Posts

20 di cambiamento: Ricotta and lentil tart

,

The Ricotta and Lentil Tart is the start of a wonderful journey in the company of a blogger friend, Aura from the blog www.aurasenzaelle.comduring which we will accompany you to discover the regions of our enchanting Italy with an itinerary of trekking and typical dishes.

The ’20 di cambiamento’ project

My friend Aura’s project is called ‘20 di cambiamento‘ and is a tour throughout Italy divided into weekends. I summarise it in 4 points, but you can read the full description in this article:

  • One visit in each of the 20 Italian regions;
  • One trek in each of the 20 visits;
  • A different person for each of the 20 visits to act as a guide to connect with that place;
  • A virtuous local company (for sustainability, environmental commitment, production respecting the land) to be visited, supported and promoted.

This is where I come in with the recipes of the dishes that you will find if you travel to that region and that you can then reproduce at home, in gluten or gluten free versions and with a carbohydrate count, to relive the experience also through taste.

The first stop

The journey starts from a region, Umbria, which is often not at the top of the list of those visiting Italy, but which is a jewel for its historical and monumental wealth (just think of Assisi), for its natural beauty (and here you can enjoy this trek) and an unexpected source of culinary specialities.

La Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi

Umbria owes much of its identity to the presence of the monastic orders that attracted the faithful from all over Europe. And it was precisely the pilgrims who had a very significant influence on the cuisine of the area because of the need they had to carry food in their saddle bags that could be stored easily. It is no coincidence that roasted meats, cured meats, Schiacciate (flat bread) and Polenta, desserts prepared with nuts, but above all pulses are the mainstay of traditional regional cuisine.

The widespread use of herbs for both cooking and curative purposes is also linked to the presence of religious orders with the liturgical calendar often imposing ‘lean’ periods during which herbs were used to replace fragrant, rich meats.

In addition to truffles, fish from Lake Transimeno and wines, here is a list of Umbria’s PGI and PDO products:

  • Extra virgin olive oil PDO
  • Spelt from Monteleone di Spoleto PDO (which we eating ‘gluten free’ cannot use)
  • Colfiorito red potato PGI
  • Prosciutto di Norcia PGI
  • Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale PGI
  • Lamb of Central Italy PGI
  • Pecorino Toscano PDO
  • Italian Salamini alla Cacciatora PDO
  • Lentil of Castelluccio di Norcia PGI

The first recipe

The first recipe (see also the second recipe!) that I want to share with you starts from the flower fields of Castelluccio di Norcia where lentils are harvested in summer after flowering, between May and the end of June, next to a multitude of wild flowers that make the phenomenon an enchanting and unique attraction.

La fioritura a Castellucchio di Norcia

The flowering of Castelluccio di Norcia (photo: Aura Moia)

The Castelluccio lentil is small, round and has a thin skin so that it does not have to be soaked to cook it. This pulse was one of the main sources of sustenance for the shepherds of the area, who combined it with the other ingredients offered by sheep farming. This is the origin of the Ricotta and lentil tart, a cake where lentils replace chocolate chips in a delicious way. I wanted to prepare this recipe because for those of us who do not live in Castelluccio, eating lentils as a dessert is certainly less common than the wonderful soups that, here, are often flavoured by the presence of pork.

Zafferano di Cascia dell'Associazione Zafferano Purissimo dell'Umbria

Cascia saffron of the Associazione Zafferano Purissimo dell’Umbria (phooto: Aura Moia)

Another small but pleasant discovery: the ricotta and lentil tart can be made even more delicious by flavouring the ricotta with Cascia Saffron – Pure Umbria Saffron another of the jewels of small family farms whose economy is linked to the production and direct sale of saffron and the other products they grow, such as lentils, grass peas, spelt, Roveja (do you know it? It will be the star of the next Umbrian recipe) and cheese. I tried it using the yellow gold of the Zafferano e Dintorni company which I recommend you to try by going there as soon as you can or by ordering it directly from their website.

