Gazpacho with yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto

Primi piatti

Why a Gazpacho with yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto? For the memories and for my love of Spain and peppers.

The first time I heard about the Carmagnola pepper was a few years ago when my neighbour gave me a jar of pickled peppers prepared by her parents who used to travel to Piedmont every year in September to buy the raw material.

I have never forgotten those peppers: the bright colours, the sweet but firm flavour and the crunchy texture made me fall in love at first taste. It was that taste that prompted me to find out where this delicious fruit of the earth came from.

Carmagnola and its pepper

Its land of origin is precisely the Carmagnola area in Piedmont and there are various types (the one I tasted was the ‘Corno di bue’, perfect for preserves). The pepper arrived in this area at the beginning of the 20th century and today it represents a fundamental resource for agriculture and the local economy and is a foodstuff known and appreciated in Piedmont and Italy for its intense yellow or bright red colour, its aroma and its wholesomeness.

Every year, in early September, Carmagnola hosts the National Pepper Fair, the largest in Italy dedicated to an agricultural product, offering 10 days of gastronomic, cultural, artistic events, and creative and engaging experiences for all senses and all age groups. Well, this year the fair reaches an extremely important milestone, namely its 70th anniversary, which is being celebrated by collecting recipes that feature pepper as their star. This fresh and fragrant Gazpacho is my way of wishing long life to a product of the earth that often graces our table with its flavours, aromas and colours. All the best, then!

Try also this recipe with Carmagnola peppers: Chicken with peppers and goji berries.

Gazpacho with yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto

12.58g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

500g yellow tomatoes
3 peppers, 2 yellow and 1 red (approx. 270g when cooked and peeled)
100g sandwich bread** or these Rustic loaves
100g sliced Parma ham
100g vegetable stock
basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
chilli, salt and pepper

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation of Gazpacho with yellow tomatoes

Clean the peppers, cut them in half, remove the stalk, seeds and white filaments, then place them in the oven under the grill at 200°C until the skin is slightly dark. Seal the peppers in a paper bag and when they are cold, peel them and set them aside. Cut ¾ of the red pepper into strips and keep aside.
Place the tomatoes, bread, stock and peeled peppers (except for the red pepper in strips) in a blender to obtain a cream; season with chilli, salt and pepper.
Place the Parma ham in the microwave oven on medium power and short time, and repeat the operation until the ham is crispy.
Prepare small bowls with the tomato gazpacho, pepper strips, crispy ham pieces, a few basil leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Il Gazpacho di pomodori gialli, peperoni e crudo croccante

The Gazpacho of yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto

Version with gluten of Gazpacho with yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto

For the version with gluten of the recipe, replace the gluten-free sandwich bread with conventional bread.

This recipe was submitted for the Contest ‘Carmagnola Pepper: 70 years in 70 recipes’

July 16, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Oh, deer! Potato and venison ravioli with Grappa del Trentino

Food Tours, Primi piatti

Why participate in a contest entitled ‘Trentino Grappa on your plate’?

For many reasons, but firstly because Grappa is a naturally gluten free distillate and because, when used in cooking, it can be enjoyed without too much concern by those with diabetes, so try my Potato and venison ravioli with Grappa del Trentino.

The invitation from the Istituto Tutela della Grappa del Trentino therefore came to me with immense joy also because I wanted to know more about Grappa since it is an exclusively Italian product (distillates produced in a similar way in other countries of the world are called Acquavite).

After meeting my fellow adventurers, namely the three other bloggers involved Annalisa from the blog Mi manca il saleOrsola of Ockstyle and Paola of Profumo di vaniglia, some chit-chat, a bite to eat and off to face the lion’s den of Trento (who said it’s cold in northern Italy??).

How Trentino grappa is produced

The first stop on this short but intense journey is the Pisoni Winery and Distillerywhere the family has been producing grappa since 1852 in a corner of paradise known as Valle dei Laghi, a strip of land between Lake Garda and the Brenta Dolomites where the microclimate resulting from the presence of large expanses of water and the altitude of the surrounding mountains guarantees those temperature swings between day and night that allow the grapes to develop unique perfumes and aromas.

Esposizione di prodotti della distilleria Pisoni

Pisoni distillery product display

We are accompanied by Giuliano, the brother who takes care of grappa in the family. He starts explaining to us that grappa is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the distillation of grape marc, i.e. the skins and seeds that remain after the grapes have been pressed to make wine.

Here at Pisoni’s, the vats and stills, in the silence immobilised by the seals affixed by the Customs Agency controlling the production subject to payment of excise duties, seem to be waiting for the moment when they will puff with steam, from September to November.

At that time of year, the vat is filled with grape marc and water, the latter is heated and turns into steam which, carrying with it the alcoholic and aromatic part, rises to the top, entering a tube that passes into a cooler where it condenses and returns to liquid form. This first distillate is called phlegm and has an alcohol content of 20-22 degrees since it still contains a part of water.

