer.
Indian swap 12 of 15
Marinate in yoghurt, not cream
Instead of Use Calories Protein 150g double cream 150g fat-free greek yoghurt 510 -> 88 (-422) 4.3g -> 15.3g A tandoori marinade works because of acid and salt, not fat. The cream is doing nothing the yoghurt cannot.
What it costs you. Nothing I have been able to find, and I looked, because I don't like putting a free swap in this list. Fat-free Greek yoghurt is thicker than double cream, so it clings better and chars harder.
Works on: Tandoori chicken, tikka, seekh kebab, anything that goes under a grill.
Indian swap 13 of 15
Dry-roast the whole spices before they meet the fat
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g sunflower oil 25g sunflower oil 530 -> 221 (-309) 0g -> 0g Whole spices bloom in fat, which is why recipes use a lot of it. Toast them dry first and they give up most of their oils before the pan fat goes in.
What it costs you. An extra 3 minutes and a pan to watch. Burn them and the whole dish tastes acrid, and there is no recovering from that.
Works on: Every curry that starts with whole cumin, mustard seed or cardamom.
Indian swap 14 of 15
60g of dry rice a head, not 100g
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g basmati rice 240g basmati rice 1460 -> 876 (-584) 28.5g -> 17.1g Rice is 365 kcal per 100g dry and it's the biggest number on most Indian plates once the curry has been lightened.
What it costs you. Less rice, and you'll feel it. Put the difference into dal or a dry vegetable side, which is what a thali does anyway, and the plate looks fuller rather than emptier.
Works on: Every meal in the book that comes with rice.
Indian swap 15 of 15
Leave the tarka alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 15g ghee 15g ghee 135 -> 135 (0) 0g -> 0g Nothing. This one changes nothing, and it's here because the tarka is the first thing people cut and the last thing they should.
What it costs you. A tarka is a spoonful of hot fat with spices bloomed in it, poured over the dal at the very end. It's about 130 kcal for four people and it's the difference between dal and lentil soup. Cut it and you've saved 33 kcal a head and ruined the dish. Cut something else.
Works on: Dal, sambar, rasam, anything finished with a tempering.
French
French swap 1 of 15
Reduce the stock rather than adding cream
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g chicken stock + 150g double cream 600g chicken stock 618 -> 216 (-402) 11.8g -> 15.1g Double the stock, boiled down by half, gives you body from gelatine rather than from fat, and it costs almost nothing.
What it costs you. Time, and attention. A stock reduced by half takes 20 minutes and it will catch and burn in the last 3 if you walk away. It's also saltier, so hold the salt until the end. The sauce coats slightly less thickly than a cream one, and the difference is real but small.
Works on: Blanquette, fricassee, any pan sauce, anything finished with cream.
French swap 2 of 15
Mount the sauce with 20g of butter, not 100g
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g unsalted butter 20g unsalted butter 717 -> 143 (-574) 0.8g -> 0.2g Whisking cold butter into a hot reduced sauce is the last step of half the dishes in French cookery, and 100g of it is 717 kcal.
What it costs you. Less shine, less richness, and a sauce that breaks more easily because there's less fat holding the emulsion. Take the pan properly off the heat, add the butter in two pieces rather than four, and whisk harder than feels dignified.
Works on: Pan sauces, beurre blanc, anything that ends with a knob of butter.
French swap 3 of 15
Toast the flour dry, then use a fraction of the butter
Instead of Use Calories Protein 80g unsalted butter + 80g plain flour + 1000g whole milk 20g unsalted butter + 80g plain flour + 1000g semi-skimmed milk 1475 -> 935 (-540) 40.4g -> 41.4g A bechamel is equal butter and flour by weight, and the butter is doing less than you think once the flour is properly cooked out.
What it costs you. Slightly less silky, and it sets firmer as it cools. You have to toast the flour in a dry pan for 3 minutes first, which is what puts back the nutty flavour the butter was providing. Skip that step and you'll taste it immediately.
Works on: Gratins, croque monsieur, souffle base, anything with a white sauce.
French swap 4 of 15
Half-fat creme fraiche, and stir it in off the heat
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g creme fraiche 200g half-fat creme fraiche 756 -> 324 (-432) 4.4g -> 5.4g 378 kcal per 100g down to 162, for the same weight and roughly the same behaviour.
What it costs you. It splits if you boil it, where the full-fat version tolerates a simmer. Take the pan off the heat, stir it through, and never let it come back to a bubble. This is the one swap in the kit where the cost is entirely a technique change rather than a flavour one.
Works on: Sauces, gratins, quiche filling, anything finished with creme fraiche.
French swap 5 of 15
Take the skin off the duck, and render what you keep
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g duck, meat and skin 800g duck breast, skin off 3232 -> 1080 (-2152) 91.9g -> 146.2g Duck with skin is 404 kcal per 100g. Without, it's 135. It is the single biggest gap between two entries anywhere in this series.
What it costs you. Crisp duck skin is one of the best things in cooking and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. For a confit or a cassoulet, where the skin goes soft in the pot anyway, this costs you nothing. For a roast breast, keep the skin, score it, render it hard, and take the saving somewhere else in the meal.
Works on: Cassoulet, confit, duck in a braise. Not a roast breast.
French swap 6 of 15
Cheese on top, and grate it finer
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g gruyere 110g gruyere 826 -> 454 (-372) 59.6g -> 32.8g Gruyere is 413 kcal per 100g. Buried in a gratin most of it disappears; on top it browns and it's the first thing you taste.
What it costs you. The middle of the dish is less savoury. Season the sauce harder than you think and add a grating of nutmeg, which is what most gratin recipes are quietly relying on anyway.
Works on: Gratin dauphinois, croque monsieur, soupe a l'oignon, any gratinated dish.
French swap 7 of 15
Treat the lardons as seasoning
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g lardons 80g lardons 272 -> 109 (-163) 37.6g -> 15g Lardons render a lot of fat and then everything else gets cooked in it, which is the point and also the problem.
What it costs you. Fewer bacon pieces, which in a quiche lorraine or a boeuf bourguignon is a thing you actually came for. Cut them smaller, render them slowly from a cold pan, and cook the onions in the fat that comes out rather than adding oil.
