Tag Archive for: carboidrati

Gluten-free baking: Desert roses

You know those old-fashioned sweets, the ones that smell of good food and tradition? We love them and thought we would prepare a simple but very tasty recipe, biscuits that are a temptation to enjoy on their own or to accompany tea: gluten-free Desert Roses.

Their shape is unmistakable, their texture crispy and their taste delicately enveloping, in short, they are perfect for breakfast or a snack during the day, perhaps even accompanied by tea or coffee. Have a look also at my Coffee biscuits if you want to enrich your choice!

If you are short on time and do not like to cut biscuits, this is definitely the right recipe for you.

Desert Roses

48.5g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 80g almonds, peeled
  • 70 g organic cornflakes Sarchio**
  • 60g raisins
  • 50g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 50g corn starch*
  • 50g sugar
  • 45 g butter
  • 1 egg
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • 4g baking powder*
  • a pinch of salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water.
  2. In a food processor, grind the almonds to a floury mixture, then add the flour, corn starch, butter, egg, vanilla, salt, sugar and baking powder; mix to incorporate all ingredients well. Finally, add the squeezed raisins.
  3. Pour the cornflakes onto a sheet of baking paper. With a teaspoon, take an amount of dough the size of a large walnut and roll it over the cornflakes so that they adhere to the surface.
  4. Place the desert roses on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and bake them in a static oven preheated to 180° for about 20 minutes.
Rose del deserto senza glutine

Gluten free desert roses

Version with gluten of Desert roses

Replace the BiAglut flour with 50g wheat flour and use standard cornflakes.

 

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Salt cod patties

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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.

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Couscous with prawn and courgette curry

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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.

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Gluten-free apple strudel

There are desserts that go well in any season, delighting not only in their flavour but also in their aromas. Gluten-free apple strudel is one such desserts: healthy, spicy and irresistibly flavoured. If you love apples, don’t miss this Soft apple and cinnamon cake.

Gluten-free apple strudel is easy to prepare, great to taste and… quick to bake. So, no fear of the heat in the house, it will only take a little effort to bake an extremely tempting dessert that can possibly be accompanied by a few spoonfuls of cinnamon-flavoured Greek yoghurt.

Gluten-free apple strudel

34.53g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the dough

  • 300g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 100g water
  • 75g butter
  • 40g seed oil
  • 30g sugar

Ingredients for the filling

  • 900g Granny Smith apples (weight of apples to be peeled)
  • 70g raisins
  • 50g pine nuts
  • 50g breadcrumbs**
  • 30g brown sugar
  • 25g rum
  • 20g sugar
  • 1/2 lemon
  • cinnamon powder

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation of Gluten free apple strudel

  1. For the puff pastry, knead all the ingredients until you obtain a soft, even dough. Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for the time needed to prepare the filling.
  2. Soak the raisins in rum. Peel the apples, remove the core and cut them into very thin slices. Sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon, add sugar, pine nuts, cinnamon and finally the raisins with rum.
  3. Stir well and leave for about ten minutes.
  4. Roll out the dough very thinly to form a rectangle of at least 45×35. Sprinkle with some of the breadcrumbs, leaving about 4 cm free around the perimeter of the rectangle. Place the apple filling in the middle of the rectangle without pouring the liquid. Sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs, then close the rectangle over the apples to form a cylinder: don’t be alarmed if it seems like a lot, just try to close the strudel and you’ll see that, once cooked, the quantity of apples will be perfect!
  5. Brush the cylinder well with the apple maceration liquid made of rum and lemon, then bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 45 minutes. In case the strudel does not brown, raise the temperature to 200° for the last 15 minutes.
Strudel di mele sugar light

Apple strudel ready to be eaten

Version with gluten of Apple strudel

Replace the gluten-free flour and breadcrumbs with conventional products and in the dough reduce the amount of water to 80g and the amount of seed oil to 35g.