The phlegm is then cleaned by placing it in a bain-marie vat, i.e. heated by steam flowing through an interspace, so as to separate the good vapours from the less pleasant ones according to evaporation temperatures: the first ones to evaporate and be eliminated are called heads, the central part known as heart is kept, while the final part called tail is also removed. The great difficulty and skill of the master distiller lies in knowing when to make these “cuts” during distillation in order to preserve only the best of the distillate’s aromas and scents.

From raw grappa to finished grappa

The result of so much work is the raw grappa, i.e. a distillate at 80 degrees, which must undergo a final transformation that consists of adding water to lower the alcohol content to around 40 degrees and filtering it by freezing to remove traces of copper and fat (essential oils derived from grape skins) to obtain a perfectly clear liquid. At this point, the grappa is ready to be bottled or to continue its ageing in barrels for products that will develop specific characteristics.

Do you know how many litres of grappa you get from 100kg of grape marc? From a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 20 litres of raw grappa depending on the quality of the grape marc used: if the grapes are good, healthy and well ripened, they will give us not only better organoleptic characteristics, but also a greater quantity of finished product! The quality of grappa, Giuliano tells us, is made by nature and the master distiller’s cuts.

Giuliano also accompanies us into the cellars dug under the rock of the mountain on which the distillery building rests: here thousands of bottles of Trento DOC sparkling wine rest at a constant temperature of 10°C… a wonderful relief on a ‘red dot’ day of the hottest week of the year according to the weathermen! Well, we enjoy a glass of this splendid bubbly wine before moving on to Palazzo di Roccabruna, home of the Enoteca Provinciale del Trentino and our cooking contest.

The ‘Trentino Grappa on your plate’ Contest

Chef Sebastian Sartorelli , who prepared our mystery boxes, is also waiting for us here. The only certainty is that we will have to use grappa, while on the other ingredients the strictest mystery reigns. At 6 p.m. sharp, after a few photos and the heat rising as the oven and cooker are turned on, we can finally unravel the mystery: venison fillet, buckwheat, Fontal cheese and pear are the compulsory ingredients for our dish, but we also have ‘universal’ ingredients such as flour, eggs, seasonings, some vegetables, herbs and spices… in short, a riot of colours and scents!

You know what? There is no doubt in my mind: my dish will be a ravioli! Of course, here I have wheat flour on hand in addition to buckwheat and not the flours I am used to using to make gluten free ravioli… well, for those of us who are used to working with doughs that are as delicate as silk, a dough made with flour containing gluten is child’s play: rolling out the pastry is incredibly easy, it never breaks!

The filling is a Trentino version of my grandmother’s potato tortelli: boiled potatoes, pears sautéed in grappa, grated Fontal and more grappa to flavour everything instead of Grandma Rina’s liqueur concoction.

Finally, the deer. “Oh, deer!” my interpreting background says to me when I see the venison fillet in the box, an “Oh, my God!” that turns right into “Oh, venison!”, which of course becomes the obligatory name of my dish: Oh, deer! Potato and venison ravioli with Grappa del Trentino.

Yes, I have never cooked venison before, even though I theoretically know how to do it. I macerate it with herbs and grappa while I boil the potatoes and prepare the dough. Finally, butter in the frying pan and when it is hot, I add the venison fillet and brown it on the surface, then add the marinade to evaporate the grappa and obtain a fragrant, slightly hazelnut-coloured cooking juices: exciting aromas!

The tasting and the jury

By now everything is ready and I just have to complete my project and let the judges taste it: Mirko Scarabello, President of the Istituto di Tutela Grappa del Trentino, as well as our mentor on the subject, Sebastian Sartorelli, chef for the events at the Enoteca and chef at the Hosteria Toblino in Madruzzo (TN), and Maria Grazia Brugnara, in charge of the promotion of wine and food products within the Trento Chamber of Commerce, as well as being a cheese, wine, oil and grappa taster.

The judges evaluate our dishes based on 6 criteria and on a scale from 0 to 10… but do you know the extraordinary thing? We all rank within a voting range of only 2 points and the winner of the contest is Annalisa from the blog ‘Mi manca il sale’ (I have no salt) because her dish is the one that goes best with grappa even when tasting it, bravo!

The one for which my ‘Oh, deer!’ stood out? The creativity and the techniques used… I assure you that as soon as I find a venison fillet like the one Chef Sebastian gave us, I will immediately cook it for my family, also because in Parma now there will be no shortage of Grappa!