Works on: Quiche lorraine, boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin, tartiflette, salade lyonnaise.
French swap 8 of 15
Trimmed braising steak and a longer clock
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1000g untrimmed braising beef 1000g braising beef, lean 2150 -> 1320 (-830) 185.9g -> 221.1g A braise renders the fat out of the meat and into the sauce, where you then eat it. Trimming first is the only way to get it out of the dish.
What it costs you. Lean beef dries out if you rush it, and a trimmed braise wants 3 hours rather than 2. There's also less fat rising to the surface, so you have less to skim, which sounds like a gain and means the sauce needs longer to reduce.
Works on: Boeuf bourguignon, daube, pot au feu, carbonnade.
French swap 9 of 15
Make it the day before and lift the fat cap off
Instead of Use Calories Protein 40g unsalted butter 12g unsalted butter 287 -> 86 (-201) 0.3g -> 0.1g A braise chilled overnight sets a solid layer of fat on top that lifts off in one piece, and it costs 10 seconds. This is the cheapest saving in the book.
What it costs you. You have to plan a day ahead, which is not always possible. The dish is also better for the rest, so this is the rare swap where the cost is scheduling rather than eating.
Works on: Every braise and stew in the book, and most of the soups.
French swap 10 of 15
Bake the gratin potatoes in stock, finish with cream
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g double cream 400g chicken stock + 120g double cream 1700 -> 552 (-1148) 14.2g -> 13.5g A gratin dauphinois is potatoes cooked in cream. Cooking them in stock and adding the cream for the last 20 minutes puts the dairy where you taste it.
What it costs you. The potatoes are less unctuous all the way through and the top browns differently. Slice them thinner, no more than 3mm, and press them down hard so they cook evenly in a thinner liquid.
Works on: Gratin dauphinois, boulangere, any baked potato dish.
French swap 11 of 15
Whole eggs where the recipe says yolks
Instead of Use Calories Protein 120g egg yolk 180g egg, medium + 60g egg white 386 -> 289 (-98) 19g -> 29.1g Whites set and carry protein and no fat. The same weight of egg costs you roughly half the fat and gives you more protein.
What it costs you. A paler, slightly firmer set and less of that custard richness. Keep at least a third of the yolks or you lose the colour entirely, and don't try this in a creme brulee, where the yolk is the entire texture.
Works on: Quiche, flan, savoury custards, souffle base. Not creme brulee.
French swap 12 of 15
Two parts oil to one of vinegar, not four to one
Instead of Use Calories Protein 120g olive oil + 30g red wine vinegar 50g olive oil + 25g red wine vinegar + 10g dijon mustard 1066 -> 453 (-614) 0g -> 0.4g A classic vinaigrette is three or four parts oil, which makes a salad dressing that runs to over 1,000 kcal a jar.
What it costs you. It's sharper, and a sharp dressing bullies a delicate leaf. The mustard is doing the emulsifying that the extra oil used to do, so don't leave it out. On a bitter leaf like frisee or chicory this version is better; on butterhead it's noticeably aggressive.
Works on: Every salad, salade lyonnaise, anything dressed.
French swap 13 of 15
Better bread, no butter on it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g baguette + 40g unsalted butter 200g baguette 831 -> 544 (-287) 21.8g -> 21.5g 40g of butter on the bread is 287 kcal that nobody counts and nobody remembers eating.
What it costs you. Buttered bread is nicer than unbuttered bread. There's no technique that fixes that. What does help is better bread: a proper crust and an open crumb makes butter feel optional in a way that supermarket sliced never will.
Works on: Every meal in the book that comes with bread.
French swap 14 of 15
A third less sugar in the puddings
Instead of Use Calories Protein 180g caster sugar 120g caster sugar 697 -> 464 (-232) 0g -> 0g French puddings are sweeter than their reputation, and most take the cut without complaint.
What it costs you. Caramel sets softer and a tarte tatin is less lacquered. In anything with chocolate, coffee or citrus you will not spot it. In a plain creme caramel you will, because there's nothing else in there.
Works on: Tarte tatin, clafoutis, creme caramel, mousse.
French swap 15 of 15
Leave the butter in the pastry
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g puff or shortcrust pastry, raw 300g puff or shortcrust pastry, raw 1227 -> 1227 (0) 12.9g -> 12.9g Nothing. This entry changes nothing and it's here because it is the first thing somebody tries.
What it costs you. Laminated pastry is flour, water and a great deal of butter folded into layers, and the layers exist because the butter turns to steam. Take the butter out and you don't get lighter pastry, you get bread. There is no version of this that works, at any ratio, and I have tried more of them than I care to admit. Buy good pastry, eat less of it, and cut something else.
Works on: Croissants, palmiers, mille-feuille, tarte fine, anything laminated.
Chinese
Chinese swap 1 of 15
Steam the dumplings, or fry them on one side only
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g pork mince, 4% fat + 200g plain flour + 90g vegetable oil 300g pork mince, 4% fat + 200g plain flour + 15g vegetable oil 1901 -> 1226 (-675) 84g -> 84g A deep-fried dumpling drinks oil through the wrapper and then holds it.
What it costs you. You lose the all-over crunch. A potsticker done properly, crisped hard on one face in a teaspoon of oil and then steamed under a lid, gets you most of the way and is closer to how it is actually eaten. Fully deep-fried is a restaurant thing, and it should stay one.
Works on: Jiaozi, potstickers, wontons, spring rolls.
Chinese swap 2 of 15
Velvet the meat in egg white and cornflour, not oil
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g chicken breast, skinless + 250g vegetable oil 500g chicken breast, skinless + 40g egg white + 20g cornflour + 20g vegetable oil 2850 -> 877 (-1973) 112.5g -> 116.9g Restaurant kitchens pass sliced meat through warm oil before it hits the wok. It's the single biggest hidden number in Chinese cooking and it never shows up in the ingredient list.
