Swordfish salad is a fresh and quick summer recipe. Whether for lunch or dinner, it is naturally gluten free and has a negligible amount of carbohydrates, so swordfish salad is a light main course that brings everyone together and helps us find ideas for eating fish at least 2-3 times a week.

It might sound strange to you, but with my children I had more difficulty in getting them to accept and consume fish than vegetables. Therefore, as vegetables are among the most popular ingredients in our family, I thought of using them to make swordfish welcome as well, and the experiment was successful!

Not only has the swordfish been eaten with great voracity, but I have been asked to prepare it this way a little more often… so I will try to comply! Also because the meal will be ready in just a few minutes.

Insalata di pesce spada pronta per essere servita

Sword fish salad ready to be served

Swordfish salad

carbohydrates per 100g negligible

Ingredients

  • 400g swordfish
  • 300g small courgettes
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 40g extra virgin olive oil
  • 30 g pitted Taggiasca olives*
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 basil leaves
  • grated lemon zest
  • rosemary, shallot, chilli pepper, salt and pepper to taste

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

Preparation

  1. First of all prepare the aromatic oil: heat about 20g of oil, then remove it from the heat and add a peeled and halved shallot, 1 clove of garlic and rosemary.
  2. Put a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the julienne-cut courgettes over high heat; season with salt and pepper.
  3. Cut the swordfish into cubes of about 2cm and sauté them in a non-stick pan with the remaining oil.
  4. Now assemble the salad by placing the courgettes, swordfish, sliced cherry tomatoes, pitted olives and chopped basil in a bowl. Stir everything together, then season with salt, pepper, a pinch of finely chopped chilli pepper, a grating of lemon zest and the aromatic oil passed through a colander.
  5. Serve the salad warm or cold to taste. And if you want some ideas for another salad, try this Dominican Salad.

 

Quinoa surprises are a way for me to use vegetables, definitely my favourite ingredients! For each season, we have a great variety of them, allowing us to indulge in their preparation. Yet, sometimes there is a lack of ideas for preparing something tasty in front of which the kids do not turn up their noses.

Round courgettes are loved by young and old alike because they are perfect for filling with anything we like, so mine is just one of hundreds of possible filling solutions.

The version prepared with quinoa, one of Latin America’s super foods (see its history) also popular in our country due to its high protein, Omega 6 and Omega 3 content, makes the recipe a perfect one-course meal for both lunch and dinner. Personally, I prepared the recipe in a vegan version, i.e. without adding melted cheese, and offered it for dinner to my hungry family members, and Gaia’s blood sugar behaved very well throughout the night, which made us enjoy the dish even more.

Quinoa surprises   

carbohydrates 6.2g per 100g

Ingredients

  • 4 large round courgettes (total weight when emptied 1kg)
  • 300g tomato sauce
  • 120g celery
  • 90g carrots
  • 80g quinoa (cooked in 240g water)
  • 70g shallot
  • 1 clove garlic
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • chili
  • cheese cubes melting (optional)

Preparation

  1. Put quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer, rinse it thoroughly, then pour it in a small pan with three times its own weight of water. Slightly salt the water, put everything on the heat and cook the quinoa for about 15 minutes with the lid on until it has completely absorbed the water. Remove from the heat and let it cool down.
  2. Take the round courgettes, cut off the top part so that the courgettes are divided into 2 parts: a small one at the top and the large part underneath from which you will remove the pulp (you can use this to make vegetable soups). Sprinkle the inside of the courgettes with salt, place them with their tops on the side on a baking tray covered with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes. Once taken out of the oven, remove the water that will have formed inside the courgettes, then set them aside while you prepare the filling.
  3. Slice the shallot, put it in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil together with the garlic clove, then add the tomato sauce and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Put a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the diced celery and carrot; season with salt and pepper. Now season the quinoa with the tomato sauce and sautéed vegetables; season with salt, pepper and chilli.
  5. Fill the courgettes with the quinoa, pressing it lightly into them. If you like, you can put a few cubes of cheese melting on top of the quinoa before covering each courgette with its own cap (personally, I did not add anything because I did not want to add cheese to this meal), then bake in a hot oven at 200°C for about ten minutes or for 5 minutes under the grill.
  6. Serve the courgettes hot with a drizzle of olive oil.
Le zucchine ripiene di verdure e quinoa

Courgettes stuffed with vegetables and quinoa

Version with gluten of Quinoa surprises

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

Even though the air is still cool, I have now entered the mood of summer and colours and I can’t go back to grey, neither with my clothes nor with my food! Basmati rice with curry, tuna and peppers fully expresses this feeling.

