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Cold recipes for hot summers: Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

Since the heat does not leave us this summer, I am constantly looking for cold recipes that can satisfy the palate, be healthy and above all be pleasantly refreshing, which is why I propose the Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons, this time paired with a fantastic wine!

In fact, a dear friend who knows my passion for wines gave me a bottle of Viognier Linea Ars Magna by Omina Romana vintage 2017, for which I wanted to create an ad hoc recipe. So here is my pairing because its intense and complex bouquet of aromatic herbs goes perfectly with the sweet scent of peppers, enlivened by the savouriness of anchovies and slivers of 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese that masterfully reflect the mineral note that the wine draws from the volcanic soils where the vines grow.

The recipe is rich in fibre thanks to the peppers and lentils, it is also an excellent source of vitamins, the anchovies provide us with Omega 3, and the 36-month Parmesan cheese not only allows us to get calcium, but also makes the recipe suitable for those who are intolerant to dairy proteins: in short, a “supplement recipe”  as my friend Alessandra Bosetti, clinical dietician at the Buzzi Hospital in Milan, would call it, just like the Venere rice towers with almond cream and tomatoes.

When staying in the city while others are on holiday, the best way to treat oneself to a few moments of pleasure and relaxation is to indulge in good food and a glass of wine of those that remain in the memory file like photos taken in summer.

Omina romanaViognier

Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

12.74g carbohydrates per 100g of Cream of peppers and lentils without croutons

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1kg bell peppers (2 red and 2 yellow)
  • 100g hulled lentils
  • 2 slices of gluten-free wholemeal bread**
  • 30g Parmigiano Reggiano 36 months old
  • 4 anchovy fillets in oil
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • chili
  • salt and pepper
  • edible flowers for decoration

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation of Cream of peppers and lentils

  1. Clean the peppers, cut them in half, remove the stalk, seeds and white filaments, then cut them into quarters and place in the oven under the grill at 200°C until the skin is slightly dark. Seal the peppers in a paper bag and, when cold, peel and set them aside.
  2. Boil the lentils in lightly salted water until cooked: with hulled lentils it will take about 15 minutes. Drain and leave them to cool.
  3. Place a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, melt the anchovies drained from oil and when melted, add the diced wholemeal bread and toast it well on all sides.
  4. Now prepare the cream by putting the peeled peppers and lentils in a blender and when you have obtained a smooth and even cream, add salt, pepper and chilli.
  5. Divide the cold cream into 4 bowls, sprinkle the surface with Parmesan shavings and the anchovy croutons, then top with edible flowers.

crema di peperoni e lenticchie

Version with gluten of Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

For the gluten-free version of the recipe, replace the gluten-free wholemeal bread with standard bread.

 

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Gluten-free from the world: Dominican salad

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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.

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Turkey meatballs with Porcini mushrooms

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We are in the middle of the mushroom season, a foodstuff with intense aromas that can give that extra touch to even the simplest of dishes.
Today we are preparing them with meat and, precisely, with the food we consider to be ‘the favourite of young and old’: here is how to prepare delicious Turkey meatballs with porcini mushrooms.

And if you love meatballs, enjoy the “Meat balls and patties” section.

Turkey meatballs with Porcini mushrooms

1.8g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 550g minced turkey meat
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 20g breadcrumbs**
  • 1 egg
  • 5g dried Porcini mushrooms
  • 5g salt
  • extra virgin olive oil

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Soak the dried mushrooms in lukewarm water.
    Meanwhile, place the ground turkey meat in a bowl, add the egg, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and mix well. Remove the soaked mushrooms from the water and save the water for cooking the meatballs.
  2. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces, add them to the meat, season with salt and mix again. Form patties and place them in a non-stick frying pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil; brown them on both sides, then add the mushroom soaking water, put the lid on and cook the patties. After about 20 minutes, if a lot of liquid is present, remove the lid and brown the meatballs before serving.

ricetta-polpette-di-tacchino-ai-porcini-ph.-chiara-marando

Version with gluten of Turkey meatballs with Porcini mushrooms

Replace the gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs.

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