What it costs you. Blanching in barely-simmering water instead of oil gives you the same silky coating and a fractionally less rich result. You have to be quicker with the timing, because water conducts heat faster than oil does, and 20 seconds too long turns chicken breast to rubber.
Works on: Kung pao, sweet and sour, any stir-fry where the meat is suspiciously tender.
Chinese swap 3 of 15
Two tablespoons in the wok, weighed
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g vegetable oil 25g vegetable oil 540 -> 225 (-315) 0g -> 0g A wok gets hot enough that you need far less oil than the technique implies, and 60g of it is 540 kcal.
What it costs you. Things stick if the wok isn't hot enough first. Heat the dry wok until it just begins to smoke, then add the oil, then the food. Get that order wrong and 25g isn't enough.
Works on: Every stir-fry in the book.
Chinese swap 4 of 15
Pork shoulder where the recipe says belly
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g pork shoulder, lean and fat 800g pork shoulder, lean 1888 -> 1184 (-704) 137.4g -> 156.4g Belly's the fattiest cut on the animal and half of what you buy renders into the pan and then into the sauce.
What it costs you. Belly goes meltingly soft over a long braise in a way shoulder doesn't quite match. Give the shoulder an extra 40 minutes and cut it into bigger pieces so it does not dry out. In a red-braised dish you'll notice. In a stir-fry you won't.
Works on: Hong shao rou, char siu, twice-cooked pork, dongpo pork.
Chinese swap 5 of 15
Half the sugar in the sauce
Instead of Use Calories Protein 80g caster sugar 35g caster sugar 310 -> 135 (-174) 0g -> 0g British Chinese sauces carry an enormous amount of sugar, and home recipes copy the takeaway without asking why.
What it costs you. Sharper, and the sauce glazes less because there is less to caramelise. Add a spoonful of the rice vinegar back and let it reduce a minute longer. In a sweet and sour, which is a sugar dish by definition, this swap has a limit and the recipe says where it is.
Works on: Sweet and sour, char siu glaze, hoisin dishes, orange chicken.
Chinese swap 6 of 15
Take the duck skin off after roasting, not before
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g duck, meat and skin 800g duck, skin off 3232 -> 1080 (-2152) 91.9g -> 146.2g Duck with skin is 404 kcal per 100g against 135 without.
What it costs you. Crispy duck without the crispy bit is just duck. So roast it with the skin on, because that's what renders the fat out and keeps the meat moist, then take it off at the table and eat one piece rather than all of it. That's a discipline swap rather than a recipe one, and I'd rather say so than pretend.
Works on: Crispy aromatic duck, roast duck, anything with a skin worth having.
Chinese swap 7 of 15
Half the meat, twice the vegetables
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g sliced beef 300g braising beef, lean + 300g pak choi + 150g red pepper 1075 -> 474 (-601) 93g -> 72.3g A takeaway stir-fry is mostly meat with a few peppers. A home one is the other way round, and pak choi is 13 kcal per 100g.
What it costs you. It reads as a cheaper dish, because it is. Cut the meat thinner so it goes further, and salt the vegetables early so they release water and concentrate rather than steaming into a puddle.
Works on: Every stir-fry, chow mein, anything from a wok.
Chinese swap 8 of 15
Build the sauce on stock, thickened with cornflour
Instead of Use Calories Protein 50g vegetable oil + 40g light soy sauce 150g chicken stock + 8g cornflour + 40g light soy sauce + 10g vegetable oil 471 -> 196 (-276) 3.3g -> 7.1g A cornflour slurry in stock gives you a glossy coating sauce for almost nothing. This is how the good Cantonese kitchens do it and it isn't a compromise.
What it costs you. Cornflour sauces break if you reheat them twice and go claggy if you overdo the slurry. 8g in 150ml is the right ratio; more than that and you've got gravy.
Works on: Every saucy stir-fry, braised tofu, anything with a glossy coating.
Chinese swap 9 of 15
60g of dry rice a head, not 100g
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g long-grain white rice 240g long-grain white rice 1460 -> 876 (-584) 28.5g -> 17.1g Rice is 365 kcal per 100g dry and it is the biggest number on the plate once the dish itself has been lightened.
What it costs you. Less rice, and in a cuisine where rice is the point of the meal that's a real loss. Put the difference into a plate of blanched greens with oyster sauce, which is what a Chinese table would've had anyway.
Works on: Every meal in the book that comes with rice.
Chinese swap 10 of 15
Steam the fish, then pour hot oil over it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 600g sea bass fillet + 80g vegetable oil 600g sea bass fillet + 20g vegetable oil + 5g toasted sesame oil 1302 -> 806 (-496) 106.4g -> 106.4g Cantonese steamed fish finishes with a spoonful of smoking oil poured over ginger and spring onion. It's theatre, it takes 20g, and it does more than 80g of frying oil ever will.
What it costs you. Almost nothing, and this is one of the few times in the series I will say that. The oil has to be genuinely smoking or the ginger does not release. Underheat it and the dish tastes raw.
Works on: Steamed bass, steamed bream, any whole fish.
Chinese swap 11 of 15
Reduced-salt soy sauce, and more of it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g light soy sauce 75g reduced-salt soy sauce 32 -> 43 (+11) 4.9g -> 6.8g Soy isn't a calorie problem, it's a salt one, and a plate of Chinese food can carry a startling amount of it.
What it costs you. Reduced-salt soy's thinner and slightly less savoury, so you use more of it and the dish gets wetter. Reduce the sauce a minute longer to compensate.
Works on: Everything in the book.
Chinese swap 12 of 15
Swap a third of the meat for firm tofu
Instead of Use Calories Protein 450g pork mince, 4% fat 300g pork mince, 4% fat + 200g firm tofu 544 -> 651 (+106) 95g -> 97.8g Firm tofu is 144 kcal per 100g and about 17% protein, and in a spiced braise it takes on whatever is around it.
What it costs you. Texture. Tofu doesn't chew like pork and pretending otherwise is how people end up hating it. Press it hard, cube it big, and brown it properly in a dry pan first so it's got a skin to hold onto.
Works on: Mapo tofu, braised dishes, any minced-pork sauce.