‘Oh, deer!’ Potato and venison ravioli with Grappa del Trentino

carbohydrates 27g per 100g of raw ravioli without venison fillet

Ingredients for the buckwheat egg pasta for 6 servings

200g Petra 1** or Nutrifree flour for fresh pasta** (in the contest I used 250g wheat flour 00)
50g buckwheat flour*
3 eggs
salt and water (only if the dough is too hard)

Ingredients for the filling

400g potatoes
100g pear
80g Fontal cheese
1 generous shot of aged Grappa del Trentino
salt and pepper

Ingredients for the venison

1 small venison fillet
30g butter
1 small glass of aged Grappa del Trentino
aromatic herbs to taste
extra virgin olive oil
salt

Ingredients to complete

lemon peel
fresh oregano
flowers of aromatic herbs

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Potato and venison ravioli

First boil the unpeeled potatoes until soft when piercing them with the tines of a fork.
Marinate the venison fillet with herbs to taste, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a small glass of grappa.
Prepare the dough: make a well with the 2 flours, crack the eggs in the centre, add a pinch of salt and start by beating the eggs with a fork; gradually incorporate the flour until you can knead the mixture using your hands. Only if the dough is too dry, wet your hands with water to complete the operation. When you have obtained a smooth and homogeneous mixture, put it to rest in a clean plastic bag.
Peel the pear, cut it into small cubes and soften it for about ten minutes in a non-stick pan with a dash of grappa. Set it aside.
Mash the potatoes while they are still hot, season with grated Fontal cheese, grappa, cooked pears, salt and pepper.
Prepare the venison fillet. Put the butter in a non-stick frying pan, heat it very well, then add the venison fillet; brown it on all sides over a high heat for a few minutes until the surface is well browned, then add the marinade liquid to reduce it and enhance the browning. Remove from the heat, place both fillet and cooking juices in a small bowl and cover with aluminium foil.
Prepare the ravioli. Roll out the dough thinly, but not too thinly (I set the machine on its last-but-one hole), place ‘nuts’ of filling 5cm apart, fold the pastry over to cover the filling, press the pastry tightly around the filling using your fingers, then cut half moons with a pastry cutter.
Boil the ravioli in lightly salted boiling water, cook them for as long as necessary, feeling the pasta from time to time, drain them with a slotted spoon, place them on a tea towel, then on the serving dish. Dress them with a very thin slice of venison fillet, the venison’s cooking juices, a little grated lemon peel and a few small leaves of fresh oregano and herbs.

Oh, deer! Raviolo di patate e cervo alla Grappa del Trentino

Oh, deer! Potato and venison ravioli with Grappa del Trentino

If you like making ravioli, you can also try Ravioli with prawns and cherry tomatoes

July 2, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Gola Gola asparagus risotto

Primi piatti

Summer suddenly arrived and, with the good weather, so did wonderful opportunities to meet. Like the Gola Gola Festival in Piacenza from 9 June. I was given the honour of opening the dances with my gluten-free proposal designed to tempt everyone: Gola Gola asparagus risotto.

In a festival dedicated to food, I believe it is fundamental to give space to local products, so I thought of choosing some of the many ingredients of the that area: Pontenure asparagus (given the season), Malvasia dei colli piacentini wine and Grana Padano cheese. All this on a very special base, namely my favourite Carnaroli rice, the one cultivated by Riserva San Massimo within the Lombardy Ticino Valley Park, a gift for the palate and for those who care about preserving biodiversity.

A possible alternative to the cheese crisp is another famous product from Piacenza: its pancetta, also made crispy in a non-stick pan, or in the microwave oven, following the same procedure as described for the cheese.

So run to buy some asparagus not to miss the season and enjoy this delicacy!

Gola Gola asparagus risotto

23.55g carbohydrates per 100g

without the reduction of Malvasia wine

Ingredients for 4 servings

1.2 litres of previously prepared meat stock
600g Malvasia dei colli piacentini white wine
400g asparagus, already cleaned
320g Carnaroli rice Riserva San Massimo
100g Grana Padano cheese
30g spring onion
30g butter
20g sesame seeds
20g brown sugar
3 cardamom berries
1 star anise berry
1 cinnamon stick
nutmeg, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the Malvasia reduction

First, prepare the Malvasia reduction because it is the most time-consuming operation. Pour almost all the wine into a thick-bottomed saucepan (keep about 60g for dousing the rice), add the spices and brown sugar and let it simmer without a lid for about 1.5 hours or until the wine has turned into a rather thick, amber-coloured liquid.

Preparation of Risotto

Wash the asparagus and cut them into 3 parts: remove the woody part, keep the tips whole and cut the middle part of the asparagus into pieces. Put the asparagus chunks in a saucepan with about 200g of stock and cook them, leaving the pan uncovered. Once cooked, put the asparagus in a blender to obtain a cream, season with salt and set aside.
Prepare the cheese and sesame crisps. Mix 30g of cheese and the sesame seeds, then place a spoonful of the mixture on a plate, forming a kind of disc with the back of the spoon. Place everything in the microwave for a short time on medium power until the cheese has melted slightly. With the help of a scraper, remove the disc from the plate and keep it aside.
You can now start preparing the risotto.
Sweat the finely chopped spring onion in a saucepan with a little oil.
Toast the rice in the saucepan with the leek for about 3 minutes in order to have the grains well transparent with the white central part, then sprinkle with the Malvasia kept aside and let it evaporate.
Start stirring the rice adding a ladle of boiling stock. Continue stirring and add more stock only when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. After about 5 minutes, add the asparagus tips, then continue with the stock and stirring. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the blended asparagus and mix well. When the rice is still well al dente, remove from the heat and add the frozen butter, stirring the rice well so that the starch is released to form a nice cream, add the grated cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated; add salt to taste. Cover the risotto with a tea towel and let it rest for a minute.
Plate the rice and complete with a few pieces of sesame crisp and drops of Malvasia reduction.