And it is nature that helps us to be colourful, because going shopping at the greengrocer’s is a real feast for the eyes with all the vegetables in season. Peppers always make me very happy, not to mention the first cherry tomatoes from the south of Italy.

So I decided to add another splash of colour to the vegetable palette: curry, a spice that everyone in the family loves and that I buy from some Indian friends when they return from their country.

The carbohydrates in the dish come almost exclusively from basmati rice (remember that the cooked peppers are also counted in the preparation as they have 24.3g carbohydrates per 100g of product once cooked), a long-grain rice with an intense aroma and a slightly lower glycaemic index than the types of rice more suitable for risottos… not surprisingly, it does not release the starch that is essential to give creaminess to Italian risotto.

Have fun preparing this one-course meal, a kind of rice salad, a perfect summer recipe that will brighten up your table, your palate and certainly your well-being too. If you like curry, also try the Cous cous with prawn and courgette curry.

Riso basmati al curry con tonno e peperoni

Riso basmati al curry con tonno e peperoni

Basmati rice with curry, tuna and peppers

12.92g carbohydrates per 100g


Ingredients 

  • 300g tuna in oil
  • 300g vegetable stock
  • 220g yellow pepper
  • 220g green pepper
  • 200g Basmati rice
  • 200g peeled tomatoes
  • 15g spring onion
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder*
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

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

Preparation

  1. Cut the peeled tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the rest into cubes, which you place in a bowl with the chopped tuna, sliced spring onion, a pinch of salt and 20g of oil. Wash the peppers, cut them, remove the seeds and white filaments and dice them, setting them aside.
  2. In a saucepan, heat 20g oil, toast the rice for a few minutes, add the curry, stir well, then add the hot stock, put the lid on and leave to cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers without stirring, put the lid back on and cook (another 5 minutes or so until the liquid has been completely absorbed).
  3. Divide the rice into 4 single-serving bowls, let it cool and top with the tomato and tuna mixture.

 

Version with gluten of Basmati rice with curry, tuna and peppers

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

 

 

I promised you that I would return from my Caribbean holiday with some new recipes! Here is the Dominican Salad, a gluten free proposal from another part of the world. In fact, our holiday diet relied almost exclusively on vegetables and fruit, perfect companions in high temperatures, and the ‘winter ingredients’ in hot countries are much more similar to the produce we can get in summer here in Italy.

In this Dominican Salad (which I prepared several times in the kitchens that hosted us on our trip to the Dominican Republic), the ingredients are available practically all year round even in Italy, except for the cherry tomatoes that I bought out of season even though they come from the greenhouses of our Sicily.

One aspect that struck me in Dominican salads was the presence in large quantities of red onion , and I was especially surprised that it was very sweet and did not leave the characteristic smell in the mouth that we are familiar with and which is certainly a deterrent to its consumption when raw, at least for those who, like me, love it in all ways.

Here, then, is a way to eat the onion almost raw, but treated in such a way as to remove the essential oils that cause the smell to remain once eaten: blanch it three times in boiling water, each time clean water, for a few seconds and you’re done. Of course, you will taste the intensity of its flavour a bit less, but you will be able to enjoy it without worrying too much about social life!

Furthermore, in our suitcase we still had a packet of gluten-free taco shells purchased from one of the rare supermarkets we found on the way on our travels, which was an invaluable accompaniment to the salad that nicely solved a fog-shrouded dinner with a touch of nostalgia for the turquoise colour.