Chinese swap 13 of 15
Blanch the greens, dress them after
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g pak choi + 40g vegetable oil 400g pak choi + 25g oyster sauce + 5g toasted sesame oil 412 -> 109 (-303) 6g -> 6.3g Stir-fried greens drink oil. Blanched greens dressed with oyster sauce and a few drops of sesame oil is a standard Cantonese plate and costs a fraction.
What it costs you. You lose the smoky edge that a screaming wok gives. Blanch for 90 seconds in salted water, drain hard, and dress while hot so it clings.
Works on: Pak choi, choi sum, gai lan, any leafy green.
Chinese swap 14 of 15
Bake the battered things, and accept what that means
Instead of Use Calories Protein 600g chicken thigh, skinless + 80g cornflour + 200g vegetable oil 600g chicken thigh, skinless + 60g cornflour + 25g vegetable oil 2831 -> 1180 (-1651) 118.2g -> 118.1g Sweet and sour, lemon chicken and salt and pepper anything all start with a deep-fried piece of meat, and the batter is a sponge.
What it costs you. This is the swap I am least happy with in the book and the only one where I'll tell you to make the real thing instead if you only cook it twice a year. Oven-crisped cornflour coating is crunchy for about 4 minutes and then it goes. Serve it the second it's sauced or not at all.
Works on: Sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, salt and pepper squid, orange chicken.
Chinese swap 15 of 15
Leave the sesame oil alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 8g toasted sesame oil 8g toasted sesame oil 71 -> 71 (0) 0g -> 0g Nothing. This entry changes nothing and it's here because sesame oil looks like an oil and gets cut on sight.
What it costs you. 8g of toasted sesame oil is 71 kcal across four people and it goes in at the very end, off the heat, where you taste every drop of it. Cut it and you save 18 kcal a head and lose the thing that makes the dish taste Chinese rather than just brown. It isn't a cooking fat. It's a seasoning that happens to be oily, and it belongs with the soy and the vinegar rather than with the wok oil.
Works on: Every dish in the book that finishes with a few drops of it.
Greek
Greek swap 1 of 15
Braise the vegetables in stock, finish with the oil
Instead of Use Calories Protein 150g olive oil + 800g green beans 45g olive oil + 200g chicken stock + 800g green beans 1574 -> 718 (-856) 14.6g -> 19.7g A pot of ladera can take 150ml of oil, which is 1,326 kcal before a vegetable goes in.
What it costs you. You lose some of the silkiness that comes from vegetables cooked slowly in fat, and the dish is less glossy in the pot. Braise them in the stock until they're properly soft, then stir the oil through off the heat, where you taste all of it rather than half.
Works on: Fasolakia, briam, gigantes, arakas, every ladera dish in the book.
Greek swap 2 of 15
Brush the filo, don't drench it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g filo pastry + 120g olive oil 300g filo pastry + 35g olive oil 1958 -> 1206 (-751) 21.3g -> 21.3g Filo itself is only 299 kcal per 100g and almost fat-free. What makes a pie heavy is the fat painted between every one of its 12 sheets.
What it costs you. Fewer shatteringly crisp layers and a slightly drier top. Use a proper pastry brush rather than a spoon, do the top two sheets properly and go sparingly underneath, where nobody can tell. Spraying it is worse than brushing: the spray beads and the sheet tears.
Works on: Spanakopita, tiropita, kreatopita, galaktoboureko, baklava.
Greek swap 3 of 15
Half the feta, crumbled on at the end
Instead of Use Calories Protein 250g feta 130g feta 625 -> 325 (-300) 39g -> 20.3g Feta is 250 kcal per 100g and salty enough that half of it still seasons the whole dish.
What it costs you. Less of it, and in a horiatiki where the slab of feta is the centrepiece that is a genuine loss. Crumble rather than cube, add it after the heat rather than before, and it goes further because you taste every piece.
Works on: Horiatiki, spanakopita filling, baked feta, anything with feta through it.
Greek swap 4 of 15
Fat-free Greek yoghurt in the cold dishes
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g full-fat greek yoghurt 400g fat-free greek yoghurt 388 -> 236 (-152) 36g -> 40.8g 97 kcal per 100g down to 59, and the protein goes up rather than down.
What it costs you. It's thinner and sharper, and it weeps if you leave it standing. Drain it in a sieve for an hour before it goes into a tzatziki and the difference more or less disappears. Don't use it in anything that has to be baked or simmered, where the full-fat one holds and this doesn't.
Works on: Tzatziki, marinades, anything served cold.
Greek swap 5 of 15
Lamb leg where the recipe says shoulder
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1200g lamb shoulder, lean and fat 1200g lamb leg, lean 3168 -> 1500 (-1668) 199g -> 246.2g Shoulder is 264 kcal per 100g against 125 for trimmed leg, and in a slow-cooked dish most of that difference renders into the sauce.
What it costs you. Leg dries out where shoulder forgives you. Cook it lower and wetter, and give it the full time rather than pulling it early because it looks done. In a kleftiko sealed in paper this swap is nearly free. In an open roasting tin it isn't.
Works on: Kleftiko, stifado, giouvetsi, any slow lamb.
Greek swap 6 of 15
Grill the halloumi dry, and use less
Instead of Use Calories Protein 250g halloumi 150g halloumi 782 -> 470 (-313) 59.8g -> 35.8g Halloumi is 313 kcal per 100g and most recipes fry it in oil, which it doesn't need because it releases its own fat.
What it costs you. Fewer pieces. Get a griddle pan properly hot, put the halloumi on dry, and don't move it for 2 minutes. Oil in the pan makes it greasy rather than crisp, which is the opposite of what you wanted.
Works on: Grilled halloumi, saganaki, salads, meze plates.
Greek swap 7 of 15
Bake the meatballs and the fritters
Instead of Use Calories Protein 500g lamb mince + 120g olive oil 500g lamb mince + 20g olive oil 2471 -> 1587 (-884) 82.8g -> 82.8g Keftedes and courgette fritters are shallow-fried in a centimetre of oil, and a breadcrumbed patty drinks it.
