Tag Archive for: ricette bilanciate

Pasta with baked anchovies and cherry tomatoes

Pasta with baked anchovies and cherry tomatoes is a dish that brings together colour, flavour and wellbeing in a single, balanced recipe. This month’s colour is grey – an unusual tone in the kitchen, yet surprisingly rich in inspiration when you choose ingredients like fresh anchovies and sunflower seeds. They prove that even grey can have a tasty and creative soul.

Anchovies are a nutritional treasure for anyone following a diet that supports metabolic health: rich in high-quality proteins, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, they help reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. This makes them an excellent protein source for people with diabetes. They are also naturally gluten-free and easy to digest.

Sunflower seeds, often used as a crunchy topping, add not just texture but also valuable nutrients: they’re rich in unsaturated fats, magnesium and phytosterols, which help control blood sugar and maintain a healthy lipid profile.

Moreover, both anchovies and sunflower seeds are good sources of selenium – a mineral that protects cells from oxidative stress and helps prevent cellular ageing. In short, this is a simple dish with the qualities of a true natural supplement!

If you like anchovies, try my Onion and anchovy flat bread too.

Pasta with baked anchovies and cherry tomatoes

 28g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 500g cherry tomatoes
  • 400g fresh anchovies (to be cleaned)
  • 300g gluten-free pasta Gnocchi or Caserecce by Massimo Zero**
  • 60g gluten-free breadcrumbs**
  • 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 15g salt-preserved capers
  • 1 lemon (zest only)
  • sunflower seeds
  • 1 garlic clove
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • oregano
  • chilli pepper
  • salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. First, clean the anchovies by removing the head, innards and central bone. Rinse and pat them dry.
  2. In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan, rinsed and chopped capers, a pinch of finely chopped garlic, oregano, chilli pepper, and grated lemon zest.
  3. Lightly coat the bottom of a baking dish with some of this aromatic breadcrumb mixture. Arrange the anchovies open like a book in a single layer, then top with halved cherry tomatoes, cut side down on the fish. Sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumb mixture and drizzle with olive oil.
  4. Bake in a preheated fan oven at 250°C for about 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water. Drain and toss with the baked anchovies and tomatoes.
  6. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve hot.

ilaria-bertinelli-pasta-con-alici-e-semi-di-girasole

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Wholemeal gluten-free sandwich bread

The Secret to a Great Sandwich? The Bread! Without a doubt, the key to a great sandwich is the bread! When I made the Tuna Melt, one of the elements that truly made a difference was my Wholemeal Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread—a recipe carefully designed to ensure softness, flavor, and a balanced impact on blood sugar levels.

This bread is perfect not only for gooey, irresistible sandwiches but also for breakfasts, sweet or savoury toasts, and creative bruschettas. Its soft texture and slightly rustic flavor make it an excellent base for many preparations—try using it to make these Bruschette Assortment!

If you’re looking for a gluten-free bread that doesn’t crumble and stays soft even the next day, this is the recipe for you!

Wholemeal gluten-free sandwich bread

47.50g carbohydrates per 100g

ilaria-bertinelli-pane-a-cassetta-integrale

Ingredients for one loaf

  • 270 g Nutrifree Bread Mix Flour**
  • 250 g milk
  • 250 g water
  • 200 g Nutrifree Wholemeal Bread Mix Flour**
  • 30 g hemp flour*
  • 30 g extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 g fresh yeast
  • salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. In a planetary mixer, combine the flours. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water, then add it to the flours along with the milk.
  2. Mix at low speed for 2 minutes, then increase to high speed and mix for 4 more minutes.
  3. Add the salt and oil, ensuring they are well incorporated into the dough. Transfer the dough into a well-greased or non-stick sprayed sandwich bread mold (30×10 cm).
  4. Let the dough rise for at least 2 hours, or until it reaches almost the top of the mould.
  5. Bake in a preheated convection oven at 230°C for 45 minutes.
  6. Remove the bread from the mould immediately after taking it out of the oven.
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Pasta salads: Greek-style Strozzapreti

Pasta salads are one of the most popular dishes in summer and every year I like inventing new ones to make a tasty and balanced dish suitable for all occasions.

