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Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms: gluten-free autumn dishes

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Now it is time for dinners at home with friends to enjoy flavourful creations to warm up the evenings that welcome autumn. So, we decided to prepare a dish that could represent autumn, a recipe full of many delights, rich and tasty: Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms.

We had a special pasta (which we also like very much cooked with vegetables from the garden), mushrooms, vegetables, cheese, and our Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms came to life!

Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms

25g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 6-8 servings

  • 500g gluten-free pasta, Risoni shape**
  • 250g cabbage
  • 200g fresh Porcini mushrooms
  • 200g sliced cooked ham*
  • 40g sharp Provolone cheese
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 30g leek
  • 10g dried Porcini mushrooms
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 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. Clean the mushrooms and slice them.
  2. In a non-stick frying pan, heat a little oil with the peeled garlic and brown the mushrooms; season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Set aside.
  3. In another non-stick pan, sauté the cabbage cut into strips with a little oil, salt and pepper and let it become soft.
  4. Chop the leek and sweat it in a pan with a little oil. Soak the dried Porcini in warm water, then cut them up and add them to the spring onion.
  5. Put a pan of water on the stove, add salt and when it boils, throw in the pasta. Stir well and cook for 4 minutes, then drain and pour into the pan with the onion and dried Porcini; add hot stock and continue stirring as if you were cooking a risotto. Add the sautéed cabbage and fresh mushrooms and, if necessary, more hot water to cook the rice.
  6. In the meantime, cover a doughnut mould with cooked ham.
  7. When the Risoni pasta is cooked al dente, take away from the heat and stir in butter, Provolone and Parmesan cheese. Pour them into the ham-lined mould, fold the ham on the upper surface as well and let the timbale rest for 1 minute before turning the mould out onto a serving plate so that the mushroom doughnut can be unmoulded.

Watch a similar version in this video recipe.

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Risoni pasta timbale with mushrooms

Replace gluten-free Risoni pasta with conventional one, all other ingredients are naturally gluten free.

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Gluten-free summer: Legumotti with vegetables

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Finding a product that is perfect for both the needs of diabetes and celiac disease is a rather rare occurrence, so discovering Barilla Legumotti on supermarket shelves was more than a surprise: it was a real joy and I decided to cook Legumotti with vegetables.

In fact, the label of Legumotti with red lentils, chickpeas and peas shows only these three ingredients in the quantities of 60%, 20% and 20% respectively. The total carbohydrate value of Legumotti is 48.3g per 100g of dry product, which is then half as much once cooked, as they double their weight by absorbing some of the cooking water. By adding the vegetables, we then provide lots of fibre which will slow down the absorption of the complex carbohydrates from the pulses… and this is what made our day with perfect blood glucose levels!

But all with a truly unexpected treat for the palate: my children expressly asked us to unleash our creativity to bring this ‘mini-pasta‘ (which reminds us so much of the Sardinian fregola that we love, but have never found in a good gluten free version) to the table at least once a week.

I’d say we really like this challenge, since with the kids on summer holiday the need to prepare a midday meal as well needs an extra effort of organisation and imagination!

Legumotti with vegetables

14.94g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 350g courgettes
  • 300g Barilla Legumotti*
  • 200g carrots
  • 100g semi-hard cheese
  • 90g cherry tomatoes
  • 60g pitted black olives
  • 50g onions
  • 1 clove garlic
  • basil, extra virgin olive oil and salt as needed

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Chop the onion finely and sauté it with the garlic clove over high heat in a wok or non-stick pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, stirring constantly. In the meantime, cut the carrots into rather small cubes and the courgettes into slightly larger cubes (so that the cooking time is the same, as the carrot generally takes a little longer) and add them to the onion.
  2. Always keep the heat fairly high and stir occasionally so that the vegetables cook quickly without burning. Once ready (they should remain crispy), season with salt, remove the garlic and set aside.
  3. Cook the Legumotti in salted water, drain them and stop cooking by running them under cold water for a few seconds.
  4. Pour the Legumotti into a bowl, add the sautéed vegetables, quartered cherry tomatoes, pitted olives, diced cheese and season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, chopped basil to taste and a pinch of salt if required.
  5. Serve the Legumotti warm or cold.

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Version with gluten of Legumotti with vegetables

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

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Meal solutions: Pan-fried potato pie

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You know, we love trying out new recipes by mixing ingredients and experimenting with different cooking methods and tasty combinations: the Pan-fried potato pie is a perfect example.