What it costs you. No crisp fried crust, and I'm not going to pretend a baked keftedes is the same object. A very hot oven, a wire rack and 20 minutes gets you most of the way. Grate onion into the mix rather than chopping it, because you need the moisture back.
Works on: Keftedes, kolokithokeftedes, revithokeftedes, anything fried in a pan.
Greek swap 8 of 15
Half the syrup, and take it off the heat sooner
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g caster sugar 180g caster sugar + 60g honey 1548 -> 879 (-669) 0g -> 0.2g A syrup-soaked Greek pudding can carry 400g of sugar in a tray, and most of it is in the bottom of the dish rather than in the pastry.
What it costs you. Less soak, and a baklava with half the syrup is drier and doesn't keep as long. Pour the syrup hot over cold pastry rather than the other way round, so it goes in rather than sitting under. Some of the honey back gives you the flavour the sugar wasn't providing anyway.
Works on: Baklava, galaktoboureko, karidopita, loukoumades.
Greek swap 9 of 15
Put more pulses on the table
Instead of Use Calories Protein 240g tinned chickpeas 400g tinned chickpeas 334 -> 556 (+222) 16.9g -> 28.2g Tinned chickpeas are 139 kcal per 100g and about 7% protein. Greek cooking already leans on them and there's room to lean harder.
What it costs you. Money, which is to say almost none. Fasolada and revithada were poverty food and they're still the cheapest good dinner in this book.
Works on: Fasolada, revithada, gigantes, any bean dish.
Greek swap 10 of 15
Two parts oil to one of lemon, not four to one
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g olive oil + 25g lemon juice 45g olive oil + 30g lemon juice + 3g dried oregano 890 -> 412 (-477) 0.1g -> 0.4g A Greek salad dressing is oil, lemon and oregano, and the oil's normally poured rather than measured.
What it costs you. Sharper, and it doesn't coat the tomato the same way. Salt the tomatoes 10 minutes ahead so they release their own juice, which then does half the dressing's job for nothing.
Works on: Horiatiki, every salad, marinades, anything dressed.
Greek swap 11 of 15
Bulgur where the recipe says rice
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g long-grain white rice 300g bulgur, dry 1095 -> 1026 (-69) 21.4g -> 36.9g Bulgur is 342 kcal per 100g dry against 365 for rice, with roughly three times the fibre and more protein.
What it costs you. It's chewier and nuttier, and in a stuffed vegetable it holds its shape where rice goes soft and comforting. In dolmades that difference is noticeable and some people prefer the rice. Try one tray of each.
Works on: Pilafi, dolmades, gemista, stuffed anything.
Greek swap 12 of 15
Whole eggs in the avgolemono, not just yolks
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g egg yolk 150g egg, medium + 40g lemon juice 322 -> 223 (-99) 15.9g -> 19g Avgolemono is egg and lemon whisked into hot stock. The whites thicken it as well as the yolks do and carry no fat.
What it costs you. Paler, and slightly less velvety. The technique gets less forgiving: temper it more slowly and never let it boil, because with less yolk there's less insurance against curdling.
Works on: Avgolemono soup, fricassee, anything finished with egg and lemon.
Greek swap 13 of 15
Fewer walnuts, toasted harder
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g walnuts 180g walnuts 1962 -> 1177 (-785) 45.7g -> 27.4g Walnuts are 654 kcal per 100g, the densest thing in the pudding chapter.
What it costs you. A thinner nut layer in a baklava, which is the layer people are there for. Toast what's left properly and chop it coarser, so you meet a piece rather than a paste.
Works on: Baklava, karidopita, anything with a nut layer.
Greek swap 14 of 15
Buy the lean seafood and stop worrying
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g lamb mince 400g octopus 1128 -> 328 (-800) 66.2g -> 59.6g Octopus is 82 kcal per 100g and 15% protein. Cuttlefish, squid and most of the whole white fish on a Greek menu are in the same bracket.
What it costs you. Money and a bit of nerve at the fish counter. Octopus wants either 40 minutes of simmering or a night in the freezer first, and rushed octopus is rubber.
Works on: Htapodi, kalamari, any grilled whole fish.
Greek swap 15 of 15
Leave the oily fish alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g fresh sardines or herring 400g fresh sardines or herring 632 -> 632 (0) 71.8g -> 71.8g Nothing. This entry changes nothing and it's here because sardines look fatty and get cut.
What it costs you. Fresh sardines are 158 kcal per 100g and the fat in them is the reason to eat them. Grilling them dry over a high heat renders some of it out anyway, which is what the technique is for. Swapping them for a lean white fish saves you perhaps 50 kcal a head and throws away the entire point of the dish. Cut something else.
Works on: Grilled sardines, gavros, anything oily and whole.
German
German swap 1 of 15
Trimmed shank where the recipe says knuckle
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1200g pork shoulder, lean and fat 1200g pork knuckle, lean 2832 -> 1428 (-1404) 206.2g -> 259.9g Schweinshaxe is fat and crackling wrapped round some meat. Trimmed shank is 119 kcal per 100g against 236 for untrimmed shoulder.
What it costs you. No crackling, and crackling is the reason anybody orders it. If you want the real thing, order it in a beer hall once a year. For a Sunday at home, a trimmed shank cooked long and wet gets you the meat without the sheet of fat.
Works on: Schweinshaxe, Eisbein, Kassler, any big pork joint.
German swap 2 of 15
Render the bacon, pour the fat off, keep a spoonful
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g smoked back bacon 80g smoked back bacon 272 -> 109 (-163) 37.6g -> 15g Half of German savoury cooking starts by rendering Speck and then cooking everything else in what comes out.
What it costs you. Less of that smoky base note under the dish, and it's a real loss in a Bauernfrühstück or a green bean stew. Chop what's left much finer and render it slowly from a cold pan, so every gram gives up its flavour.
Works on: Bauernfrühstück, Bohneneintopf, Sauerkraut, potato salad, anything that starts with Speck.
German swap 3 of 15
Quark where the recipe says cream
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g double cream 200g quark + 40g semi-skimmed milk 680 -> 168 (-512) 5.7g -> 30.5g Quark is 74 kcal per 100g against 340 for double cream, and it is 14% protein. This is the best building block in the cuisine and it is already in the fridge.