The protagonists are the Strozzapreti Zero+, organic pasta made with 100% red lentil flour and eggs from free-range hens by the Spinosi pasta factory, a pasta designed to reduce the glycemic index of Italy’s most popular dish while providing a high protein and fibre intake: discover the entire range of gluten-free egg pasta with legume flours to have fun in the kitchen.

This pasta salad proposal is meant to take us tastefully to Greece, using the same ingredients we find in traditional Greek salads, but combined in a slightly different way.

Thanks to the presence of egg in Strozzapreti, the pasta salad has a perfect texture even when cold, which is very unusual in the world of gluten-free pasta, especially with a legume base, so you can enjoy an exquisitely fresh dish that is both healthy and balanced.

If you are looking for more pasta salad ideas, try my Coronation Pasta Salad.

Greek-style Strozzapreti pasta

10.8 g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 250g Strozzapreti Zero+ with red lentil flour*
  • 200g fat free Greek yoghurt
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 100g Greek pitted black olives*
  • 100g Greek feta cheese
  • 70g pickled cucumbers*
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • mint
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Boil Strozzapreti in lightly salted boiling water for 7 minutes. Drain them, mix them with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and leave them to cool.
  2. Cut the cherry tomatoes into 4 wedges and add them to the Strozzapreti together with the black olives, then crumble the feta cheese and mix well.
  3. Prepare a sauce mixing Greek yoghurt with finely chopped pickled cucumbers, season with salt and pepper and pour it over the cold pasta. Complete by adding a few mint leaves and serve.

strozzapreti-alla-greca

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Summer recipe: Venere rice salad in a glass

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Sometimes it is just an idea that gives a standard dish an extra touch, so a rice salad can turn into a colourful lunch to deal with the summer heat: here is a perfect summer recipe, my Venere rice salad in a glass.

The rule I am following these days with no air conditioning in my kitchen is just one: no oven, unless I have to bake bread. So, here is a one-course meal ready in 30 minutes, unless the cooking time for your rice takes longer.

Furthermore, if you like this summer recipe idea, use your creativity to invent many other rice salads layering them in a glass to make your table unique and fun for your table companions.  Have a look at these Venere rice towers  to find inspiration!

Summer recipe: Venere rice salad in a glass

9.5g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the courgettes cream

  • 300g courgettes
  • 170g water or vegetable stock*
  • 100g leek
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • a bunch of basil
  • some mint leaves
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for the mozzarella mousse

  • 400g cow’s milk mozzarella
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • water

Ingredients for assembling 4 glasses

  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 100g Venere rice
  • basil leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

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

Preparation

  1. Cook the Venere rice in lightly salted water and drain it when it has the perfect texture to be eaten, then lay it out to cool quite quickly.
  2. In the meantime, chop the leek and sweat it in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, add the chopped courgettes, allow them to gain flavour for a minute, then add the water, basil and mint and cook for 12-13 minutes.
  3. Pour everything in a blender, blend to a smooth cream and season with salt and pepper. Put aside.
  4. Place the chopped mozzarella in a large, tall glass, add 4-5 tablespoons of water and start blending with an immersion blender (ideal for the texture is to use a Bamix) while also pouring in the extra virgin olive oil in a trickle. If the mozzarella cream is too hard, add a few more tablespoons of water while continuing to blend until it is soft and creamy like a mousse. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Cut the cherry tomatoes into 4 wedges, season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  6. Now assemble the glasses: pour the courgette cream on the bottom, form a layer of Venere rice, a layer of mozzarella mousse, the chopped cherry tomatoes and finally decorate with a few basil leaves.

insalata di riso venere in bicchiere

Version with gluten of the summer recipe: Venere rice salad in a glass

This recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptations are necessary.

 

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