Tag Archive for: gluten-free salads

February salads: taste with low GI

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With February’s arrival, nature offers us ingredients packed with nutrients and authentic flavours, perfect for those living with type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease. My February salads combine taste and health, ideal for enhancing your winter table.

February Salads: Winter Flavours and Wellness on Your Table

In the Cauliflower and Pumpkin Salad, these two vegetables create a delightful balance of flavours and textures. Cauliflower, with its low glycaemic index and high fibre content, helps maintain blood sugar levels stable. Pumpkin, besides adding a pop of colour, is rich in beta-carotene and vitamins. The addition of boiled eggs completes the dish with high-quality proteins, making it both nutritious and satisfying.

The Winter Greek Salad is my tribute to a recent adventure in Greece: crisp iceberg lettuce with flavourful black olives and a creamy Greek yoghurt dressing enriched with cucumber, reminiscent of the famous tzatziki sauce. Iceberg lettuce provides fibre and water, black olives offer healthy fats and antioxidants, and the creamy Greek yoghurt sauce with cucumber supports digestive health thanks to probiotics and cucumber fibre.

Why choose seasonal vegetables for February salads?
Opting for seasonal ingredients ensures maximum flavour and nutrients. Get ready to enjoy the best of winter with these salads that combine taste, colour, and wellness!

Winter Greek Salad

13.5g carbohydrates per 100g

insalata-greca-invernale

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 200 g cooked chickpeas
  • 100 g feta cheese
  • 100 g leftover gluten-free bread**
  • 100 g cucumber
  • 100 g iceberg lettuce
  • 50 g Kalamata black olives
  • 30 g fat-free Greek yoghurt
  • 1 lemon
  • oregano
  • mint
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Cut the bread into cubes and toast in a non-stick pan. When it starts to crisp, drizzle with a little oil, a pinch of salt, and oregano.
  2. Trim the cucumber, grate it, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and place it in a colander to drain. Squeeze well, then blend it with the yoghurt, juice of half a lemon, a few mint leaves, salt, and pepper to create a sauce.
  3. Crumble the feta cheese and mix it in a bowl with the chickpeas, shredded lettuce, and olives, seasoning everything with a drizzle of oil.
  4. Serve on plates and top with the cucumber yoghurt sauce and crispy croutons.

Cauliflower and Pumpkin Salad

3g carbohydrates per 100g

insalata-di-cavolo-e-zucca

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 500g mixed-colour cauliflower
  • 400g pumpkin
  • 4 boiled eggs
  • 100g baby spinach
  • thyme
  • oregano
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Separate the cauliflower into florets and cook in the microwave on high for 4 minutes.
  2. Cut the pumpkin into cubes and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper, and drizzle with a little oil. Roast in a preheated fan oven at 180°C until golden.
  3. Place the spinach in a bowl and season with extra virgin olive oil and salt.
  4. Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, peel them, and separate the yolks from the whites.
  5. Assemble the plates by layering the spinach, followed by cauliflower florets, pumpkin cubes, and crumbled egg whites. Finish by passing the yolks through a sieve to create a pollen-like texture.
  6. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

 

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December salads between parties and detox

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Which salads can we prepare during the holiday season? December salads couldn’t but be suitable for a period of parties and celebrations.

In fact, these salads complement each other because one is perfect for enriching festive meals and the other for a detox meal before or after the Christmas treats.

Turnip and lamb’s lettuce salad is a way to use two ingredients that we rarely bring to the table at our place. White turnip is very low in calories, contains no cholesterol, has only 6 carbohydrates per 100g, but is very rich in vitamins and minerals, so consuming it means providing a good dose of antioxidants to cope with the cold season.

Coleslaw Salad is a great classic of Anglo-Saxon cuisine, but especially of Newark buffets, to use the cabbage in a mouth-watering way. The name is in fact the transformation into English of the Dutch terms ‘kool’, cabbage, and ‘sla’, a nickname for salad. My version is a light interpretation of the original in that I eliminated sugar in the preparation and diluted the mayonnaise with equal amounts of zero-fat Greek yoghurt.

Happy holidays by bringing December salads to the table, but don’t forget to explore other salad ideas, e.g. October salads.