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Travelling to South America: Pao de queijo

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Pao de queijo or cheese bread is typical throughout South America, with some interesting regional variations that define its distinctiveness. The key element, however, is that it is prepared with naturally gluten free flours.

In many cases it is fried rather than baked, but it is always extremely rich and tasty, so much so that it can be eaten not only with other foods, but also on its own as a snack.

It is also extremely easy to prepare, so it can be a solution when we do not have the time to prepare a leavened bread. Another bread idea if you do not have time for leavening is this Yoghurt flat bread.

Pao de queijo

37.95g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 300g milk
  • 265g quinoa flour*
  • 150g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 130g rice oil
  • 80g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 60g rice starch*
  • 2 eggs
  • 5g salt

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

Preparation

  1. Put the milk, oil and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and add all the starch and flours to the liquids, stirring with a wooden spoon: the mixture will be firm leaving the saucepan sides clean.
  2. Let the mixture cool, then add one egg at a time and finally the grated Parmesan cheese. Finish mixing the ingredients well by placing the dough on a cutting board and, when it is perfectly homogeneous, form into small loaves about 4 cm in diameter. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 30 minutes.
  3. Cheese bread can be eaten warm or cold.
ricetta-senza-glutine-pao-de-queijo-uno-chef-per-gaia

Cheese bread ready for a snack

Version with gluten of Pao de queijo

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

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Risotto or salt cod? Salt cod risotto

Risotto or salt cod? 

The anser for me is Salt cod Risotto! A few weeks ago I went to Vairano Scalo in the province of Caserta. Before the trip, I had imagined that I would taste wonderful buffalo mozzarella, fantastic artichokes, a long-awaited saffron, but never did I think I would eat salt cod in all its possible preparations!

Yet it is in this very village in Campania that you will find the Osteria del Baccalà where Antonio Ruggiero enchants everyone with the magic he can create with this extraordinary ingredient. And you know what? The experience with his salt cod is so good for the health and good mood that Antonio calls the dinner in his osteria a ‘therapeutic salt cod dinner‘! And I

Well, on those very same days, I read on the page of the Italian Food Bloggers Association that some colleagues from Veneto had organised a contest dedicated to Veneto and risotto entitled: “How do you cream it?” The connection was straight! The recent experience of salt cod and my beloved Veneto could only make me prepare a risotto that combines two of my favourite dishes: so here is my Salt cod risotto.

E-tu-come-lo-mantechi

Any other pleasant coincidences? The fact that I had gone to Vairano to prepare a risotto for the students of the ISISS Marconi hospitality school and that this is the season of asparagus, of which Veneto is a famous producer. I thought it was a bit daring, but since everyone at home liked this risotto, here is the recipe for you to try it too!

Salt cod risotto

23g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • approx. 1.5 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
  • 360g Carnaroli rice
  • 200g desalted cod
  • 200g milk
  • 16green asparagus
  • 60g Prosecco from a winery of your choice
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 60g extra virgin olive oil
  • 30g spring onion
  • 30g fresh cream
  • 4 g parsley
  • 1 clove garlic
  • salt

Preparation

  1. Cook the cod covered in water and milk with the garlic clove for about 20 minutes.
  2. Remove the skin, garlic and any bones, then place the cod in a blender with the washed parsley leaves. Start blending by adding 50g of oil in a trickle, as if you were whipping mayonnaise. Also add the cream while continuing to whip and finally add salt to taste.
  3. Prepare the asparagus. Wash them, remove the woody ends, then separate the tips from the rest. Place the tips in a non-stick pan with a little oil and let them soften, then season with salt and set aside. In a saucepan, pour 10g of oil and the chopped spring onion, allow it to soften, then add the asparagus spears, allow them to take on flavour for a few minutes, then cover with water and cook. Once cooked, blend the asparagus to a perfectly smooth, stringless cream. Set it aside.
  4. Now let’s prepare the rice. Dry-toast the rice in a large pan (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Add Prosecco and allow to evaporate stirring until you can no longer smell the wine alcohol. 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 start adding the creamed salt cod, continuing to stir 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. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
  5. Plate the risotto: with the help of a piping bottle or pastry bag, place little tufts of asparagus cream on the surface and 4 asparagus tips on each plate.
  6. Serve the risotto and enjoy!

