Tag Archive for: gluten-free italian recipes

Gluten-free Sardenaira: the Ligurian focaccia with the scent of the sea

If you love focaccia with bold flavours, the Ligurian gluten-free Sardenaira will win you over at the very first bite. It’s a true explosion of taste: a soft dough topped with tomato sauce, enriched with anchovies, capers, and Taggiasca olives, for a result that carries all the scent of the sea and the essence of tradition.

I first discovered this dish in Sanremo, during a trip with my family: I still remember how much we wanted to try it all together, even though at the time there was no gluten-free version available. Today, with great satisfaction, I’ve recreated the Sardenaira without gluten—faithful to its authentic flavour but suitable for everyone, with that perfect balance between the savoury topping and the sweetness of the tomato.

A tip: don’t overdo it with salt, since the toppings are already naturally very flavourful. Try it, and I’m sure it will become one of your favourite focaccias!

If you prefer more delicate flavors, you might also enjoy my Buckwheat and Corn Focaccia.

ilaria-bertinelli-sardenaira-senza-glutine

Gluten-free Sardenaira

34g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for a baking tray

  • 200g Mix B Schär flour**
  • 200g Nutrifree Pane flour**
  • 100g Fibrepan Farmo flour**
  • 250g water
  • 250g milk
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 12g brewer’s yeast
  • salt

For the topping 

  • 400 g tomato purée or peeled tomatoes
  • 100 g pitted Taggiasca olives*
  • 10 anchovy fillets in salt
  • 40 g salted capers
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • oregano
  • extra virgin olive oil

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, pour it over the flours, add the milk, and knead well. Finish by adding oil and salt. The mixture should be quite creamy. Cover with cling film, place in a warm spot, and let rise until doubled in size.
  2. Meanwhile, thoroughly desalinate the capers and anchovies. If not using tomato purée, chop the peeled tomatoes.
  3. Once the dough has risen, spread it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, wetting your hands with cold water to help you stretch it out evenly to a thickness of about 1.5 cm. Top with tomato purée or chopped tomatoes, arrange the anchovies, capers, halved unpeeled garlic cloves, and olives on top. Sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with olive oil, then let it rise for another 30 minutes.
  4. Bake in a preheated fan oven at 210°C (410°F) for 25–30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and serve the Sardenaira cut into square pieces.

Version with gluten of Sardenaira

Replace the 500 g gluten-free flours (Schär, Nutrifree, and Fibrepan) with 500 g all-purpose flour and knead with 250 g water instead of 500 g.

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Pizzicotti with Fagiolo gentile di Labro bean cream and aromatic oil

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Would you like an original idea coming from the tradition of a land very dear to me? Here are the Pizzicotti with Fagiolo gentile di Labro bean cream topped with an irresistible oil flavoured with ginger and marjoram.

Once again, the gastronomic journey is in Lazio thanks to the Rieti Chamber of Commerce, which sent us the local ingredients to prepare this recipe with a very special ingredient: Fagiolo gentile di Labro a Slow Food Presidium and a product included in the list of Italian Traditional Agricultural Products (PAT in Italian).  It is a variety of bean that grows exclusively in the Avanzana Valley at the foot of the village of Labro, in the province of Rieti. It is light brown in colour and its fame is due to the tenderness of its skin and its delicate, sweet taste: the adjective ‘gentile’, i.e. gentle, by which it is called derives from such sweetness.

This traditional dish from Lazio is a perfect meal from a nutritional point of view, so why not use it as a holiday season dish? It is perfect both to brighten up banquets and to alternate meals characterised by the presence of meat and fish with a vegetarian recipe rich in plant protein and plenty of fibre.