Risotto-asparagi-senza-glutine-gola-gola-festival

Gola Gola asparagus risotto

Version with gluten of Gola Gola asparagus risotto

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

If you like risottos, try my Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

June 8, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Gluten-free potato pizza with olives

Primi piatti, Secondi piatti

A gluten free potato pizza with olives as an alternative to conventional pizza.

We know that pizza for those with diabetes and coeliac disease is one of the absolute most difficult dishes to manage. It is so because not only are really good gluten free pizzas very difficult to find, but also because people with diabetes have to manage the ‘pizza effect‘, i.e. abnormal rises in blood sugar levels due to the combination of ingredients in pizza (and alas, also high amounts of sugar hidden in the dough and tomato sauce, as well as fairly high amounts of salt), even many hours after eating it.

The potato pizza is a nice alternative; yes, we have to pay attention to the carbohydrates contained in the potatoes, but they are much easier to handle than low quality pizza. Furthermore, it can be a nice idea for a naturally gluten free dinner or snack in the garden! You can serve it with a Swordfish salad.

Gluten free potato pizza with olives

14.27g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

700g potatoes
400g tomato sauce
250g cow’s milk mozzarella
80g pitted green or black olives*
20g spring onion
extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Peel the potatoes, slice them thinly and steam them for 20 minutes. Put a little oil in a non-stick frying pan, pour in the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and brown them lightly by pressing them down with a fork or a wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Put a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick frying pan, brown the finely chopped spring onion, then add the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper, then cover and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, cover the bottom with the potatoes, then top with tomato sauce and pitted olives in pieces.
Bake in a static oven preheated to 200°C for about 10 minutes, then add the mozzarella and continue baking until the mozzarella has melted.
Serve the potato pizza hot.

Version with gluten of Potato pizza with olives

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

May 4, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and ‘nduja

Primi piatti

A tasty recipe prepared with a few simple ingredients where the taste of good things becomes a real pleasure to share with family or friends: Potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and ‘nduja.

We thought we would start with the classic and timeless dish of gnocchi with tomato sauce to give it an even more distinctive flavour. So ‘nduja seemed the perfect solution to us!

Try it!

Potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and ‘nduja

carbohydrates 28.03g per 100g of uncooked, unseasoned gnocchi

Ingredients for gnocchi for 6 servings

1kg potatoes
200g potato starch*
1 egg
salt, rice flour* for dusting

Ingredients for the sauce

600g tomato sauce
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
30g shallot
30g ‘nduja*
1 clove garlic
extra virgin olive oil and salt as needed

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Boil the potatoes in water until soft when pierced with a fork. Peel them and pass them through a potato masher. Spread them out on the cutting board so that they cool down faster.
When the mashed potatoes are cold, add the other ingredients and knead.
Form cylindrical strips by dusting with a bit of rice flour and cut into chunks of about 3 cm. Pass each piece over the prongs of a fork, applying a little pressure so that the piece is hollow on the inside and with slight grooves on the outside in contact with the fork.
Prepare the tomato sauce. Slice the shallot and brown it with the clove of garlic in a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil; when the shallot is wilted, add the tomato sauce and cook for about 15 minutes; add the ‘nduja, stirring so that it incorporates well into the tomato sauce and add salt to taste.
Boil the gnocchi in salted water for a few minutes until they rise to the surface. Dress them with tomato sauce and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and ‘nduja

Version with gluten of Potato gnocchi with tomato sauce and ‘nduja

The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients, but it is possible to replace potato starch with wheat flour.

March 11, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Quinoa crêpes with broccoli

Primi piatti

These cold, rainy winter afternoons are the right time to experiment with, and of course share, new dishes that warm and pamper the palate. And we are doing just that: tests and pairings to find tasty, balanced recipes such as Quinoa crêpes with broccoli.

Yesterday was one of those days in the kitchen, when the rain doesn’t stop, not even for a short walk. So, stove and ingredients are a fun solution not to get bored. Our Sunday led to the creation of a new vegetarian first course, naturally gluten free, which is also a complete and surprising dish for a dinner with friends. Here’s how to prepare it!

