Free, and the most useful thing on this site
The swap kit
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.
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.