Gli ingredienti del ripieno della Crostata di ricotta e lenticchie

Ricotta and lentil tart   

36.61g carbohydrates per 100g

 Ingredients for the pastry for a 20cm diameter tart

  • 125g GF flour mix for sweets, brand Sarchio**
  • 50g butter
  • 50g brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 15g brown rice flour*
  • ½ lemon, peel
  • a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling

  • 400g sheep’s milk ricotta
  • 60g sugar
  • 40g Castelluccio lentils*
  • sweetener* or sugar
  • cinnamon powder

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Prepare the shortcrust pastry (of course you can also use other recipes for shortcrust pastry); pour the powders (flour and sugar) into a mixing bowl or planetary mixer, add the butter and start to knead it into the powders, then add the egg, the grated peel of half a lemon and a pinch of salt. Mix until the mixture is smooth, then place it in the refrigerator wrapped in cling film while you prepare the lentils and the filling.
  2. Place the lentils on a plate and make sure they do not contain other pulses or cereals, then rinse them well and place them in a saucepan with water and a bit of sweetener (I used Tic) or a teaspoon of sugar. Bring to the boil and cook the lentils for 15 minutes. Drain them and keep them aside.
  3. Put ricotta cheese in a bowl, add sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and the drained lentils.
  4. Roll out the shortcrust pastry into a thin disc; I used a 20cm diameter perforated metal ring to cut the base on a perforated silicone mat and then I covered the ring to form a pastry shell for the tart; alternatively, cover a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Fill the pastry with the ricotta and lentil filling and bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 30 minutes. Let it cool and serve.
  5. Bake in a static oven preheated to 170°C for 45 minutes.

La Crostata di ricotta e lenticchie con gli ingredienti per il ripieno

Version with gluten of Ricotta and lentil tart

Use a standard shortcrust pastry, whereas the filling is prepared with naturally gluten free ingredients, so no other adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

 

/0 Comments/by

Stuffed picnic baguettes

,

Stuffed baguettes are a great idea not only for a picnic, but also for a lunch at work. Unlike what you may think, a sandwich can be healthy and complete, as well as tasty, as in this recipe full of fresh vegetables. These Stuffed picnic baguettes are therefore a solution for young and old, and for all tastes!

If you decide to take them for lunch at the office or for a picnic and you don’t have time to prepare fresh bread, you can freeze the loaves and stuff them as soon as they have softened slightly after taking them out of the freezer, so when it is time to eat them, they will still be soft and fragrant.

The other feature I love about stuffed baguettes is that they have a hearty and succulent filling, but because of the way they are prepared, they are easy to transport and store and the risk of dirtying the basket or other container you put them in is reduced.

And the stuffing? Have fun, dear friends, this is just one idea among thousands possible!

Stuffed picnic baguettes

65.81g carbohydrates per 100g unstuffed baguette

Ingredients for the baguette starter dough

  • 400g water
  • 330g flour mix for bread, brand Caputo Fioreglut**
  • 170g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 5g brewer’s yeast

Ingredients for the baguette dough

  • 200g flour mix for bread, brand Nutrifree**
  • 110g water
  • 50g buckwheat flour*
  • 40g milk
  • 10g brewer’s yeast
  • 10g salt
  • brown rice flour* for dusting
  • extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for stuffing

  • 9 slices of Primosale cheese
  • 9 lettuce leaves
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 avocado
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • tuna in oil (optional)
  • salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil to taste