What it costs you. It splits if you boil it, so it goes in off the heat and never comes back to a simmer. It's also sharper, which suits a savoury sauce and needs a little sweetening in a pudding.
Works on: Sauces, Käsekuchen, Quarkkeulchen, anything creamy.
German swap 4 of 15
Bake the schnitzel on a rack
Instead of Use Calories Protein 600g veal escalope + 100g dried breadcrumbs + 150g sunflower oil 600g veal escalope + 80g dried breadcrumbs + 20g sunflower oil 2234 -> 1032 (-1202) 136.5g -> 134.8g A breadcrumbed escalope is a sponge, and the traditional method is a centimetre of hot fat in a wide pan.
What it costs you. This is the swap I'm least happy with in the book, same as it is in every other book in this series. Baked breadcrumb is not fried breadcrumb. Toast the crumbs dry in a pan first, then coat, then bake on a wire rack at 220C. Get that right and it's good. It still isn't a Wiener Schnitzel.
Works on: Schnitzel, Kotelett, anything crumbed.
German swap 5 of 15
Take the goose skin off after roasting
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1500g goose, meat and skin 1500g goose, skin off 5565 -> 2415 (-3150) 237.9g -> 341.2g Goose with skin is 371 kcal per 100g against 161 without. It is the largest gap in this book by a distance.
What it costs you. Crisp goose skin at Christmas is one of the best things in European cooking. So roast it with the skin on, because that renders the fat out and keeps the meat moist, then take it off at the table and have one piece rather than all of it. That's a discipline swap, not a recipe one, and I'd rather say so.
Works on: Martinsgans, roast duck, any bird with a skin worth having.
German swap 6 of 15
Half the sugar in the red cabbage
Instead of Use Calories Protein 80g caster sugar 30g caster sugar + 200g apples 310 -> 220 (-90) 0g -> 0.5g Rotkohl recipes carry a startling amount of sugar on top of the apple that is already in there.
What it costs you. Sharper, and it needs longer to cook down so the apple breaks and does the sweetening. Add a splash more vinegar rather than putting the sugar back, and give it 20 minutes more than you think.
Works on: Rotkohl, sweet-and-sour braises, Sauerbraten sauce.
German swap 7 of 15
The southern potato salad, not the northern one
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g potato + 200g soured cream 800g potato + 150g beef stock + 25g sunflower oil + 15g dijon mustard 1012 -> 866 (-146) 21.3g -> 19.9g Northern German potato salad is bound with mayonnaise. The Swabian one is dressed with warm stock, vinegar and a little oil, and it is a better salad.
What it costs you. Nothing much, and this is one of the few free ones. It is genuinely a different regional dish rather than a lightened version of the first, and the recipe says so rather than pretending they are the same thing. If you grew up on the mayonnaise version you will miss it.
Works on: Kartoffelsalat, and any cold potato dish.
German swap 8 of 15
Rye or pumpernickel instead of white rolls
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g white bread 200g pumpernickel 534 -> 500 (-34) 16.4g -> 17.4g Pumpernickel is 250 kcal per 100g against 267 for white bread, with several times the fibre, and it is far more filling per slice.
What it costs you. Almost none, and Germany already makes the best dark bread in Europe so this is less a swap than a reminder. It is heavier and denser, so you will eat less of it, which is the point.
Works on: Every meal in the book that comes with bread.
German swap 9 of 15
More cabbage, less meat in the one-pot
Instead of Use Calories Protein 700g pork shoulder, lean and fat 400g pork shoulder, lean + 400g red cabbage + 300g sauerkraut 1652 -> 773 (-879) 120.3g -> 86.7g Cabbage is 31 kcal per 100g and sauerkraut is 19. A German one-pot is designed to make a small amount of meat feed a lot of people and modern versions have drifted the other way.
What it costs you. It reads as a cheaper dinner, because it is. Cut the meat smaller so it goes further, and brown it properly before the cabbage goes in.
Works on: Eintopf, Szegediner Gulasch, Choucroute, any one-pot.
German swap 10 of 15
Two dumplings, not four
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g potato 450g potato 616 -> 346 (-270) 16.4g -> 9.2g Knödel are the German equivalent of the pasta portion: the biggest single number on the plate and the one nobody counts.
What it costs you. Less food, visibly. Put the difference into the red cabbage, which is nearly free, so the plate stays full.
Works on: Kartoffelklöße, Semmelknödel, Spätzle, any dumpling.
German swap 11 of 15
Build the sauce on stock, thicken with a little flour
Instead of Use Calories Protein 200g double cream + 60g unsalted butter 300g beef stock + 20g plain flour + 15g unsalted butter 1110 -> 219 (-891) 6.2g -> 8.1g A Jäger or Rahm sauce is cream and butter with mushrooms in it. Stock reduced hard and thickened with a spoonful of flour coats just as well.
What it costs you. Less velvet on the tongue, and it needs 15 minutes of reducing rather than a quick stir. Toast the flour dry first, which is the same trick as the French book, and the sauce tastes nuttier rather than pasty.
Works on: Jägersoße, Rahmsoße, Sauerbraten sauce, Rouladen gravy.
German swap 12 of 15
Venison where the recipe would take pork
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g pork shoulder, lean and fat 800g venison 1888 -> 960 (-928) 137.4g -> 183.7g Venison is 120 kcal per 100g and 22% protein. Germany has more of it than almost anywhere in Europe and it is often cheaper than beef.
What it costs you. Very lean, so it dries out where pork forgives you. It wants a wet braise and a lower oven, and it does not like being cooked past the point where it is done.
Works on: Braten, Gulasch, Rehragout, any long braise.
German swap 13 of 15
Bake the potato pancakes
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g potato + 150g sunflower oil 800g potato + 25g sunflower oil 1942 -> 837 (-1105) 16.4g -> 16.4g Reibekuchen are shallow-fried in a lot of oil and grated potato drinks it.
What it costs you. Same honest caveat as the schnitzel. Squeeze the grated potato until your hands hurt, spread them thin on a hot oiled tray, and turn them once. They will be crisp at the edges and softer in the middle, which a fried one is not.
