Tag Archive for: ricette naturalmente senza glutine

Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja

It is my friend Anna Gallo who takes me on a journey to her native land, Calabria, giving me a beautiful bread bag from the art textile workshop Mario Celestino of Cosenza. And that is how I came up with the idea of preparing a dish that combines land and sea, a dish where squid meets ‘nduja, the undisputed queen of the tip of our boot: Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja.

Calabria is definitely the region where red is the colour that paints the table, and it does so with chilli, the star ingredient of the ‘nduja, the sausage prepared by mixing pork meat and other spices, but also of the Sardella, a spicy cream made from whitebait, as well as many other specialities, and textiles and local handicrafts.

So let’s paint our tables red and add a little spice to life!

Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja

negligible carbohydrates per 100g without bread

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1kg squid, cleaned
  • 100g white wine
  • 30g slivered almonds*
  • 20g ‘nduja*
  • 1 sprig of parsley
  • 2 small sprigs of marjoram
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 lemon with edible peel
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • homemade bread**

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Cut the cleaned squid with beaks and eyes removed into strips and sauté them in a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and the chopped clove of garlic. Sprinkle them with white wine and let it evaporate.
  2. Add the ‘nduja and cook for 5 more minutes: taste the squid and turn off the heat when they are soft because prolonged cooking makes them rubbery.
  3. In the meantime, toast the slivered almonds and use them to top the squid, also season with chopped parsley, marjoram leaves and a grating of lemon peel.
  4. Serve the fish soup with slices of toasted homemade bread.

calamari in brodetto alla nduja

Version with gluten of Calamari in fish soup with ‘nduja 

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

 

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From the heart of Italy, Chestnut and grass pea soup

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A year later, I virtually set off again towards Rieti to meet with bloggers, journalists and cooking enthusiasts to discover other products of the Alta Valle del Velino area through the first recipe: Chestnut and grass pea soup.

This soup is naturally gluten-free and the presence of pulses helps to better control the carbohydrates provided by dried chestnuts and potatoes, foods that require some attention for proper blood sugar management.

The journey of flavours in the heart of Italy: Chestnut and grass pea soup

zuppa di castagne e cicerchie

The local tourism and culture project was designed by the Rieti Viterbo Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Azienda Speciale Centro Italia Rieti and is aimed at highlighting the area’s excellence. Also look at the recipes cooked last year: Amatriciana and Pulse pasta with Rascino lentils.

The main ingredients of Chestnut and grass pea soup are two types of chestnuts and dried grass peas.

The chestnuts of the Rieti area are Chestnuts from Antrodoco and Rossa del Cicolano, both valuable varieties that have always been linked to the economy of these areas and thus one of the main components of the diet of mountain populations along with the rich selection of pulses. In our soup, we used dried chestnuts from Atrodoco, left to soak in water for about half an hour, and partly sliced raw to add a delicious fresh scent and a crunchy touch to the preparation.

The grass pea or Indian pea (an expression that betrays its provenance from distant lands) is a pulse whose cultivation is valuable in areas prone to drought and famine, so it ensured subsistence for farmers even in years when other products failed to bear fruit, thus important despite the difficult harvest.

Grass peas have a sweet taste, similar to that of chickpeas, that easily conquers the palate, but since they grow on stony ground it is important to subject them to a careful visual inspection before putting them in the pot: restaurants in this part of Italy are often equipped with a good insurance policy to cover any expenses for a dentist’s surgery after a tasty stop at the table!

So are you ready to discover the heart of Italy with another recipe? Let’s arm ourselves with pots and ingredients and cook it together.

Chestnut and grass pea soup

16.04 g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1.2 litres of water
  • 300g dried grass peas (soak for at least 8 hours)
  • 100g dried chestnuts (soak for 1 hour)
  • 100g potatoes
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for serving
  • 4 whole chestnuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • bay leaf
  • parsley
  • rosemary
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan and season with chopped garlic and parsley. Add the soaked and well-drained grass peas and allow them to gain flavour for a few minutes, stirring them with a wooden spoon.
  2. Add water and cook for about 20 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the soaked dried chestnuts for about 20 minutes in lightly salted water with a bay leaf. Drain and roughly chop them, then add them to the grass peas together with the diced potatoes and finish cooking.
  4. Take 2 ladles of soup and put them in a blender, then pour the resulting cream back into the soup so that the mixture is nicely thick.
  5. Peel the raw chestnuts, cut them into thin slices and serve the soup with the chestnut slices, chopped rosemary and parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Complete with bread croutons to your taste.

zuppa di castagne e cicerchie

Version with gluten of Chestnut and grass pea soup

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

 

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Coffee Tomini with yoghurt sauce and golden apples

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Do you remember the book by my blogger friend Raffaella Fenoglio of the blog Tre civette sul comò entitled ’50 Shades of Coffee‘? Here is the second mouth-watering recipe: Coffee Tomini with yoghurt sauce and golden apples. And if you love coffee, try also Gnudi with coffee.