Risotto-al-baccala-uno-che-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Salt cod risotto

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

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Gluten-free olive buns

Bread represents the greatest challenge in the world of gluten free and the pleasure of variety of shapes and flavours is central to the experience. Olive buns are a moment of joy for us because they are one of my son Nicolò’s favourite breads and he loves them so much!

Olive buns are also perfect as a school snack or garden party, but they add a touch of flavour and colour to the bread basket that I love to put on the table whenever possible with as much variety as possible: white bread, dark bread seed bread, cheese bread and so on and so forth!

So, let’s knead!

Olive buns

43.5g carbohydrates per 100 g

Ingredients

  • 370g water
  • 250g pitted green and black olives
  • 220g flour mix for bread, brand Schär B**
  • 150g gluten-free flour, brand Revolution**
  • 150g flour mix for bread, brand Pedon Easyglut**
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 12g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • extra virgin olive oil to brush the surface
  • rice flour* for dusting

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Place water and crumbled yeast in a bowl or food processor and stir for a few seconds to dissolve the yeast. Add all the flours, salt and oil, then knead until you have a homogeneous and firm mixture that can be rolled out with a rolling pin.
  2. Divide the mixture in half and roll out each half with the help of a little rice flour to form a rectangle about 40cm long and 25-30cm wide.
  3. Place the sliced green and black olives, slightly offset from the centre of the rectangle lengthwise. Cover the olives with the dough to form a roll.
  4. Cut the roll into pieces of about 10cm. Place them on a sheet of parchment paper, leaving them far enough apart to allow them to rise. Brush the surface with olive oil and leave to rise for at least 1 hour. Bake in a convection oven preheated to 200°C for 20 minutes.

panini-alle-olive-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Olive buns

Prepare the dough with 500g wheat flour and 250g water.

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The traditional Bishop’s cake in my gluten-free version

Torta del Vescovo (Bishop’s Cake ) is typical of the towns in the province of Parma and the name is intended to recall its importance. Indeed, while the plum jam tart is perhaps one of the classics par excellence, given the popularity of the Plum trees in this area, in the past chocolate was a rather rare ingredient and therefore reserved for special occasion desserts (such as a Valentine’s Day Sacher?).

Well, as the name suggests, this cake used to be prepared when the bishop travelled to provincial towns to celebrate the confirmation of children: in its simplicity, the contrast between jam and chocolate makes it a real treat.

Another cake? Try this with fresh fruit.

Bishop’s cake

48.83g carbohydrates with cake basted with

70g fruit juice, no liquor

Ingredients for the dough

  • 300g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 150g butter
  • 100g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 100g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 g baking powder*
  • a pinch of salt
  • milk

Ingredients for filling and coating

  • 450g plum jam with no added sugar*
  • 150g dark chocolate with no added sugar*
  • 80g fresh cream
  • 20g butter
  • rum and other dessert liqueurs*, water syrup and/or fruit juice

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Prepare the shortcrust pastry in the traditional way, i.e. by mixing all the ingredients until a compact and homogenous dough is obtained. If necessary, add one or two tablespoons of milk to obtain the right texture. Cover the pastry with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for about ten minutes.
  2. With the help of a sheet of parchment paper, roll out a little more than half of the shortcrust pastry to form a disk to cover a baking tin about 26cm in diameter, leaving the edges slightly high so that they can be folded well once the cake is filled.
  3. Stuff the pastry with jam and cover with a second disc, trim the edges if they are too high and fold them inwards using a fork to press them down well so that the jam does not spill out during baking.
  4. Bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 30 minutes or anyway until lightly browned. Let the cake cool completely.
  5. Prepare a syrup with about 70g water and a tablespoon of sugar, or a few drops of sweetener (alternatively use the same amount of fruit juice), add the liqueurs and leave to cool.
  6. With a toothpick, pierce the surface of the cake, then use a brush to wet it well with the syrup-liquor mixture.
  7. Melt the chocolate with the cream on a very gentle heat, or in the microwave, then add the butter, mix well and coat the surface of the cake perfectly.
La torta del vescovo: una crostata con marmellata di prugne ricoperta di cioccolato