Turnip and lamb’s lettuce salad

9,56g carbohydrates per 100g

insalata-di-rapa-bianca-e-songino

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 2 white turnips
  • 100g lamb’s lettuce or other leafy greens
  • 90g pear
  • 20g maple syrup or honey
  • lemon juice
  • a few parsley leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • wood sorrel (optional)

Preparation

  1. Peel the turnips with a peeler, slice them very thinly using a mandoline and macerate them for 10-15 minutes with an emulsion of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and parsley.
  2. Slice the pear with the peel.
  3. Prepare a vinaigrette by mixing a few tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped parsley.
  4. Arrange the lamb’s lettuce on the bottom of each plate, lay the turnip and pear on top, drizzle with the vinaigrette and finish with a grinding of pepper and the sorrel leaves.

Coleslaw

7g carbohydrates per 100g

Insalata-coleslaw

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 250g white cabbage (approx. 1/2 cabbage)
  • 170g carrots (approx. 2)
  • 1 Granny Smith apple
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 3 spring onions (the white part)
  • 40g raisins
  • 40g shelled walnuts
  • chopped fresh herbs
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for the sauce

  • 150g mayonnaise*
  • 150g fat-free Greek yoghurt
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard*
  • 20g lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Cut the cabbage into very thin strips; grate the carrots into julienne strips and slice the apples with the peel, but without the core.
  2. Chop the celery and spring onion finely, then put all the vegetables in a bowl.
  3. In a bowl, prepare the sauce: mix mayonnaise and yoghurt, season with mustard and lemon, then season with salt and pepper.
  4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well: the salad should be very well bound, i.e. have just the right amount of dressing to hold the vegetables together.
  5. Top the salad with sultanas and coarsely chopped walnuts, then complete with chopped fresh herbs to taste.
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Salads of october with legumes, fruit and vegetables

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In October you can choose between a super-light salad or a rich one that you can use as a main course, so find out what the Salads of October are.

October is often a time that holds surprises for us in terms of temperatures because we can enjoy days that are still like summer or we can be plunged into the first cold days of winter: so choose the most suitable salad for autumn days.

The Fruit and vegetable salad is prepared with some of the most iconic fruits of winter, namely orange, apple and pear. The same applies to vegetables, where the purple cabbage is king. The addition of milk flakes is consistent with the lightness of this salad, but you might be tempted to replace them with grilled Tomino cheese without thinking too much about the calorie intake.

The legume and salmon salad, on the other hand, will be a great way to fill up on both animal and vegetable proteins with the strong touch of mustard sauce to bind all the flavours together.

Don’t miss out on more ideas for your salads and also discover the raw and cooked salads of April.

Fruit and vegetable salad

13.16g carbohydrates for the whole serving

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 50g milk flakes*
  • 40g purple cabbage
  • 40g fennel
  • 30g Pink Lady apple
  • 30g pink grapefruit
  • 30g pear
  • 30g orange
  • 1 lemon
  • a few parsley leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Peel the orange and grapefruit. Slice the apple and pear leaving the peel, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
  2. Slice the fennel with a mandoline so that it is very thin and do the same with the purple cabbage.
  3. Prepare a vinaigrette by mixing a few tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped parsley.
  4. Arrange the fruit and vegetables on a plate, dress with the vinaigrette and top with a few teaspoons of cheese flakes.

Insalatona-di-frutta-e-verdura

Lentil and salmon salad

7.5g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 300g cooked lentils
  • 200g smoked wild salmon
  • 100g Pink Lady or Granny Smith apple
  • iceberg lettuce
  • lemon juice

Ingredients for the sauce

  • 60g soy milk*
  • 50g extra virgin olive oil
  • 30g Dijon mustard*
  • 6 anchovy fillets
  • 20g lemon juice
  • dill
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Pour all the ingredients for the sauce into a tall glass and blend them with an immersion blender to obtain a smooth and creamy sauce.
  2. Slice the apple thinly with the peel and spray it lightly with lemon juice so that it does not darken.
  3. Take four plates, cover the bottom of each plate with iceberg lettuce cut into pieces, lay a quarter of the cooked lentils, the apple slices, the wild salmon and season with mustard sauce on top of the salad. Complete with some dill leaves.