A chat with Raffaella

  1. Why a book about coffee?

Coffee is a cue that all three of us liked: myself, Silvia Casini and Francesco Pasqua. It is a universal element, with which music, literature and film are imbued. We added history, curiosities, caffeomancy, recipes, historical cafés, coffe painting, etiquette, star constellations, horoscopes, aphorisms… and many many experts and in the end we had collected so much material that we could have written an encyclopaedia! The difficult thing was to cut, trim, decide what was less interesting. The editor then worked on the infographics and the end result exceeded our expectations.

  1. Is there a recipe in the book that you are particularly fond of?

Let’s face it, the difficult part was the food & wine part: we didn’t want to lapse into banal recipes – you won’t find Tiramisù – and we imagined a complete menu based on the ‘wine from Arabia’. My favourite recipe, among the 50 suggestions, is Cheese with coffee fruit chutney.  We paired this recipe with a SAUVIGNON BLANC SESTO 21 from Casata Mergè. A wine from Latium, from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, structured, suitable for accompanying special cheeses.

  1. In your latest publications, cooking is an integral part of other art forms such as poetry, literature and cinema. How did the idea for this approach come about and what else is boiling in the pot?

In 2020, together with Silvia Casini and Francesco Pasqua, we drew up some literary projects in which we could merge our skills – namely cinema, poetry, literature, music, food and wine. To our great joy, many of those projects, once they landed on the tables of publishers, were successful! So for the following two years you’re going to see some great things! Very interesting and eclectic volumes are coming out. Furthermore, the three of us, taken individually, are fiction writers and have one book each out.

  1. Our first meeting took place when your book Indice GliceAmico came out, a subject that is particularly dear to me because of the attention that diabetes requires of us, where did your interest in this subject come from?

Diabetes has touched my family. This stimulated me to focus on low glycaemic index recipes but until the cookbooks linked to my blog came out, I had no idea of how widespread diabetes was, especially among children.  I find your online cooking courses supported by a clinical nutritionist very interesting. This is the way to inform in the best way without frightening patients and their families.

Coffee Tomini with yoghurt sauce and golden apples

4.45g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 4 pieces of Tomino cheese of about 90g each
  • 200g apples
  • 125g plain fat-free Greek yoghurt
  • 1 cup of strong coffee
  • 30g ginger
  • 1 organic lemon, zest and juice

Preparation

  1. First put Tomini in a bowl to marinate with the cup of coffee and the peeled, sliced ginger. Let them rest for about an hour in the refrigerator.
  2. Peel the apple, cut it into segments and brown them in a little extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan until lightly browned on both sides.
  3. Remove the Tominos from the marinade, blot them with kitchen paper to remove excess coffee and cook them in a non-stick pan or on a grill.
  4. Prepare the yoghurt sauce by simply flavouring it with grated lemon zest and a few teaspoons of juice.
  5. Serve Tomini hot, accompanying them with the yoghurt sauce and a few apple slices.

tomini al caffè con salsa di yogur e mele dorate

Version with gluten of Coffee Tomini with yoghurt sauce and golden apples

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

 

 

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Potato and courgette patties with Parma ham

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I don’t know about you, but with the kids home from school, the need to cook lunch and dinner every day makes it difficult for me to find solutions to satisfy their appetite, desire for variety and time available, so try these Potato and courgette patties with Parma Ham.

Boiling potatoes will be the longest step, but the rest will only take you a few minutes. Obviously you can replace Parma ham with another ham you like, but it is important to remember that by combining a source of fat and protein with potatoes, you will slow down the absorption of carbohydrates, so it will be helpful to avoid glycaemic peaks.

You can accompany these Potato and courgette patties with a side dish of vegetables for a complete and balance meal. And if you love pies, but don’t want to turn on the oven, try this Pan-fried potato pie.