Today’s idea is a great one-dish meal because it is hearty and perfect as a complete meal, but also ideal as a tasty main course.

So, let’s start preparing our Pan-fried potato pie, then decide on the best way to enjoy it, perhaps accompany it with Dominican salad.

Pan-fried potato pie

16.4g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 1kg potatoes
  • 100g non-smoked or smoked Scamorza cheese
  • 90g cooked ham*
  • 80g cooked spinach (or frozen and left to thaw)
  • 70g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 2 eggs
  • butter, salt, pepper, oil

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

Preparation

  1. Boil the potatoes and mash them with a potato masher, then season with a knob of butter, Parmesan cheese and eggs.

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2. Now lightly grease a sheet of baking paper with a little oil, then form a disk of mashed potatoes the size of the non-stick pan in which you want to cook the pie.

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  1. Cover the disc with the cooked ham, the thinly sliced Scamorza cheese and, finally, the lightly chopped spinach.
  2. Cover the filling with a layer of mashed potatoes so that the pie filling is completely closed. It is a good idea to grease the surface of the pie before placing it in the non-stick pan with the help of the parchment paper and a dish.

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  1. Cook over medium heat and, after about ten minutes, turn the whole thing over to the other side with the help of two flat lids, as wide as the pan. When the second side is also golden brown, serve the pie in slices accompanied by vegetables to taste.

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Tip: it is excellent also eaten cold.

Version with gluten of Pan-fried potato pie

Replace the gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs, no other adaptation is needed.

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Traditional Greek recipes: Aubergine Mussakàs

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The recipe we are sharing today is from the family of a Greek friend, Vassilios, whom I asked to help me give my children a taste of this traditional Greek dish: Aubergine Mussakàs.

Mussakàs can be prepared with aubergines only, or by adding potatoes as well. For carbohydrate reasons, I chose to make it with aubergines only, but given the success of the dish, I think I will also try the mixed version soon.

Of course, we will also share it with you, as well as another recipe with an oriental flavour: Falafel.

The original recipe calls for aubergines to be fried in oil and, in some cases, a little butter. I preferred to grill the aubergines in the oven to make the dish lighter. I also took the liberty of doing the same with the béchamel in terms of both quantity and egg content.

But believe me, the result was very satisfying!

Aubergine Mussakàs 

5.5g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg aubergines, preferably round
  • 750g minced meat (to taste, mixed is also fine)
  • 500g tomato sauce (or 750g fresh tomatoes in season)
  • 150g Roman pecorino cheese (kefalotyri in Greek), grated
  • 100g onions
  • 100g white wine
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
  • optional cloves and/or cinnamon, to be added to the minced meat sauce (this is Vassilios’s mother’s secret)

Ingredients for the béchamel sauce

  • 600g milk
  • 60g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 30g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 5g salt
  • cinnamon and nutmeg

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

Preparation of Aubergine Mussakàs

  1. Put the minced meat in a pan with the onion and fry well with oil. Stir often so that the meat does not create lumps and does not stick; douse with the wine, then add tomato sauce, parsley, salt, pepper and possibly 2-4 cloves and/or ½ cinnamon stick to be removed at the end.
    Bring to the boil and simmer for at least 1.5 hours, until the sauce has thickened… almost like a meat sauce.
  2. Meanwhile, wash and dry the aubergines, cut them into thin slices and grill them in the oven at 180°C until cooked.
    Prepare the béchamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter, then remove from the heat and add the rice flour to create a creamy mixture; gradually add the milk, continuing to stir with a whisk so that no lumps form, return to the heat adding salt and pepper and stir until the béchamel sauce is thick and almost starts to boil. At this point, remove the pan from the heat and add the already beaten eggs, mixing everything well. Sprinkle half of the grated Pecorino cheese into the meat sauce and mix well.
  3. Now let’s assemble the dish!

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Arrange the aubergines in parallel rows in the baking dish and cover them with a layer of minced meat; form a second layer of aubergines and cover them again with a layer of meat.

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  1. Finally, finish with a generous amount of béchamel sauce, the remaining cheese and a grating of nutmeg.

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  1. Bake the Mussakàs at 180°C for about 40 minutes.

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Version with gluten of Aubergine Mussakàs

The recipe given is naturally gluten-free, so no adaptation is needed for the version with gluten.

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