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

    1. Knead the ingredients for the starter dough to obtain an even mixture; place it in a large bowl, cover it with cling film and place it in the refrigerator to rise for 12 hours.
    2. Take the starter dough and mix it with all the ingredients for the dough; knead well, if possible in a planetary mixer, then cover again with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
    3. Place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board and divide it into 9 pieces.
    4. Flatten each piece into a rectangle of about 10x15cm, roll it from the short side to form a cylinder; brush the mini-baguettes with extra virgin olive oil.
    5. Let the mini-baguettes rise for another 30 minutes, then bake them in a convection oven preheated to 200°C for about 35 minutes.
    6. Let the mini-baguettes cool down and prepare the avocado sauce. Put the pulp of a ripe avocado in a blender, add the juice of half a lemon, a small tuft of chopped parsley, salt and pepper, then blend to a smooth, even sauce.
    7. Take the mini-baguettes, cut them in half, remove the crumb from both halves and start stuffing the lower half of the baguette.
    8. Come tagliare le baguetteCome svuotare le baguetteBaguette svuotate pronte per essere farcite
  2. Put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the lower half, a pinch of salt, a grinding of pepper; form a layer with a slice of tomato, cover it with the avocado cream, place a slice of Primosale on top, put another layer of avocado sauce and a slice of tomato.
  3. Now take the top of the mini-baguette without crumb, lightly drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil and flavour with a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper. Cut a slice of lettuce into strips and compress it well inside the baguette cavity; if you decide to put tuna fish, place it on top of the lettuce; close the mini-baguette and seal it with a string or foil so that it is tight.
  4. Let the mini-baguettes rest tightly sealed until ready to eat, when you can cut them in half to see the contents and be able to bite into them easily.

Baguette farcite

Version with gluten

For the starter dough, replace the Caputo flour and rice flour with a bread or pizza flour and mix it with 275g water; for the dough, replace the Nutrifree flour and buckwheat flour with 100g water without adding milk.

 

/0 Comments/by

Grandma’s Bundt cake

,

Who doesn’t have a Grandma’s Bundt cake to remember? I think nobody. Every family has a recipe to which their memories are attached. I have the memory of the huge Bundt cake that my grandmother used to make every week to sell in slices in the local coffee shop she owned when I was still very young.

And do you know what was the most popular way to consume it? In the morning in your cappuccino or in the evening after dinner dipped in a glass of sparkling Malvasia dei Colli di Parma.

The other special feature I remember about that cake was its baking, which was done in the Dutch oven, as the only other oven we had was the huge wood-burning oven that was only heated when bread was made for the week.

My version of Grandma’s Bundt cake is definitely lighter and in line with our needs, although my grandmother used corn and potato starch for this cake, but to these she added a lot of butter, which I replaced with seed oil and almond flour. See here how to prepare it.

I also like to use the doughnut as a dessert at the end of a meal, and if we don’t want to dunk it in wine as traditionally, I like to accompany it with a cream so that it doesn’t turn out too dry, for example a lemon-flavoured custard, some melted dark chocolate, or, since we are now expecting the warm weather, a scoop of ice cream for a little refreshment.

Grandma’s Bundt cake     

46.72g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 140g brown sugar and coconut sugar together
  • 125g rice cream*
  • 100g corn starch*
  • 100g potato starch*
  • 100g grapeseed oil
  • 100g ground almonds to make a flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 16g baking powder
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • stack spray*
  • grated lemon zest

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

Preparation

  1. Whip sugar with eggs in a planetary mixer until white and frothy.
  2. Gradually add the other ingredients while continuing to mix and in this order: flour, almonds, rice cream, seed oil, baking powder and salt. Season the mixture with grated lemon zest, or vanilla or cinnamon to taste.
  3. Spray the Bundt cake mould with suitable stack spray (or butter and flour the mould, using lactose-free butter if you are lactose intolerant) and pour the mixture into it, levelling out. As a variation, you can take a few spoonfuls of the dough and add cocoa that has been diluted in coconut or almond milk so that no lumps form, and drop the chocolate mixture randomly into the mould containing the white mixture to make a variegated cake.
  4. Bake in a static oven preheated to 170°C for 35 minutes.
  5. Take the doughnut out of the oven and let it cool. You can serve the doughnut as it is, dusted with just a pinch of icing sugar, or you can top it with a bit of melted dark chocolate, lemon icing or any other cream you like.

Version with gluten

The recipe is naturally gluten-free, so no adaptations are needed.