 

Potato and courgette patties with Parma ham  

14.41g carbohydrates per 100g of patties without Parma ham

Ingredients

  • 700g potatoes
  • 350g courgettes
  • 80g spring onion or leek
  • 60g breadcrumbs**
  • 40g butter
  • Parma ham
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of water, then peel and mash them with a potato masher, add butter while they are still hot so that it melts well, then set them aside.
  2. In the meantime, put a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick frying pan, brown the finely chopped spring onion or leek, then add the courgettes grated with a coarse-hole grater, season with salt and pepper, then cook for about 10 minutes, making sure that the courgettes are nice and dry.
  3. Add the cooked courgettes to the mashed potatoes, mix well and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
  4. With the help of a 6cm diameter cutter, form 2cm thick patties; roll them in breadcrumbs very carefully because they are quite soft, then brown them in a non-stick frying pan with a few tablespoons of oil until very crispy on both sides.
  5. Top each patty with a slice of freshly sliced Parma ham and serve.

Pizzette di patate e zucchine al prosciutto

Version with gluten of Potato and courgette patties with Parma ham 

Replace gluten free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs

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Non fried Sicilian Caponata

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Sicily is undoubtedly one of the most popular destinations for art and cuisine, and one of its gastronomic symbols is undoubtedly Sicilian Caponata , of which I share the recipe of dear friends from Carini, near Palermo, whom we feel are part of our family. The only change I made is not frying aubergines… I hope you’ll forgive me!

Precisely because of its Italian character, I chose the Caponata recipe as the star of a fantastic project to make the international public aware of what the products of a virtuous cosmetics company contain, Davines which uses Slow Food Presidia to extract its active ingredients. So you can watch the video made in the Davines Scientific Garden to discover that the ingredients of Caponata are also the ingredients of solid shampoos that are as friendly to humans as they are to the environment.

So have a good trip to discover a recipe that makes us beautiful inside and out!

Non fried Sicilian Caponata 

9.34g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 6-8 servings

  • 830g aubergines, preferably round or striped
  • 550g tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes
  • 300g onions
  • 225g celery
  • 150g pitted green olives*
  • 60g raisins
  • 40g pine nuts
  • 30g salted capers
  • 10g sugar
  • extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Ingredienti della caponata

Preparation of Non fried Sicilian Caponata

  1. Wash and peel the aubergines, then dice them, sprinkle them with a pinch of fine salt and leave them to drain in a colander for a couple of hours. Blot the aubergines to remove the water they have released and fry them in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil (this is the step that makes the difference to the original Sicilian recipe in which the aubergines are deep fried).
  2. Soak the raisins in water.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the celery in pieces and cook it for about 5 minutes in boiling water, then drain it (without throwing away the cooking water) and set it aside.
  4. Cut the pitted olives in half and set aside.
  5. In a non-stick frying pan, pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the sliced onion, then add the celery, olives and well-desalted capers and leave to gain flavour for about ten minutes.
  6. In the meantime, in another non-stick pan, cook the tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes for about 15 minutes so that they shrink, adding sugar and a pinch of salt. Finally, pour in the vegetable mixture, aubergines, wrung out raisins and pine nuts. Stir and cook for about a minute, then remove from the heat and add white wine vinegar to taste. Adjust salt if necessary and serve Caponata warm or cold.

Caponata

Version with gluten of Non fried Sicilian Caponata 

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

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Herb-marinated chicken salad

You know those recipes you can no longer do without? Herb-marinated chicken salad is definitely one of them. I therefore decided to share it at the beginning of summer because it will be the ideal solution for many occasions, from a trip to the mountains, to a lunch on the beach or in the office, this cold dish has an irresistible aroma and a flesh as soft as tuna.

Another not insignificant aspect is that you can prepare the chicken and marinate it in the aromatic oil even one or two days in advance and the result will be even more extraordinary because the meat will be even tenderer.

In addition to the courgettes in the marinade, serve the Chicken Salad with any other seasonal vegetables and you will have solved a naturally gluten free and virtually carbohydrate free meal. A possible pairing could be Cherry tomatoes with bread and anchovies.

Herb-marinated chicken salad    

negligible carbohydrates per 100g

 Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 800g boiled chicken breast
  • 300g courgettes
  • 150g extra virgin olive oil (which you will re-use once you have eaten the chicken)
  • 30g Pantelleria capers in salt
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 star anise berries
  • 1 tuft of thyme
  • oregano
  • chili
  • salt
  • lettuce and mixed leafy greens to taste

Preparation

  1. Cut the courgettes into ribbons with a mandoline and grill them for a few minutes on a grill or in the oven at 200°C on a baking tin covered with parchment paper. Put the oil in a saucepan, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, thyme, salt, chilli and peeled garlic in fillets. Let everything gain flavour on a low heat for about 10 minutes, taking care not to fry the spices.
  2. Desalt the capers, cut the cooked chicken into pieces, put it in an airtight jar with the capers, the still-warm aromatic oil and the courgette ribbons, possibly adding more oil to cover the chicken; close the container and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  3. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator a few hours before serving, mix well, season with a pinch of oregano and serve accompanied with lettuce and other mixed leafy greens to taste.