Quinoa crêpes with broccoli

8.03g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for crêpes for 6 servings

200g water
50g quinoa flour*
50g buckwheat flour*
2 eggs
20g extra virgin olive oil
5g salt
extra virgin oil to grease the pan

Ingredients for the filling

380g ricotta cheese
200g boiled broccoli
165g béchamel sauce (see below)
100g Fontina cheese
100g Emmentaler cheese
salt, pepper and nutmeg

Ingredients for the béchamel sauce

500g milk
50g wholemeal rice flour*
40g extra virgin olive oil
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
salt

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Prepare the crêpes. Put the quinoa and buckwheat flour in a bowl, then add the water, stirring with a whisk. Add the eggs and mix well, then complete with oil and salt. With a piece of kitchen paper lightly greased with oil, wipe the surface of the non-stick pan (about 20 cm in diameter) that you will use for the crêpes. Pour the necessary amount of batter to cover the pan in a thin layer. Brown the crêpes on both sides, then put them aside. Continue until all the ingredients are used up (I obtained 6 crêpes).
Prepare the béchamel sauce by putting the oil in a saucepan and adding the rice flour; in the meantime, bring the milk to the boil, then add it to the flour and oil mixture while continuing to stir with a whisk. Put everything back on the heat and as soon as it starts to thicken, add grated Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, mix well then set the béchamel sauce aside.
Shred Fontina and Emmentaler. In a bowl, mix the shredded cheese with the ricotta, the boiled broccoli cut into pieces, 165g béchamel, a pinch of salt and nutmeg.
Roll out the crêpes and divide the filling into equal parts; spread the filling well and roll the crêpes into cylinders; place on a tray, cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. When the crêpes are firm, cut them into 5 pieces each and place them vertically in a baking tin. Cover everything with the remaining béchamel sauce and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes at 190°C.

Crespelle di quinoa e broccoli senza glutine

Gluten-free quinoa and broccoli crêpes

Version with gluten of Quinoa crêpes with broccoli

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients or ingredients bearing the gluten free wording, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

If you enjoyed making quinoa crêpes, also try these Three-colour crêpe rolls.

February 4, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

Primi piatti

Flowers to eat: Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

I have always loved flowers and my Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise is my hymn to them.This love is certainly linked to the fact that I was born and raised in the countryside.

One of my fondest memories as a child is of the end of February when the cold weather began to become milder, the fields and woods behind the house began to turn an extraordinarily bright green, and the wild garden in front of the kitchen window began to reveal the first coloured dots of hundreds of violets. For me and my best friend, who lived next door, it was the signal to go to a specific part of the forest, which at that time of year was transformed into a truly incredible place.

There was in fact a corner, with fewer trees, that was full of bushes and flowers, where a huge carpet of violets, interspersed with tufts of yellow primroses, overwhelmed us with an intoxicating scent. Every year our long walk into the woods ended with the picking of a small bunch of violets to take to our mothers, and mine always had to include some white ones because they were particularly dear to my mum. The bouquet (which was always the largest we could hold in our hands!) would then end up fragrancing the kitchen, reminding us that spring had now arrived.

Other flowers, herbs and fruits came with spring and they did not only fragrance our homes, but also enriched our kitchens. We started with the liqueur made from rose petals, then came the chamomile we picked to dry for winter herbal teas, fresh walnuts in their husks were used to make nocino, lavender flowers to flavour biscuits, breadcrumbs and cupboards, nettles and dandelion were used for omelettes and the traditional stuffed pies.

The ‘Buon appetito… fiorellino!’ Contest

When I went to Sanremo in September 2018 for the final of the Ma che cipolla d’Egitto’ contest I found out that the city is the seat of Crea, the institute founded by Italo Calvino’s father, who started cultivating edible flowers in a ‘catalogue field’. A few months later, my friend Raffaella Fenoglio of the blog Tre Civette sul Comò together with Crea itself, Zem Edizioni, Italian Food Blogger Association, the Villa Ormond Foundation of Sanremo, Ravera Bio and the Associazione Ristoranti della Tavolozza launched a beautiful contest entitled “Buon appetito… fiorellino!” (Good appetite… little flower! ), which aims at highlighting the use of flowers not only as decorative elements, but also as real ingredients because they are delicious!

My search for a supplier of edible flowers, not too far from Parma and in a season when my garden and my woodland are not much help to me, began immediately, but the ‘spoils’ were a bit predictable: I only found beautiful rose buds and colourful violets! Those who know me know that I do not believe in coincidences, i.e. I am convinced that there is always a reason why events happen or paths cross, so since my flowers were delivered on a Saturday morning and Saturday lunch means risotto, my contest recipe is none other than the Risotto prepared for lunch on Saturday 12 January. I must also admit that with such a beautiful and scented risotto, we felt like VIPs at our own place!

Why a Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

I will explain the reason for my choices. The main ingredient of the ‘basic’ risotto is celeriac, a lumpy vegetable that, as its name suggests, is a celery-flavoured turnip: that’s why I chose it, for its seasonality and flavour.

The second ingredient is apple, which goes perfectly with both celery and roses. The third ingredient is roses, in the form of petals and rose water, which I had brought home from San Remo and which allowed me to add an extra touch of fragrance to this pampering dish.