/0 Comments/by

Torta soffice di mele e cannella

,

In addition to bread and jam, one of my favourite breakfasts is with Soft apple and cinnamon cake, although I love any baked desserts made with this fruit that accompanies us all year round and which – especially at this time of spring when we are waiting for the great gifts of the warm season in terms of fruit – is one of the few seasonal products of Italian origin.

Although I like all apple desserts, for breakfast soft cakes are definitely the ones I enjoy the most, combining them with yoghurt, granola and my ever-present strong coffee: a pampering that I find really indispensable to get the day off to a good start.

I suggest you use cinnamon in the recipe, do you know why? Have you ever wondered why in all cultures of the world there are so many sweets containing cinnamon? This is by no means a coincidence.

In fact, this spice slows down gastric emptying time, which also slows down the absorption of blood sugar immediately after meals, i.e. cinnamon has a ‘hypoglycaemic’ function. This does not mean that the consumption of cinnamon can be considered a therapy for diabetes, but there are numerous studies showing its favourable effect on blood glucose control in people with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes (for some more information, you can read this article). So in addition to giving our preparations an unmistakable aroma, cinnamon also has a positive effect on our well-being!

Torta soffice di mele e cannella

Soft apple and cinnamon cake

 Soft apple and cinnamon cake   

40.10g carbohydrates per 100g

 Ingredients

  • 350g Granny Smith or rennet apples already cleaned and peeled (2 apples)
  • 200g brown sugar (+ 20g for sprinkling, optional)
  • 125g low fat plain yoghurt
  • 100g gluten free multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 100g corn starch*
  • 80g almond flour*
  • 70g butter
  • 30g coconut milk*
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 lemon
  • 16g baking powder*
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • cinnamon powder

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Peel and core the apples and sprinkle them with the juice of half a lemon so that they do not get dark.
  2. In a planetary mixer, whip the eggs with the brown sugar until white and frothy, then add the creamy butter, vanilla and the powder ingredients, i.e. almond flour, corn starch and the Massimo Zero mix; add the yoghurt, a pinch of salt and finally the baking powder and coconut milk. Remove the mixture from the planetary mixer and complete with grated lemon zest.
  3. Wet a sheet of baking paper and line a 24cm-diameter hinged cake tin. Pour in the mixture, level it and start covering it with the sliced apples, creating a pattern on the surface so that all the apples are used.
  4. To complete and if you wish, mix 30g brown sugar with a teaspoon of cinnamon, then sprinkle the apples with the mixture before placing the cake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes.
  5. Remove the cake from the oven, allow it to cool, then take it out of the mould, remove the baking paper and place it on a cake tin. Watch the video recipe!

Version with gluten of Soft apple and cinnamon cake

Replace the Massimo Zero flour mix with an equal amount of conventional cake flour and do not add 30g of coconut milk.

/0 Comments/by

Flaxseed dark bread

,

I had promised you a journey into gluten free bread, so the must stop is this Flaxseed dark bread. In addition to using a preparation rich in fibre and sunflower seeds, I thought I would also add flax seeds to benefit from all the qualities they contain. Taking care of oneself by eating good bread seems a good solution to me.

Flaxseeds are rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids, promote the expulsion of LDL cholesterol and promote the synthesis of HDL good cholesterol, thus preventing the onset of cardio-vascular diseases. They also help control triglycerides, keeping arteries clean and regulating blood pressure. And finally, they contain vitamins B, vitamins C and E, minerals and essential fatty acids: in short, real natural food supplements.

The important thing to emphasise is that in order to be able to digest flaxseeds and thus reap their full benefits, it is essential to break and/or blend them as their extremely hard outer part makes it impossible to digest them if swallowed whole.

At this point, let’s start kneading and wait for the house to fill with the unmistakable fragrance of freshly made bread. Watch the video recipe here.