Works on: Reibekuchen, Kartoffelpuffer, Rösti.
German swap 14 of 15
A third less sugar in the cakes
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g caster sugar 200g caster sugar 1161 -> 774 (-387) 0g -> 0g German baking is less sweet than British or American baking already, and it still takes the cut without complaining.
What it costs you. A Käsekuchen with less sugar is sharper and tastes more of the quark, which I prefer. A Streusel topping with less sugar is less crunchy, which I don't. The recipe says which is which.
Works on: Käsekuchen, Streuselkuchen, Apfelkuchen, Stollen.
German swap 15 of 15
Leave the mustard and the pickles alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 30g dijon mustard 30g dijon mustard 18 -> 18 (0) 1.1g -> 1.1g Nothing. This entry changes nothing and it is here because the pickle jar is the most useful thing in a German kitchen and nobody counts it.
What it costs you. Mustard is 60 kcal per 100g and sauerkraut is 19. Gherkins, horseradish, pickled beetroot, all of it is essentially free and all of it does the job that fat does in other cuisines, which is to make a plain plate interesting. When you have taken the cream out of something, this is what you reach for. Cutting it saves you nothing and costs you the whole dish.
Works on: Everything in the book. Especially the plain things.
Korean
Korean swap 1 of 15
Measure the sesame oil into a spoon, not into the bowl
Instead of Use Calories Protein 30g toasted sesame oil 10g toasted sesame oil + 8g sesame seeds 265 -> 134 (-131) 0g -> 1.4g Sesame oil is 884 kcal per 100g and every namul in the fridge has been dressed with it by eye. A tablespoon poured freehand is closer to 20g than the 8g most people picture, and there are usually four or five dishes on the table.
What it costs you. Less of the slick that makes a namul taste finished. Toasted sesame seeds carry a lot of the same flavour at 573 kcal per 100g, but you use 8g of them rather than 30g of oil, so the arithmetic works out. Toast them yourself in a dry pan. The shop-bought ones taste of very little.
Works on: Every namul, kimbap rice, gim, japchae, bibimbap, any banchan.
Korean swap 2 of 15
Shoulder in the stew, belly on the grill
Instead of Use Calories Protein 400g pork belly 400g pork shoulder, lean 1032 -> 592 (-440) 76.4g -> 78.2g Belly is 258 kcal per 100g and shoulder is 148. In a kimchi jjigae that simmers for forty minutes, the shoulder goes just as soft and the kimchi is doing most of the talking anyway.
What it costs you. The stew is thinner. Belly fat renders into the broth and gives it a body that shoulder does not, so compensate with a longer simmer and a spoonful of the kimchi brine. On the grill this swap does not work at all, and the book says so in plain words in the chapter on it.
Works on: Kimchi jjigae, bokkeumbap, mandu filling, dwaeji bulgogi.
Korean swap 3 of 15
Grated pear instead of half the sugar in a marinade
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g caster sugar + 80g light soy sauce 25g caster sugar + 120g asian pear + 80g light soy sauce 275 -> 190 (-85) 6.5g -> 7.1g Asian pear is 42 kcal per 100g against sugar's 387, and it was already in the bulgogi marinade for its enzymes, which tenderise the beef. Using more of it and less sugar is doing the same job with the ingredient that was there first.
What it costs you. The marinade is less sticky, so it caramelises less on the grill and you lose some of the dark edges. Grate the pear on the fine side of a box grater and let the meat sit in it for at least four hours or the enzymes have not had time.
Works on: Bulgogi, galbi, tteokgalbi, dwaeji bulgogi, jangjorim.
Korean swap 4 of 15
Chill the braise, lift the fat cap, reheat
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1000g beef short rib, lean 1000g beef short rib, lean 1750 -> 1540 (-210) 193.8g -> 170.5g A braise that has been in the fridge overnight sets a solid white disc on top that you can lift off in one piece. It weighs more than you expect.
What it costs you. You have to cook it the day before, which is either an inconvenience or a favour depending on when you read this. The dish is also better for the rest, so this is the rare change that costs nothing on the plate.
Works on: Galbijjim, galbitang, jangjorim, yukgaejang, any long braise or bone broth.
Korean swap 5 of 15
Take the skin off before it goes in the pot
Instead of Use Calories Protein 800g chicken thigh with skin 800g chicken thigh, skinless 1768 -> 968 (-800) 132.2g -> 157.3g Skin-on thigh is 221 kcal per 100g and skinless is 121. In a braise the skin does not crisp, it goes soft and gives its fat to the sauce.
What it costs you. The sauce is thinner and less glossy, and you lose the layer that stops the meat drying. Keep the thighs whole and bone-in so they do not overcook, and accept a sauce you may want to reduce a little harder at the end. On anything grilled or fried, leaving the skin on is a defensible choice and the book does not pretend otherwise.
Works on: Dakbokkeumtang, andong jjimdak, samgyetang, dak galbi.
Korean swap 6 of 15
Steam the dumpling instead of frying it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 40g vegetable oil 0g vegetable oil 360 -> 0 (-360) 0g -> 0g A pan of gun mandu takes 40g of oil for twelve dumplings and the wrappers drink most of it. Steamed, they take none.
What it costs you. No crisp base, which for a lot of people is the entire appeal. The compromise worth knowing is the half-and-half method: a teaspoon of oil, a hot pan, brown one side only, then add water and put the lid on. That gets you a crisp bottom for a quarter of the fat.
Works on: Mandu, gun mandu, and by extension any pot-sticker.
Korean swap 7 of 15
Cut the rice syrup and the sugar in a glaze by half
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g rice syrup + 40g caster sugar 30g rice syrup + 15g caster sugar 346 -> 153 (-192) 0g -> 0g A soy glaze is sugar suspended in salt. Rice syrup is 318 kcal per 100g and sugar is 387, and a jorim recipe often uses both, one after the other.
What it costs you. Less gloss, and gloss is most of what a jorim looks like. It also sets less, so reduce it further and take it off the heat while it still moves in the pan. The dish tastes more of soy and less of sweet, which is closer to how these were made before sugar got cheap.