In addition, I learnt from reading the book by Libereso Guglielmi, the botanical expert who inspired this contest, that roses are able to strengthen the nervous system and aid digestion and their essential oil reduces tension and stress…I would say perfect to prepare for a relaxing weekend!

What more can I say? Simply that if the aim of the contest was to promote the use of edible flowers in the kitchen, with me the goal has certainly been achieved and the seeds of many scented unknown flowers are already on their way to the Po Valley!

Would you like to try another recipe with roses: here is my Milk pudding with rose water.

Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

31.80g carbohydrates per 100g of risotto without mayonnaise

carbohydrates 7.43 per 100g of apple and rose mayonnaise

Ingredients for 4 servings

approx. 1.5 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
320g Carnaroli rice
90g celeriac, already trimmed and peeled
70g leek
50g sorghum beer La Gaia Ambra
60g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
30g butter
extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, Pecorino Romano cheese for the crisps

Ingredients for the apple mayonnaise

125g apple (approx. 1 apple, cored and peeled)
35g grapeseed oil
15g orange juice
10g red rose petals
rosewater*

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

risotto-sedano-rapa-maionese-alle-mele-e-rose-uno-chef-per-gaia

The ingredients of Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

Preparation of mayonnaise

First prepare the apple mayonnaise. Peel and cut the apple into 4 pieces and place in a microwaveable container. Seal the container with cling film or its lid (if equipped with a steam valve) and cook the apple very well without letting the steam escape (in my microwave I cooked it 4 minutes at power 3). Once cooked, place the apple in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once well chilled, blend the apple and orange juice by placing them in a tall, narrow glass using an immersion blender; when you have obtained a kind of cream, add the oil in a trickle while continuing to whip. At this point, add rose petals finely chopped with a knife and rose water to taste (I put a teaspoonful).

Preparation of cheese crisps

Prepare some cheese crisps before devoting yourself to the risotto. Form a thin disc-shaped layer of grated Pecorino romano cheese on a plate and place it in the microwave oven. Heat the cheese gradually by setting short heating times until the cheese starts to melt and become crispy on top. With the help of a metal scraper, remove the disc from the plate and set it aside.

Preparation of risotto and assembly

Start preparing the rice. Put a little oil in a pan and very slowly sweat the thinly sliced leek and the celeriac cut into small cubes. After a few minutes, add a ladle of stock and cook the celeriac almost completely. At this point, add the rice and toast it on a high heat (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Pour the la Gaia beer on the rice and allow to evaporate, then start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and only add stock when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. When the rice is still al dente, remove from the heat and proceed with the creaming. Add the 30 grams of butter, stirring the rice well so that the starch is released to form a nice creamy mixture, add the grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated. Cover the pan with a tea towel and let it rest for 1 minute.
Plate the risotto on hot dishes and top it with clumps of rose and apple mayonnaise, some rose petals and pieces of Parmesan crisps.

The risotto ready to be enjoyed

This recipe was submitted to the ‘Buon appetito…fiorellino’ contest.

January 22, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms: gluten-free autumn dishes

Piatti unici, Primi piatti, Video ricette

Now it is time for dinners at home with friends to enjoy flavourful creations to warm up the evenings that welcome autumn. So, we decided to prepare a dish that could represent autumn, a recipe full of many delights, rich and tasty: Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms.

We had a special pasta (which we also like very much cooked with vegetables from the garden), mushrooms, vegetables, cheese, and our Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms came to life!

Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms

25g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 6-8 servings

500g gluten-free pasta, Risoni shape**
250g cabbage
200g fresh Porcini mushrooms
200g sliced cooked ham*
40g sharp Provolone cheese
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
30g leek
10g dried Porcini mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Clean the mushrooms and slice them.
In a non-stick frying pan, heat a little oil with the peeled garlic and brown the mushrooms; season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Set aside.
In another non-stick pan, sauté the cabbage cut into strips with a little oil, salt and pepper and let it become soft.
Chop the leek and sweat it in a pan with a little oil. Soak the dried Porcini in warm water, then cut them up and add them to the spring onion.
Put a pan of water on the stove, add salt and when it boils, throw in the pasta. Stir well and cook for 4 minutes, then drain and pour into the pan with the onion and dried Porcini; add hot stock and continue stirring as if you were cooking a risotto. Add the sautéed cabbage and fresh mushrooms and, if necessary, more hot water to cook the rice.
In the meantime, cover a doughnut mould with cooked ham.
When the Risoni pasta is cooked al dente, take away from the heat and stir in butter, Provolone and Parmesan cheese. Pour them into the ham-lined mould, fold the ham on the upper surface as well and let the timbale rest for 1 minute before turning the mould out onto a serving plate so that the mushroom doughnut can be unmoulded.

Watch a similar version in this video recipe.

Version with gluten of Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms

Replace gluten-free Risoni pasta with conventional one, all other ingredients are naturally gluten free.