Bishop’s cake: a tart with chocolate-covered plum jam

Version with gluten of Bishop’s cake

When preparing the pastry, replace the 300g of gluten-free flour and 100g of rice flour with 400g of standard cake flour.

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Gluten-free Sbrisolona almond cake

In the Emilian and Mantuan tradition, it is one of the most popular desserts, the perfect end to a meal to be savoured piece by piece, perhaps accompanied by a delicate cream or, for the greediest and most traditionalists, with sabayon. Fragrant, crispy and crumbly: this is my gluten-free Sbrisolona, the cake that is best enjoyed down to the last crumb.

Compared to more traditional Sbrisolona recipes, this gluten-free version contains less butter and fewer eggs to make it more diabetes-friendly without taking away the richness of its flavour and inimitable texture: remember to break it up with your hands so that the pieces are uneven and form crumbs… which everyone will try to grab!

Preparing it is so simple that you will find yourself making it whenever you have guests and little time. And if you like crumbs, don’t miss the Oat and ricotta crumble.

Gluten-free Sbrisolona

55.2g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 250g almonds (of which 150g with peel and 100g peeled)
  • 250g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 170g butter
  • 150g coarse corn flour*
  • 150g sugar
  • 50g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 2 eggs
  • grated rind of 1 lemon

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Chop the almonds very coarsely, leaving some whole.
  2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
  3. Cover a round baking tin 30-32cm in diameter with parchment paper, pour the mixture onto it and spread it out with your hands in an even layer. Finally, bake in a convection oven preheated to 160°C for about 35 minutes.
  4. Once cooled, break it up with your hands into nice irregular pieces.
sbrisolona-senza-glutine-ph-chiara-marando

Gluten-free Sbrisolona

Version with gluten of Sbrisolona

Replace the gluten free Biaglut flour with an equal amount of wheat flour.

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Turkey meatballs with saffron

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Our much-loved meatballs are back on the table with these Turkey meatballs with saffron, the perfect dish to please young and old alike. Why? Simply because they contain the right nutrients, they can be prepared with vegetables and have that nice shape typical of goodies that are eaten one after the other.

Meatballs are also a practical solution for household supplies: when you make them, you can make extra amounts and, once cooked, you can put them in the home freezer to have them ready in minutes in case of emergency. You can defrost them first in the microwave oven and then heat them in a non-stick pan, or simply wait for them to defrost and heat directly on the stove.

Today’s proposal is a light, delicate and lightly spiced recipe: Turkey meatballs with saffron.

Prepare your shopping list with these ingredients and fire up the cooker… let’s get started!

Turkey meatballs with saffron

6.9g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 6 servings

  • 700g ground turkey meat
  • 450g milk
  • 250g leek
  • 100g robiola cheese
  • 80g breadcrumbs**
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1 sachet of saffron
  • rice flour*, extra virgin olive oil, salt, herbs

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Chop the leek very finely and sweat it in a non-stick pan with a little oil.
  2. Place the minced meat in a bowl, add the stewed leek, season with salt and add the Parmesan, robiola cheese, breadcrumbs, egg and chopped herbs, then mix well.
  3. Form patties 3-4 cm in diameter, roll them in rice flour and brown them on both sides in a non-stick pan with a little oil. Now dissolve the saffron in the milk, add a little salt and pour it over the meatballs. Cover and cook, allowing the saffron sauce to thicken well.

polpettine-di-tacchino-allo-zafferano-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Turkey meatballs with saffron

Replace gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs.

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