Tag Archive for: healthy recipes

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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Escarole Cream with Speak and croutons

Cream of escarole with Speck and croutons is a perfect idea for warm dinners in the first cold days of autumn. Being vegetable-based, the cream itself is naturally gluten free and has very low carbohydrate content, possibly offset by the addition of fragrant and tasty croutons.

Escarole cream is very much appreciated by those who like slightly bitter flavours, while it might not appeal to children who are not used to these notes: my children love it and enjoy alternating Speck with cubes of sweet Salame Felino  (something that Parma’s homes almost always have in stock) which helps to balance the dish.

The version I propose is also lactose and egg free. If you like, and always lactose free, you can also season it with Parmesan cheese slivers and a few walnuts for a completely different taste.

In the calculation of carbohydrates, I have not considered croutons because the amount added to the escarole cream may vary greatly, as can the type of bread we decide to use to prepare them: personally, I am partial to wholemeal bread, such as the Dark bread with flax seedswhich allows us to obtain very fragrant croutons.

So with the cold weather approaching, be prepared that we won’t run out of creams and soups!

Escarole Cream with Speak and croutons   

2.70g carbohydrates per 100g without croutons

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1kg escarole
  • 300g leek
  • 300g vegetable stock
  • 120g Speck in strips*
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for croutons

  • 3 slices of wholemeal bread**
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • salt, pepper, dried marjoram

Preparation

  1. Slice the leeks and sautée them in a large saucepan with extra virgin olive oil and a few whole chilli peppers, which you will then remove before blending; add the escarole cut into strips, allow it to take on flavour for about 5 minutes, then add 2 ladles of stock, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Transfer everything into the jar of a food processor and blend to a fairly thick cream; season with salt and pepper. Should the cream be too runny, return it to the heat and let it thicken.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the croutons. Cut the bread slices into 2cm pieces. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the bread pieces and let them toast slowly until crispy. Towards the end, season with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of marjoram, then leave to season and turn off the heat.
  3. Serve the escarole cream in soup plates and complete with the Speck in strips, croutons and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Crema di scarola con speck e crostini

Version with gluten of Escarole cream with Speak and croutons

The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients except for the croutons, so replace the gluten free croutons with standard croutons.

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20 di cambiamento: Polenta di roveja alle alici

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This is my second (and last… at the moment) recipe from the Umbria stop of the ‘20 di cambiamento  project”. Roveja polenta with anchovies (polenta that here takes the name Farecchiata or Pesata) tells of a pulse, much less known than the Castelluccio Lentils, indeed I would say almost unknown outside the area where it is grown: Roveja.

Unknown foods

Roveja is a small pea-like pulse with a pod that, at first green in colour, turns dark purple as it matures; it is harvested between the end of July and the beginning of August. The dried pulse is brown in colour.

La roveja essiccata, materia prima di zuppe e farine

Dried Roveja, the raw material for soups and flours (photo: La Repubblica)

In ancient times, Roveja was cultivated on the entire Umbria and Marche Apennine ridge, from the Colfiorito Plateau to the Gran Sasso mountain through Cascia and Castelluccio, thanks to its resistance to low temperatures and its low need for water for cultivation.

Although it was the mainstay of the diet of shepherds and farmers, especially in soups prepared also with other pulses, Roveja almost completely disappeared from the market after World War II due to its tiring and unprofitable cultivation methods.

To save this cultivation from oblivion, in 2006 Slow Food turned it into a Presidium involving a few farmers from the Valnerina valley in the municipality of Cascia who continue to cultivate it to this day very similarly to lentils. Roveja can be eaten fresh or dried, or it can be stone ground to obtain a flour with a slightly bitter aftertaste, and it is the main ingredient in our recipe.