October 22, 2018/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Passatelli with pappa al pomodoro and crispy prosciutto

Primi piatti

If one were to ask me what my favourite dishes are, I would answer first courses in all their infinite forms and interpretations, so here is my proposal for the national festival of first courses: Passatelli with pappa al pomodoro and crispy prosciutto.

The national festival of first courses

In the heart of Italy, from 27 to 30 September, the entire historic centre of Foligno will be colonised by fans of this symbol of Italian cuisine, the national festival of first course: I Primi d’Italia

The verb ‘colonise’ is certainly the most appropriate to define what is happening in the Umbrian village, which is divided into no less than 14 villages of first courses, including, which fills me with joy, also one dedicated to gluten free.

Armed with a healthy appetite and, above all, an insatiable curiosity, it is worth getting lost in the streets and discovering not only the more than 100 recipes for first courses served non-stop, but also the cooking classes, tastings, cooking shows, markets, conferences as well as entertainment and music.

A first course featuring the Emilia Romagna region

To celebrate 20 years of this exquisite event, I welcomed with pleasure and honour the opportunity to represent my own region, Emilia Romagna, through a traditional dish, but with a touch of innovation and freshness through some ingredients that at home, in Parma, are really the masters, namely Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma and tomato. This is what I have decided to propose to you: Passatelli with pappa al pomodoro and crispy prosciutto.

Why Passatelli? Because I have never found anyone who didn’t like them, because they require only very few ingredients, because they are perfect for reusing leftover bread and hardened Parmesan cheese, because they are suitable for all seasons, and because they are so easy and quick to prepare.

Most likely born in the countryside of Romagna, where people lived in poverty but always managed to prepare a dish like this, they soon became a symbol of the entire regional cuisine.

The tool for preparing Passatelli

The traditional tool with which they were prepared is the ancestor of the pasta die, a kind of perforated disc, slightly concave, with two handles that allow you to place it on the dough by making a forward movement while exerting a certain pressure that will cause these small cylinders of varying lengths to come out. The ingenuity of the peasants meant that the quantity of Passatelli formed in the hollow with a swipe of the iron disc on the dough corresponds to the serving for one diner, making life easy for the women of the house when calculating the quantity to prepare.

Today, the ‘Passatelli iron disc’ has become almost a collector’s item and has been replaced by the less artistic but effective potato masher with large holes, aided by the blade of a knife. When the residual dough is too little to be shaped by the disc, the leftover is generally forged between the hands to obtain an extra-large Passatello, the object of battles for children who always want to get it.

Historically, Passatelli are served in a good meat stock, perhaps capon stock, but for the hot season and, why not admit it, to avoid the time-consuming preparation of stock, I wanted to experiment with a different, tomato-based soup, which is also excellent warm or cold and not just hot (if you want a hot soup, try my Onion soup au gratin).

The proportions between ingredients is somewhat the same in all families, i.e. 1 egg for every 100g of Parmesan cheese and dry bread, with the growing wealth making housewives lean towards increasing the amount of Parmesan a little at the expense of bread. In some parts of the region, a portion of flour is also added, an operation from which I couldn’t exempt myself when preparing my gluten free Passatelli and wanting to sauté them in a pan.

Passatelli with pappa al pomodoro and crispy prosciutto

36.9 g carbohydrates per 100g of plain Passatelli

Ingredients for Passatelli for 4 servings

110g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
100g breadcrumbs or grated stale bread**
60g flour mix for fresh pasta, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
2 eggs
meat or vegetable stock to blanch the bread
nutmeg, salt

Ingredients for Pappa al pomodoro

500g tomato sauce
200g low fat milk
50g carrots
50g onions
20g celery
20 g butter
20g wholemeal rice flour*
2 cloves of garlic
extra virgin olive oil
chopped coriander seeds, chilli pepper, salt and pepper

Ingredients to complete

50g Parma ham
some basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Pappa al pomodoro

Start preparing Pappa al pomodoro in this version without bread. Chop the onion, carrot and celery and brown them in a low, wide pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic. When they are well caramelised, add the tomato sauce and a pinch of salt; cover and cook for 20 minutes.

La pentola Agnelli dedicata ai Primi d'Italia

The Agnelli pot dedicated to Primi d’Italia

In the meantime, prepare a béchamel sauce by melting 20g of butter in a pan, add the rice flour, stirring with a whisk to obtain a cream, then dilute with milk and put on the heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a béchamel sauce; add salt to taste.
When the tomato sauce is ready, remove the garlic cloves and incorporate the béchamel sauce, stirring well. Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth and even. Add chopped coriander seeds, chilli, salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation of Passatelli