Le pagnotte di pane nero con i semi di lino

The loaves of dark bread with linseeds

Flaxseed dark bread  

40.37g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 450g gluten free wholemeal bread flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 370g water
  • 40g linseeds* (soak in 100g water)
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 17g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • brown rice flour* for dusting
  • extra virgin olive oil to brush the surface

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Soak the linseed in 100g of water, let it soak for about ten minutes and whisk it lightly.
  2. Pour the dark bread mix into the bowl of the planetary mixer, add the blended flaxseeds then mix for a few minutes at low speed.
  3. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in the lukewarm water and pour into the planetary mixer. Mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes, then add salt and oil and mix for a few more minutes. When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, stop the planetary mixer and place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board.
  4. Again with the help of a little brown rice flour, flatten the dough slightly and let it rise, i.e. pre-rise, directly on the cutting board for about 15 minutes.
  5. With the help of a rasp, divide the dough into two parts, lightly roll each half to form a sort of cylinder and put it to rise in a rising basket in a warm place for about 1.5 hours.
  6. Once the bread has risen, tip the two loaves onto a baking tray covered with baking paper or a perforated silicone mat. Brush the surface with extra virgin olive oil, make a cross cut and bake in a static oven preheated to 230°C for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200°C, then bake, leaving the bread in the oven for a further 35 minutes, checking the bread because the baking time varies slightly depending on the oven.
  7. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool before cutting it.

Version with gluten of Linseed dark bread

Replace the Massimo Zero wholemeal bread with Petra 9 flour or QB Multicereale flour and mix it with 300g water instead of 370g.

/0 Comments/by

Assortment of white bread

,

During National Coeliac Disease Week, I couldn’t help but share a recipe for a wonderful gluten-free assortment of white bread, the food that is the main challenge in the daily lives of those who cannot eat gluten.

My choice went to a fibre-rich preparation, Preparato Universale per prodotti da forno Massimo Zero, because fibre is a valuable ally in controlling blood sugar levels when we consume gluten free bread, which is generally high in carbohydrates and low in fibre.

While the presence of fibre in the mixture is very useful from a nutritional point of view, it makes it slightly ‘harder’ to work with, so having a kneading machine or robot at hand makes the task easier and ensures really good results.

This is precisely why I thought that sharing a video recipe could be extremely useful to prepare a tasty bread without any difficulty. So enjoy viewing and cooking!

Assortment of white bread  

44.19g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 500g gluten free multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 240g water
  • 240g milk
  • 50g mixed seeds* (to be soaked in 50g water)
  • 40g extra virgin olive oil
  • 17g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • brown rice flour* for dusting
  • extra virgin olive oil to brush the surface
  • water to soak the mixed seeds

Preparation

  1. Put the mixed seeds in a small bowl and barely cover them with water, then let them rest while you knead the bread so that they completely absorb the liquid.
  2. Shake the bag of mix well before pouring it into the jar of the planetary mixer, then run it for a few minutes at low speed with the flour mix alone.
  3. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in warm water, pour it into the planetary mixer and add the remaining water and milk. Mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes, then add salt and oil. Stop the planetary mixer to detach the dough from the sides of the pot and run it at high speed for a few seconds so that the oil is perfectly incorporated into the dough. When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, stop the planetary mixer and remove half the dough by placing it on a lightly floured cutting board.
  4. Add the seeds to the remaining dough in the planetary mixer and mix at high speed so that they are fully incorporated.
  5. Shape into loaves or braids of the desired size (I formed 4 loaves with the white dough and 5 braids with the dough with seeds), differentiating the shape according to the type of dough. Brush the surface with extra virgin olive oil and leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or in the oven with the proving function for about 1 hour and fifteen minutes.

Shaping the dough

  1. Bring the oven to 200°C, brush the surface of the bread with oil again and bake. Let it bake for about 40 minutes, keeping an eye on the baking time, which varies slightly depending on the oven and, above all, the size of the bread.
  2. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool before cutting it.
  3. Portate il forno a 200°C, spennellate nuovamente la superficie del pane con olio e infornate. Lasciate cuocere per circa 40 minuti tenendo controllata la cottura che varia leggermente in base al forno e, soprattutto, alla pezzatura del pane.
  4. Togliete dal forno e lasciate intiepidire il pane prima di tagliarlo.
L'interno dei panini

The bread crumb

/0 Comments/by

Soft potato focaccias

,

Soft potato focaccias for me are indelibly linked to my paternal grandmother. In fact, for many years, the tradition in our house was to make bread once a week, in large quantities, to be baked in the wood-fired oven on the farm.