Dominican salad

9.3g carbohydrates per 100g

without taco shells

Ingredients

  • 500g already cooked chickpeas
  • 300g avocado
  • 300g cherry tomatoes
  • 80g onions
  • ½ lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • taco shells or tacos**

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Take the onion and cut it into slices about half a centimetre thick. Put a small saucepan on the stove with a little water so that it can quickly come to the boil. When the water boils, throw in the onion slices and leave them for about ten seconds, then drain them. Throw away the water from the saucepan and put clean water back in; bring it back to the boil and blanch the onion again for 10 seconds. Repeat the operation a third time, then drop the onion into cold water for one minute and finally drain it.
  2. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a bowl, add the peeled and chopped avocado and the cherry tomatoes cut into 4 pieces; drizzle with the juice of half a lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and finish with the well separated onion rings.
  3. Serve the salad with corn tacos, tortillas or simply home-made bread.

And if you like salads, try my Chickpea and octopus salad with balsamic vinegar.

L'insalata dominicana pronta per essere gustata

The Dominican salad ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Dominican salad

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

What to do with a free-range chicken if you have a Tajine pot in your kitchen equipment? A naturally gluten free dish to bring diabetes and celiac disease together: Turmeric and lemon chicken tajine.

Looking out of the kitchen window, a picture that changes daily according to the colours the sky takes on has been accompanying me for weeks. This is the maple tree that has lived with us since we moved in our current place, and every year in autumn it gives us palettes of colour that turn on and off depending on how the sun’s rays or the rain hit its leaves.

It was the colours of these leaves that made me think of the orange of turmeric and the yellow of lemon. Add to that the fact that my parents gave me some free-range chickens directly from the farm where they live, well, I couldn’t help but prepare a dish that is as simple as I like, but absolutely unforgettable.

And you know what? Although the colours are those of autumn, this chicken is a delight at any time of the year and with whatever side dish you are comfortable preparing.

Turmeric and lemon chicken tajine

carbohydrates per 100g negliglible

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 3-4 chicken legs (depending on size)
  • approx. 200g stock
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander
  • 1 lemon
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Heat the oil in the Tajine or in a saucepan. Gently fry the thinly sliced onion and the clove of garlic for 3-4 minutes without browning them. Add the chicken pieces and brown them evenly, turning the pieces often and adjusting the heat.
  2. Add turmeric, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or coriander, stock, lemon peel (only the yellow part) in large pieces, salt and pepper, then simmer with the lid on for about 2 hours (cooking times depend on the chicken!).
  3. If necessary, remove the lid, turn up the heat and allow the cooking juices to thicken slightly.
  4. Serve accompanying the meat with a side dish of seasonal vegetables to taste or even these Cauliflower patties.
I colori della Tajine di pollo alla curcuma e limone

The colours of the Turmeric and lemon chicken tajine

Version with gluten of Turmeric and lemon chicken Tajine

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients.

This is the second recipe dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the National Carmagnola Pepper Fair and is one of our favourites when we are very hungry, have little time and want something tasty and light: Chicken with peppers and goji berries, naturally gluten free and with very few carbohydrates. If you want to look at the first recipe again, here it is: Gazpacho of yellow tomatoes, peppers and crispy prosciutto.

Pepper is a typical summer vegetable, particularly popular in hot countries, although it is now cultivated all over the world. Its versatility in cooking is extraordinary, and from a nutritional point of view it is rich in vitamin C, even richer than oranges, which are often considered the champions in ‘this speciality’.

Well, by combining peppers with goji berries, which by the way belong to the same family, we can enjoy their countless health benefits. Goji berries are to be consumed with caution for those with diabetes because they have a high carbohydrate content, as much as 64g per 100g of product, and also calories, but at the same time are rich in protein, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, lipids such as omega 3 and omega 6, magnesium, chromium, vitamins C, E and B1, carotene, amino acids, fibre, lutein and germanium.

Eating a dish like this one that is a joy for the eyes, for the palate and for our well-being seems to me the best way to celebrate a very respectable birthday!