To discover the great classic of the Rieti land, read my article and recipe for the The Perfect Amatriciana.

pizzicotti-con-crema-di-fagioli-di-labro

Pizzicotti with Fagiolo gentile di Labro bean cream and aromatic oil

29.6g carbohydrates per 100g 

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 250g flour mix for bread, brand Nutrifree**
  • 180g water
  • 150g dried Fagiolo gentile di Labro beans
  • 4g brewer’s yeast
  • 50g extravirgin olive oil Sabina DOP
  • 20g dehydrated tomato flakes
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 piece of fresh ginger
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • marjoram
  • vegetable stock
  • grated Pecorino cheese
  • 1 pinch of bicarbonate of soda or 1 piece of Kombu seaweed

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Soak the beans the night before in plenty of water and baking soda or a piece of Kombu seaweed.
  2. Warm up 50g of extra-virgin olive oil and infuse it with pieces of fresh ginger and marjoram leaves: you will obtain an aromatic oil that you can also use for other preparations.
  3. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in a bit of water at room temperature, then pour it into a bowl with the flour and a pinch of salt and add the water required to obtain a smooth, not too hard dough.
  4. Divide the dough into at least 4 pieces, cover them with a tea towel and leave them to rise for about 20 minutes.
  5. In a saucepan, brown 1 shallot and 1 chopped celery stick in a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprig of rosemary, then add the soaked beans and bay leaves, cover with vegetable stock and cook (for at least 1 hour). When the beans are cooked, remove the bay leaf and rosemary and whisk to obtain a thick and creamy velouté. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. In a non-stick pan, put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the remaining shallot and celery finely chopped, season with chopped rosemary and sprinkle with vegetable stock to cook.
  7. After the dough has risen, bring a pot of water to the boil and lightly salt it. Take the pieces of dough, shape them into thin cylinders of about 1.5cm diameter and pinch them cutting off small knobs to be thrown into boiling water. Continue throwing the dough knobs into the boiling water and let them cook for at least 5 minutes considering that they would not become too cooked. Drain the ‘Pizzicotti’ with a slotted spoon, toss them into the non-stick pan with the chopped shallot and celery and allow them to cream slightly, adding a little cooking water.
  8. Serve on individual plates, preferably in a soup dish, forming a layer of bean cream topped with Pizzicotti and a dribble of aromatic oil, grated Pecorino cheese and a pinch of dried tomato flakes.

pizzicotti-con-crema-di-fagioli-di-labro

Version with gluten of Pizzicotti with Fagiolo gentile di Labro bean cream and aromatic oil

Replace the flour mix for bread Nutrifree with an equal amount of wheat flour and adjust the amount of water to obtain a bread-like texture.

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Gluten-free Carnival Fried Tortelli

Do you know how the recipe for gluten-free Carnival Fried Tortelli came about? By pure chance, while experimenting with doughs for the Cicerchiata cooked live with the Rieti and Viterbo Chamber of Commerce! Among various combinations of flour, egg and sugar, having obtained a beautiful smooth and firm dough, I thought I would try making Tortelli with plum jam.

The result? Delicious fried Carnival Tortelli! And it’s a good thing I had written down all the weights of the ingredients, otherwise I would have missed out on the doses for an ideal dough for a traditional recipe that has always been prepared in my family (usually in a version with gluten) for Mardi Gras.

Here are other recipes you can prepare for Carnival: Cicerchiata, Fried cream e Krapfen with jam.

Gluten-free Carnival Fried Tortelli

54g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 10 Tortelli

  • 150g plum jam*, very firm
  • 100g gluten-free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 100g gluten-free bread flour, brand Mix B Schär**
  • 2 eggs
  • 20-30g milk (add it gradually)
  • 25g sugar
  • 15g butter
  • lemon rind
  • sunflower seed oil for deep frying

Preparation

  1. Pour the eggs into a bowl, beat them with a fork together with the sugar, add the soft butter and lemon zest. Gradually incorporate the flour, stirring with a fork until the mixture is firm enough to knead with your hands. Add enough milk to obtain a firm mixture, then transfer to a cutting board and knead with your hands until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous and non-sticky dough.
  2. Cover it with cling film and let it rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5mm, place a teaspoon of very firm plum jam on top of the pastry, cover with another layer and cut out the Tortelli with the mould provided. Continue until everything is used up.
  4. Heat the seed oil to a temperature of 170-180°C and deep-fry a few Tortelli at a time, using a skimmer to flip them so that they brown evenly. Drain them well on paper towels.

tortelli-dolci-di-carnevale

Version with gluten of Carnival Fried Tortelli

Replace the BiAglut and Schär flours with equal amounts of 00 wheat flour and adjust the amount of milk added.

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