The thing I remember most pleasantly is the time when we could eat ‘Torta del forno‘, a version of soft potato focaccias that my grandmother prepared by adding a boiled and mashed potato, extra virgin olive oil and salt to a loaf of bread. The new small dough (or sometimes large dough for everyone’s desire to eat this amazing food) was rolled out with a rolling pin, cut into strips of about 15x7cm and thrown onto the bricks of the wood-fired oven to test its temperature. Indeed, our wood-burning oven never had a thermometer, so based on the colour of the surface of the bread strips we could tell if the oven was too hot, and so we had to wait to bake the bread, or was not hot enough, and so we had to burn more wood inside.

These scones are a tribute to that flavour, although baking in a wood-fired oven certainly gives different aromas and flavours. However, I can assure you that my grandmother really liked this version.

Soft potato focaccias

43.66g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 400g water
  • 300g potatoes
  • 220g gluten free multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 170g flour mix for bread, brand Caputo Fioreglut**
  • 60g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 30g buckwheat flour*
  • 40g extra virgin olive oil
  • 16g yeast
  • salt, oregano, cherry tomatoes, olives, rice flour for shaping

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Boil the potatoes, peel, mash and let them cool.
  2. Knead the remaining ingredients, form a dough ball, brush it with a little oil, cover it with cling film and let it rise for 1.5 hours or until doubled in volume.
  3. Knead again with the planetary mixer adding the mashed potatoes, mix quickly well, then take spoonfuls of the mixture, roll it out first with your hands, then with a rolling pin using plenty of rice flour, and with a pastry cutter cut out discs about 2 cm thick and 10 cm in diameter. Place them on a baking tray covered with baking paper and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.
  4. Brush the surface with a little oil and season to taste with oregano, olives, tomatoes, etc.
  5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 40 minutes.
  6. To watch the video recipe, click here

Version with cluten of Soft potato focaccias

Replace the Massimo Zero and Caputo flours with wheat flour and reduce the amount of water to 300g.

/0 Comments/by

Sweet Tortelli with Venere rice and blue corn flour

As is often the case, the best recipes result from mixing experience and pure chance. The recipe for gluten-free sweet Tortelli with Venere rice and blue corn flour is an example! Having to prepare a cake for Gaia for a snack with friends, I realised, when I had already started weighing the ingredients, that I had run out of traditional rice flour.

In the pantry, however, I had two alternatives that I had tried in other preparations with great satisfaction, namely blue corn and Venere rice flour and I decided to use them to replace common rice flour. The result is a crispy, aromatic and tasty shortbread! After making the cake for Gaia, the leftover shortbread was used to prepare our beloved sweet Tortelli with the apricot jam my husband Stefano had made with the apricots from our garden.

Sweet Tortelli with Venere rice and blue corn flour

64.78g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 200 g butter
  • 190g sugar
  • 170g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 175g apricot jam*
  • 150g multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 100g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 50g blue corn flour*
  • 30g Venere rice flour*
  • 3 eggs (2 whole + 1 yolk)
  • 8g baking powder*
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • grated rind of 1 lemon

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Mix all the ingredients, except for the jam, to make the shortcrust pastry. Let it rest for 15 minutes wrapped in cling film.
  2. With a rolling pin, roll out the short pastry into a strip about 15cm wide, place the apricot jam in the centre, fold the shortcrust pastry over and cut out the Tortelli using the specific mould.
  3. Bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Super simple!
tortelli-dolci-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Sweet Tortelli with Venere rice and blue corn flour

Version with gluten of Sweet Tortelli with Venere rice and blue corn flour

Replace the gluten-free Massimo Zero and BiAglut flours (400g) with equal amounts of wheat flour using 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg.

 

 

/0 Comments/by

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.

 

/0 Comments/by

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.

/0 Comments/by