Chicken with peppers and goji berries

3.49g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

  • 700g chicken breast
  • 380g yellow, red and green peppers
  • 80g leek
  • 30g goji berries
  • 1 sachet of saffron
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt

Preparation

  1. Soak the goji berries in lukewarm water for 30 minutes.
  2. Cut the chicken into strips, mix with the saffron and leave to season for about 30 minutes.
  3. Cut the leeks into thin rounds and the peppers into strips for sautéing. Heat a wok, pour in a few tablespoons of oil and sauté the leek alone first, then add the peppers; season with salt and cook over a high flame for 5 minutes, stirring often. Set them aside.
  4. Put another 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the wok and stir-fry the chicken for 5-6 minutes, then add the goji berries, season with salt and continue cooking for 1 minute.
  5. Remove the chicken from the heat, mix it with the peppers and serve hot or lukewarm accompanied by a mixed salad.

 

Version with gluten of Chicken with peppers and goji berries

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

 

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

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, cover the bottom with the potatoes, then top with tomato sauce and pitted olives in pieces.
  4. 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.
  5. Serve the potato pizza hot.

pizza-di-patate-olive-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

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.

 

Fonio patties, an ancient gluten free grain

What is this product that not even the Word spellcheck recognises as a term of the English language? It is an ancient gluten free grain that has been cultivated in Africa for over 5,000 years, yet only in 2018 the EFSA published its favourable opinion for the import and sale of this product, which is considered novel food as it has never before entered Europe.

It comes with such small grains that when I received the package to test and taste it, I thought I had been sent a flour!

Fonio is in some ways similar to millet, with an even milder flavour, but less sweet. From a nutritional point of view, it is a small marvel as it is rich in micronutrients, particularly iron and zinc, as well as essential amino acids not found in other cereals or pseudocereals. Its carbohydrate content is 74.4g per 100g of product, so very similar to other cereals, but it has a lower glycaemic index due to the presence of fibre and the absence of simple sugars, making it a valuable ally of ours.

The other element of great interest is the fact that this food grows on arid land with very little need for water, making it ideal for a world in which desertification and water scarcity are becoming increasingly urgent. I have to admit that I also like the idea of adding a new and environmentally sustainable member to the gluten free cereal family.

Fonio in the kitchen

On a purely gastronomic level, my surprise and satisfaction was mildness. These patties are an irresistible finger food and the almost ‘neutral’ taste of fonio, which can be somewhat compared to the ‘neutral’ taste of wheat, makes it suitable for so many preparations: in addition to crackers in which fonio has passed the test with flying colours, my next experiments will be bread and cakes, so I will keep you updated!

While waiting for it to be distributed in the various channels, those of you who want to learn more, taste and experience it, it will soon be on sale directly from the website of Obà Food.

While waiting to try fonio, you can replace it with millet when preparing these patties. Or try my Couscous patties.

Happy experimentation and bon appetit!

Fonio patties

18.82g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 300g previously prepared vegetable stock
  • 100g fonio grains*
  • 100g Delica pumpkin, peeled and with seeds removed
  • 60g ricotta cheese
  • 50g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 50g extra virgin olive oil
  • 50 g breadcrumbs**
  • 40g leek
  • 30g sesame seeds
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for serving Fonio patties

sauces* as desired

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. In a saucepan, sauté the finely chopped leek in a little extra virgin olive oil; as soon as it has browned, add the diced pumpkin, then a ladle of stock and cook over a low flame. When the pumpkin is cooked, mash it with a wooden spoon, then add the remaining stock and throw in the Fonio grains. Let it cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool down.
  2. Once cold, add the egg, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and sesame and mix well; season with salt and pepper, then place in the fridge to cool and firm up for 2 hours (in case you don’t have time, skip the fridge step, but it will be a little more difficult to form the patties because the mixture will be softer; if it is too soft, add a bit of breadcrumbs). Form patties of the desired size: I made patties about 4 cm in diameter. Roll them on a dish containing some extra virgin olive oil, then in a second dish with breadcrumbs so that this adheres well to the surface of the patties.
  3. Place the patties on a baking tin covered with greaseproof paper, drizzle with a little oil and bake in a convection oven preheated to 200°C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  4. Serve the meatballs with sauces to taste, I served them with a mustard flavoured sauce.

polpette-di-fonio-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Fonio patties

Replace the gluten free breadcrumbs with conventional breadcrumbs.