Insalata-di-lenticchie-e-salmone

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September salads

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September is the month when summer and autumn meet, just like the ingredients that characterise it: this is what you are going to discover in September Salads.

So what are the September salads? First of all, a tasty Chicken salad with radicchio and melon balls that is also perfect for your lunch box to take to the office as a balanced and light meal, or it can be a nice dinner to ensure a quiet night.

The second recipe is tasty and colourful, versatile and suitable for meals at home or away from home, the Salad of citrus flavoured cherry tomatoes with Venere rice introduces us to the quintessential winter fruit, i.e. oranges, which I have used here together with lemon to flavour the cherry tomatoes and make them really special.

So more colours to cheer us up into the less sunny days of September.

If you fancy some richer salads, check out the May and its fortified salads.

Chicken salad with radicchio and melon balls

carbohydrates 3.3g per 100g – 8.93g per serving

Insalata-di-pollo-al-radicchio-e-sfere-di-melone

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 500g chicken breast
  • 280g melon
  • 180g red radicchio
  • 120g dried tomatoes in olive oil*
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
  • sage
  • bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon green peppercorns
  • 3 cardamom berries
  • 1 star anise berry
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Put a pan of water on the stove with a few sage leaves, a bay leaf, cardamom, star anise, green pepper and salt, and boil the chicken breast in it for 20 minutes. Once cooked, leave the chicken to cool in its stock.
  2. Assemble your salad by cutting the radicchio into strips and placing it on the bottom of the plate. Flavour it with the dried cherry tomatoes cut into strips, thread the cooled chicken over it and complete with melon balls.
  3. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Salad of citrus flavoured cherry tomatoes and Venere rice

carbohydrates 13.7g per 100g – 39.79g per serving

Insalata-di-pomodorini-agli-agrumi-e-riso-Venere

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 600g mixed coloured cherry tomatoes
  • 140g Venere rice
  • 120g Greek feta cheese
  • 80g pitted green olives*
  • 80g pitted black olives*
  • 1/2 orange with edible peel
  • grated lemon peel
  • basil
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

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

Preparation

  1. Boil the Venere rice in lightly salted water and drain when al dente.
  2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters, add the sliced olives and season for 15 minutes with orange slices and grated lemon peel.
  3. Put the Venere rice in the salad bowl, cover it with the cherry tomato and olive mixture after removing the orange slices. Season with a drizzle of oil and some freshly-ground pepper (no need for salt as the salad contains salty ingredients) and complete with crumbled feta cheese and a few basil leaves.

 

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July salads: discover peaches and tomatoes

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Beat the heat with these July salads that will feature some of the most beloved seasonal ingredients, peaches and tomatoes.

Furthermore, back from my holidays in Sardinia, I wanted to use a Slow Food Presidium that I had never tried before: the cheese called Frue or Casu axedu, meaning “sour cheese” in Sardinian dialect, made with sheep’s or goat’s milk leaving the curd in the whey. The resulting cheese is a product that is a combination of yogurt and cheese, it is without rind, soft and sour. It is sold in small cubes or larger pieces always covered with whey.

Because of its sour taste, Frue may be too strong for many people, so I decided to combine it with sweet grilled peaches and a savoury Prosciutto di Parma matured for 24 months: simply delicious!

The second salad is a fun way of eating lentils also in summer making them fresh and colourful with cherry tomatoes, and the aroma of garden rocket and basil.

In addition to these July salads, for other fresh and easy-to-make ideas, have a loot at my June salads.