Works on: Gamja jorim, dubu jorim, kongjang, myeolchi bokkeum, tteokgalbi glaze.
Korean swap 8 of 15
Brush the pan for a jeon, do not flood it
Instead of Use Calories Protein 60g vegetable oil 15g vegetable oil 540 -> 135 (-405) 0g -> 0g A pajeon is traditionally shallow-fried in enough oil to lace the edges, and the batter is a sponge. 60g of oil is 540 kcal into a pancake for four.
What it costs you. This is the swap I am least happy with in the book. You lose the lacy fried edge, which is the best part. A very hot non-stick pan and a thinner batter get you most of the texture, but not all of it, and anybody who tells you a brushed pajeon is as good as a fried one has not eaten a fried one recently.
Works on: Haemul pajeon, bindaetteok, gamja jeon, kimchi jeon.
Korean swap 9 of 15
Soybean sprouts where the recipe says beansprouts
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g beansprouts 300g soybean sprouts 90 -> 366 (+276) 9.1g -> 39.3g Kongnamul is 13.1% protein against mung beansprouts at 3%. It is four times the protein for four times the calories, which sounds like a wash until you notice that the bowl was short of protein and not short of calories.
What it costs you. They are 122 kcal per 100g against 30, so this is not a calorie saving and the book does not sell it as one. They also need cooking properly. A soybean sprout half-cooked tastes green and raw, so give them five minutes with the lid on and do not lift it, which is the actual Korean rule.
Works on: Kongnamul muchim, kongnamul guk, bibimbap, haejangguk.
Korean swap 10 of 15
Leave the kimchi alone
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1000g chinese leaf 1000g chinese leaf 160 -> 160 (0) 12g -> 12g Nothing, and that is the point. Kimchi is 15 kcal per 100g. A generous serving is 50 kcal. There is no version of this dish worth making lighter.
What it costs you. Nothing to lose, but there is something to get wrong. Every low-sugar, low-salt, quick-fermented kimchi recipe you will find online is solving a problem kimchi does not have, and the salt is not seasoning, it is what makes the fermentation safe. Cut it and you are running a different and worse experiment in a jar on your counter. Make it properly.
Works on: Baechu kimchi, kkakdugi, baek kimchi, oi sobagi, every kimchi there is.
Korean swap 11 of 15
Buy the short rib trimmed, or trim it yourself
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1200g beef short rib, lean 900g beef short rib, lean 2100 -> 1575 (-525) 232.6g -> 174.4g Boneless short rib runs at 240 kcal per 100g with the fat left on and 175 trimmed. On a kilo of galbi that is a serious number, and the butcher will do it if you ask.
What it costs you. Galbi tastes the way it does partly because of the fat between the layers, and a fully trimmed rib on a hot grill goes from good to dry in about ninety seconds. Leave a thin seam, marinate properly, and take it off early.
Works on: Galbi, galbijjim, galbitang, tteokgalbi.
Korean swap 12 of 15
Half the whole eggs, made up with whites
Instead of Use Calories Protein 300g egg, medium 150g egg, medium + 165g egg white 429 -> 300 (-129) 37.7g -> 36.8g Whole egg is 143 kcal per 100g at 12.6% protein; white is 52 kcal at 10.9%. Swapping half of them keeps the protein almost exactly where it was and takes roughly a fifth of the calories out of a gyeranjjim.
What it costs you. The custard is paler and slightly less rich, and it sets a touch firmer, so steam it two minutes less. Past half, it stops tasting of egg and starts tasting of nothing, so do not push it further.
Works on: Gyeranjjim, the egg on a bibimbap, kimbap filling, egg drop in a soup.
Korean swap 13 of 15
Serve the rice you actually need
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g short-grain rice 65g short-grain rice 360 -> 234 (-126) 6.6g -> 4.3g Rice is 360 kcal per 100g dry. A Korean rice bowl at a restaurant is around 100g dry per person and nobody weighs it at home either. 65g is still a proper bowl next to a full table of banchan.
What it costs you. This is a portion cut, and this book is generally rude about portion cuts dressed up as recipes. It earns its place here for one reason: Korean meals come with six other dishes, so the rice can come down without the meal getting smaller. If the rice is the whole meal, leave it alone.
Works on: Every meal with a bowl of rice next to it.
Korean swap 14 of 15
Anchovy and kelp stock instead of a meat broth
Instead of Use Calories Protein 1000g beef stock 20g dried anchovies + 10g dried kelp 130 -> 68 (-62) 19.7g -> 14.7g Twenty grams of dried anchovy and a postcard of kelp, simmered for fifteen minutes and strained, is the base of half the soups in Korea. It is 64 kcal for a litre of stock and it takes a quarter of an hour.
What it costs you. It tastes of the sea, which is right for most Korean soups and wrong for a few. Do not boil the kelp for more than fifteen minutes or it turns bitter and slimy, and pull the anchovy heads and guts out first unless you like it sharp.
Works on: Doenjang jjigae, kalguksu, tteokguk, kimchi jjigae, any guk.
Korean swap 15 of 15
Two more vegetables in the bowl
Instead of Use Calories Protein 100g short-grain rice + 100g beef sirloin, lean 65g short-grain rice + 100g beef sirloin, lean + 80g soybean sprouts + 80g courgette + 60g shiitake mushrooms 487 -> 492 (+5) 28.9g -> 39.4g A bibimbap is defined by having a lot of separate things in it, so adding two more is not a compromise, it is the dish being more itself. Courgette is 16 kcal per 100g and shiitake is 34.
What it costs you. More knife work and more pans, and each namul wants its own quick seasoning. Batch them at the weekend and keep them in the fridge, which is what a Korean kitchen does anyway.
Works on: Bibimbap, kimbap, japchae, bokkeumbap, any bowl.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure above is the sum of the ingredients, each one matched to a row in a public nutrition database and multiplied by its weight. The books print the exact row used for every ingredient in every recipe.
The full book applies these 15 swaps to 60 dishes, and names the ones they don't work on.