Heat the stock. Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and scald them with the boiling stock, taking care not to pour too much: the bread should be slightly moist and sticky. Once cold, add the other ingredients, namely flour, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and eggs. Mix well until you obtain a firm compound. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Prepare the crispy ham. Lay the ham slices on a plate and place the plate in the microwave oven on low power for about twenty seconds: if the ham has not become crispy, repeat the operation until the desired texture is reached.
Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to the boil, then add salt.
For Passatelli we have two options: we can form them and lay them on a tray to keep for later, or we can throw them directly into boiling water or stock. Put about half the Passatelli mixture into the potato masher, press the potato masher directly over the boiling water and when the Passatelli are the desired length, about 4-5 cm, cut them with a knife dropping them directly into the water. Stir them with a skimmer and let them boil for a few minutes.
Put 2 tablespoons of Pappa al pomodoro in the sauce pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and half a ladle of cooking water; with a skimmer, remove the Passatelli from the water and throw them into the pan with the sauce, sautéing them over high heat for a few minutes.
Serve a ladleful of Pappa al pomodoro in each serving dish, place the sautéed Passatelli on top, the crispy chopped prosciutto, two basil leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Version with gluten of Passatelli with pappa al pomodoro and crispy prosciutto.

Do not use flour or very little for preparing Passatelli.

August 12, 2018/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Buffalo ricotta gnocchi with saffron and Egyptian walking onion

Primi piatti

What are Egyptian walking onions?

I must admit that my curiosity could not resist such a bizarre name for an onion cultivated mainly in western Liguria, so I expressed my interest to receive a book entirely dedicated to this subject, as well as to receive Egyptian walking onions to experiment with in the kitchen.

First of all, the name. In reality, the adjective ‘Egyptian‘ has nothing to do with the Egyptian civilisation, so much so that it is also known to the world by many other names, a fact which, in addition to its ease of cultivation, has made it somewhat mysterious, favouring its spread from the 1600s onwards. Already at that time, the onion was present in Russia and particularly in Siberia where it withstands even the cold winter temperatures. This capacity has meant that it has become a valuable source of nutrition for local populations, mainly due to its high vitamin C content, which is not easily available in areas with such hostile climatic conditions.

Yet, the Egyptian onion is also perfectly adapted to the Ligurian climate where, planted in the soil, it is able to produce several onions overhead and for long periods of time. The small bulbs develop in place of the traditional flower and are buried to give rise to other plants that grow easily and without requiring much attention.

If the bulbs are not harvested, the long stems on which they grow bend under their own weight and end up touching the soil where they root, giving rise to new plants. Hence the name of ‘walking onion‘. Economically, this onion has three types of harvest: the green leaves, the underground bulbs (which are left for the following harvest) and the topsets.

Size: a surprise

Reading about all these rather unusual characteristics, my imagination started working on what I could prepare with these perfect strangers, but since onion soup is one of my favourite dishes, my first thought was to use them in this way. But what did I discover when the envelope containing 7 little treasures arrived? First of all, they are really tiny so the thought of soup was instantly erased.

A second aspect that had struck me was reading that in many preparations the long leaves are used, so this time I had thought of a recipe in which the lush, green part was emphasised. My choice? I had thought of empanadas filled with vegetables, including Egyptian onion leaves, and served with a few fried leaves and a grating of hard sheep’s milk ricotta.

You can therefore imagine that, having received the bulbs without the green part, my second idea also tragically stalled. So, having to prepare dinner for two hungry teenagers and a husband well past his teens, but with the same appetite, I decided to use the bulbs as if they were precious little truffles, grating them raw, fragrant and succulent, over freshly made buffalo ricotta small gnocchi. A curiosity: one of the reasons why the Egyptian onion is so popular in cooking is that, even raw, it does not leave its scent in the mouth once consumed!

I don’t know how the other recipes I had thought would turn out, but this use of onion met with our approval. And you know what? I used 4 and planted the remaining 3 in the vegetable garden, so I am hoping for a small harvest in a few months to continue the experimentation!

Would you like some more gnocchi recipes? Try these Gnocchi with hare.

Buffalo ricotta gnocchi with saffron and Egyptian walking onion

carbohydrates 14.8g uncooked plain gnocchi

Ingredients for 4-5 servings

600g buffalo ricotta
200g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
160g pasta flour mix, brand Petra 03** or bread flour, brand Nutrifree**
10 cherry tomatoes
2 eggs
50g milk
4 Egyptian onions
0.25g saffron
basil, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, flour and egg, adjust salt and, when even, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Form cylindrical strips and cut out small gnocchi.
In the meantime, put a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the cherry tomatoes cut into quarters and with the seeds removed. Season with salt and set aside.
In a pan, large enough to hold the gnocchi once cooked, pour in the milk and dissolve the saffron together with a few tablespoons of the gnocchi cooking water and a pinch of salt.
Cook the gnocchi in slightly salted boiling water for a few minutes and as soon as they rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in the pan with the saffron; allow the sauce to thicken and the gnocchi to gain flavour over medium heat.
Assemble the plates by placing the saffron gnocchi, sautéed cherry tomatoes, a few basil leaves, a grated or very thinly sliced Egyptian onion (I used a Microplane grater to make this sort of carpaccio) and finally freshly ground pepper.
It is a tasty and aromatic dish and above all fresh and perfect for summer.