These Salt cod patties are perfect for a meal with family or friends, but are also ideal as finger food to enjoy standing in the garden. They are low in carbohydrates, making them a tasty and easy solution for bringing diabetes and celiac disease to the table.

The recipe is inspired by the patties eaten at the Osteria del baccalà in Vairano Scalo, in the province of Caserta, run by Antonio Ruggiero, a lecturer at the ISISS Marconi hotel school in the same locality, where I had the pleasure of tasting an entire menu based on salt cod, an experience that Antonio describes as “Therapeutic salt cod dinner“.

Starting from the story of Antonio’s preparation, I tried to remake them and I must admit that the result obtained is not very far from the original. The certain difference is that in this recipe they are breaded in corn flour, whereas the original Osteria recipe uses white flour.

Salt cod patties

13.18g carbohydrates per 100g patties without accompanying sauce

 Ingredients for the patties

  • 440g desalted cod
  • 150g boiled potatoes
  • 100g sheep or buffalo ricotta cheese
  • 65g coarse corn flour*
  • 50g milk
  • 35g gluten free white bread**
  • 5g salted capers
  • parsley
  • frying oil
  • salt and pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the accompanying sauce

  • 300g Ciro Flagella tomato sauce
  • 25g triple tomato paste
  • 1 clove garlic
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • dried Crusco pepper or sweet paprika
  • chili
  • salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Cook the desalted cod for 20 minutes in a pan, covering it with equal amounts of water and milk. Remove the skin and any bones and let the cod cool down.
  2. Boil the potatoes, then peel and dice them. Soak the bread in milk.
  3. Prepare the accompanying sauce. Put a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and brown 1 clove of garlic; add the tomato paste and dilute it with a bit of water, then pour in the sauce; season with salt and cook for 15 minutes. Season with chopped Crusco pepper, or paprika, and chilli.
  4. Place the cooked cod in a bowl, crumble it with a fork, then add the diced potatoes, soaked bread, ricotta cheese, chopped capers and parsley and a pinch of pepper. Form small balls of 30g each, roll them in a dish containing a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil so that the corn flour sticks to the surface when rolled on it.
  5. Fry the patties in plenty of peanut oil until golden brown and serve with the spicy tomato sauce.
Polpette di baccalà

Salt cod patties

Version with gluten of Salt cod patties

Replace gluten-free bread with conventional bread in equal amounts.

The summer heat is here and our solution to fully enjoy the days outdoors is a fresh and complete recipe: Couscous with prawn and courgette curry.

In this way, you have a unique, tasty dish that is perfect for satisfying a craving for good food without weighing you down and for travelling eastwards with flavours. For your summer, you can also try this Swordfish salad.

The tip: prepare some extra, it will be great even the day after!

Couscous with prawn and courgette curry

Couscous 35g carbohydrates per 100g

Prawn and courgette sauce 4.12g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 500g courgettes
  • 500g milk
  • 400g peeled and deveined prawns
  • 300g water
  • 250 g couscous Bia gluten free**
  • 30g shallot
  • 2 heaped tablespoons of grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp curry
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. First prepare the couscous. Put 300g of water in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and heat it, without bringing it to the boil. Pour the couscous into a bowl and cover it with hot water; let it rest for the time necessary to allow all the water to be absorbed and the curry to set.
  2. Put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan and brown the finely chopped shallot. Add curry and turmeric, and toast for one minute before adding the courgettes cut into sticks half a centimetre in diameter and 4cm long. Let it season for a few minutes, then cover with milk, add salt and pepper and let it cook for about ten minutes. At this point, sprinkle with grated coconut, add the peeled and deveined prawns, stir the mixture well and let it cook for a few minutes.
  3. In the meantime, shell the couscous, add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste.
  4. Serve by placing 3 heaped tablespoons of couscous in the centre of a deep dish and the hot prawn and courgette curry sauce all around.
  5. Watch the videorecipe of a very similar preparation.

cous-cous-senza-glutine-uno-che-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Couscous with prawn and courgette curry

Simply replace the gluten-free couscous with a standard couscous, all other ingredients are naturally gluten free.