Il fiore della roveja

Roveja flowers (photo: Bikers in cresta)

A recipe for ’20 di cambiamento’

And this is my second recipe (the first recipe was Ricotta and lentil tart) because I tasted Roveja for the first time in my life thanks to a trip to Castelluccio and to my friend and blogger Cristiana Curri (https://blog.giallozafferano.it/chicchecris/). It is a pulse and therefore it does not contain gluten, but it does contain complex carbohydrates which, by absorbing a lot of water during the digestive process, contribute to a gradual rise in blood sugar levels, keeping them constant and avoiding peaks.

I also like the fact that the Polenta is flavoured (given the difficulty of finding salt in these mountains, it is no coincidence that unsalted bread is also common here) by an anchovy sauce, the fish that used to be preserved in salt, becoming long-lasting, nutritious and practical to transport, which is present in many recipes from areas that are far from the sea precisely because of these extraordinary characteristics (just think of Piedmont’s Bagna Cauda).

It is an iconic dish of Umbrian cuisine and by preparing Roveja polenta, we will therefore be doing ourselves a favour, but above all we will be helping to safeguard the biodiversity of this area and to keep alive a product and its centuries-old tradition. Furthermore, you will only need four ingredients to prepare a truly amazing dish… in addition to water!

A little anecdote: when I first made Roveja Polenta, I cooked a lot of it because I did not know its yield, texture and taste. In fact, I ended up with a whole dish full of Polenta I hadn’t even touched! The next day, when the Polenta was perfectly firm, I used it to prepare a gratin by alternating layers of Roveja Polenta, stewed Tropea red onion, chopped celery and grated salted ricotta cheese… a delight!

La polenta di roveja con le alici pronta per essere gustata

Roveja Polenta with anchovies   

7.78g carbohydrates per 100g

 Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 450g water
  • 100g Roveja flour*
  • 60g extra virgin olive oil
  • 10 fillets of salted anchovies or anchovies in oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • coarse salt for the water
  • celery (optional)

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

Preparation

  1. Put the water on the stove and bring it to the boil; add salt to the water and when the salt has completely dissolved, remove the pot from the heat just long enough to pour in the Roveja flour, stirring with a whisk so that no lumps form.
  2. Put the pot back on the heat and stir the mixture frequently with a wooden spoon so that it does not stick to the bottom. Cook the Polenta over low heat for about 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. If you decide to use salted anchovies, remove the salt on the surface with a sharp knife and remove the central bone. For convenience, I opted for anchovy fillets in oil. Then put the oil in a small pan, add the garlic cut in half and let it brown slightly, then remove it and add 6 anchovy fillets and let them melt.
  4. When the Polenta is ready, assemble the dishes by making a layer of Polenta, season it with the anchovy sauce and finish with 1 whole rolled anchovy fillet. I decided to serve the Polenta accompanied by celery sticks to give the recipe a fresh touch and make it more suitable for the warm season.

 

Il piatto finito con i pochi ingredienti necessari per prepararlo

Version with gluten of Roveja Polenta with anchovies

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

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Delicious chickpea hummus

Chickpea hummus is a preparation of Middle Eastern origin, spicy and creamy, but also perfect to accompany meat, fish or simply to enrich a Bruschetta.

You can also use it for tasty canapés to be topped with sweet-and-sour vegetables, but also with fish and meat. Try it with the great Emilia Romagna classics, i.e. with deli-meats and some drops of Tradizional Balsamic Vinegar. During the summer, use it as a dip for fresh vegetables: well, truly a recipes for thousands of ideas.

Here’s how to prepare it in a few minutes. 

Chickpea hummus

7.25g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 200g cooked or canned chickpeas
  • 100g water
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • 20g fresh spring onion
  • 20g lemon juice
  • 15g tahina (sesame seed cream)*
  • 15g capers
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Fry the spring onion in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and water.
  2. Once cooked, place it in a blender with the other ingredients and blend until smooth and even.
  3. Try serving it as a dip or topping for croutons and Bruschetta.

hummus-di-ceci

Version with gluten of Chickpea hummus

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

 

 

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