Salad of grilled peaches and Prosciutto

carbohydrates 6g for the whole serving

insalata-di-pesche-grigliate-e-prosciutto

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 100g peaches with peel on
  • 80g Frue sour cheese or Mozzarella cherries
  • 40g Prosciutto di Parma (2 slices)
  • a handful of baby lettuce
  • a handful of garden rocket
  • 15g shelled pistachio nuts
  • spray extravirgin olive oil Fratelli Mantova
  • Balsamic vinegar of Modena
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Cut the peaches into thin segments and grill them without adding any grease or dressings.
  2. Form a layer of baby lettuce and garden rocket on the serving dish, then arrange the grilled peaches on top; dress with a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper, a spray of extravirgin olive oil and a dribble of Balsamic vinegar.
  3. Complete with pieces of sour cheese or Mozzarella cherries, the slices of Prosciutto torn into smaller pieces and the pistachio nuts.

insalata-di-pesche-grigliate-e-prosciutto

Salad of lentils and sautéed cherry tomatoes

carbohydrates 37.41g for the whole serving

insalata-di-lenticchie-e-pomodori-arrostiti

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 180g cherry tomatoes of various colours
  • 150g boiled lentils (about 50g dry lentils)
  • 70g Mozzarella cheese
  • garden rocket
  • basil
  • oregano
  • extravirgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Boil the lentils in water with carrot, celery, onion and garlic; drain and allow to cool down.
  2. Pour a dribble of extravirgin olive oil in a non-stick pan and sautéed the cherry tomatoes cut in half, intially with the cut side downwards. Adjust flavour with salt, pepper and oregano and cook for a couple of minutes.
  3. Dress the lentils with the sautéed tomatoes, adjust flavour with olive oil, salt and pepper if necessary, then finish with pieces of Mozzarella, strips of garden rocket and some basil leaves.

insalata-di-lenticchie-e-pomodori-arrostiti

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Raw and cooked salads

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My journey to find tasty and quick salad recipes continues to serve dishes that are always new and today my proposal is two Raw and cooked salads.

Remember that the principle we shoul follow when choosing our salad ingredients is their being in season. So, opening the fruit and vegetable calendar is a must before going to the greengrocer’s because stores are more an more thriving with all sorts of produce even if coming from any other part of the world.

Our star ingredients today are fennels and barilla plants. Fennel is rich of fibre and water, it helps digestion and prevents bloating; it can be eaten in many different ways. It is excellent raw at the beginning of the meal to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates eaten afterwards thanks to the presence fo water and fibre that will also contribute to reduce hunger.

Barilla plants are a shrub that grows between March and May. They are rich in vitamins and antixodants, but especially fibre and water, whereas they are very low in fat, which makes them perfect for low calorie diets and to quench hunger. Unlike fennels, they must be boiled or steamed before eating.

Find out how I used our hero vegetables in two fantastic raw and cooked salads. And if you missed my previous salads, check the recipes of Three 5-minute salads.

Fennel and orange salad with light dressing

carbohydrate 9g for 1 serving

insalata-di-finocchi-e-arance

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 1/2 fennel
  • 50g orange
  • slivers of Piave chees or Emmentaler
  • pomegranate seeds
  • 30g soy milk*
  • 10g rice or extra virgin olive oil
  • orange juice
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredienti specifici per celiaci

*Ingredienti per i quali verificare l’assenza di glutine in etichetta o sul Prontuario AIC

Preparation

  1. Slice the fennel very thinly with a mandoline.
  2. Peel half an orange and cut it into segments and keep the second half to squeeze its juice.
  3. Prepare the dressing: put rice oil, soy milk, orange juice, salt and pepper in a tall container and blend with a hand blender to a texture similar to a runny mayonnaise.
  4. Assemple the salad: put the fennel in the centre of a deep dish, top with the orange segments, slivers of cheese, then dress with the orance sauce and garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Salad of Barilla plants with egg and hard Gorgonzola cheese 

carbohydrates for the whole serving negligible

insalata-di-agretti-uova-e-gorgonzola

Ingredients for 1 serving

  • 1 bunch of Barilla plants
  • 1 egg
  • 20g hard Gorgonzola cheese
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and papper

Preparation

  1. Put a pot of water on the heat, salt it and when it reaches the boil, cook the Barilla plants for a couple of minuters. Drain and throw in cold water, then drain again. Set aside.
  2. Hard boil 1 egg for 9 minutes from when the water starts boiling. Once cooked, shall the egg and separate egg white and yolk.
  3. Assemble the salad: put the Barilla plants in a deep dish, top with the diced egg white, crumble the egg yolk, arrange the hard Gorgonzola cheese cut into small cubes and dress with salt, pepper and a dribble of extra virgin olive oil.

 

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