Note: the marinade oil remaining in the container will be excellent for dressing other salads and as a base for preparing other dishes.

L'insalata di pollo pronta per essere gustata

Version with gluten of Herb-marinated chicken salad

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

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Gluten-free treats: Supplì with Balsamic vinegar and cooked shoulder ham

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Prior to Covid, street food events had become a must-attend event for cooking enthusiasts, and these Supplì with Balsamic vinegar and cooked shoulder ham would have been the perfect protagonists of a snack with friends in the name of good food and regional flavours. So, I wanted to share them with my work colleagues, turning an ordinary day into a special day!

Il supplì con i colleghi di lavoro

But what are Supplì? I told you about them last year for the first SuppliTiamo event with my Suppli Viva l’Italia. And for this new edition of the contest, I wanted to create a much richer and delicious Supplì using three products from my region: Balsamic Vinegar of Modena in its two expressions, PGI and PDO, Cooked shoulder ham from San Secondo and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Let’s start with order. I am not going to tell you about Parmigiano Reggiano because its history has been the protagonist of many other recipes, while I will start with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI. This is the product obtained from partially fermented and/or cooked and/or concentrated grape must and wine vinegar that are subjected to acetification and ageing in wood for at least 60 days. Aging can last up to 3 years for vinegar called “Aged”. This vinegar is the aromatic, sweet and sour product that we are used to using as a condiment and that I love for preparing my sweet and sour onions.

Balsamic PDO is a product that, despite its similar name, has very different characteristics and uses. Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO is in fact the product obtained from a single ingredient, cooked grape must, aged in barrels of different woods and sizes for a minimum of 12 years following a unique production process, closely linked to family traditions. Balsamic Vinegar PDO is a thick, glossy black liquid and has an extremely sweet and concentrated flavour. It is perfect to be consumed raw on sweet and savoury dishes.

Finally, Spalla cotta di San Secondo is a typical deli meat from the areas near the river Po in the province of Parma obtained from the shoulder of pigs. It is a product with a long history sought after by cured meat enthusiasts for its very distinctive flavour and aroma: eaten warm, perhaps with the typical Fried dough, Spalla cotta is just unforgettable!

So let’s prepare our Supplì step by step.

Supplì with balsamic vinegar and cooked shoulder ham

29g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 8 servings

  • 550g meat stock
  • 270g Carnaroli rice
  • 200g onions
  • 120g sliced cooked shoulder ham from San Secondo*
  • 100 g young Pecorino or other cheese that melts
  • 2 eggs
  • 50g breadcrumbs**
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 40g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 20 g butter
  • 3 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI
  • 1 teaspoon Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper
  • seed oil for frying

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Prepare the rice by putting the Carnaroli rice in the meat stock and cooking it until all the stock has been absorbed. Stir the rice with butter and grated Parmesan cheese, then spread it out on a plate or tray to cool.
  2. While the rice is cooling, prepare the onions. Slice them thinly and brown them in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil (I used my fantastic Shark Skin pan from Pentole Agnelli discovered at one of the Risate & Risotti evenings last year) and a bay leaf. When the onions are soft, add Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, season with salt and pepper and let the sauce thicken well. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  3. Once the rice has cooled down, put it in a bowl and incorporate an egg. Season the rice with 1 heaped teaspoon of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

L'aceto balsamico tradizionale di modena

4. Assemble the supplì. Lightly grease your hands with extra virgin olive oil, place a layer of rice on the palm and fingers of one hand, place a spoonful of sweet and sour onions in the centre of the rice, a few cheese cubes and a slice of cooked shoulder ham from San Secondo. Using lightly greased fingers, take more rice to cover the Supplì and form the cylinder, sealing it well.

5. Beat the second egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Dip each Supplì in rice flour, then in beaten egg and finally in breadcrumbs.

6. Put the seed oil in a saucepan, heat it and deep fry the Supplì until golden and crispy. Serve them piping hot and… remember to open your eyes again after the first bite!

dettaglio supplì

Version with gluten of Supplì with balsamic vinegar and cooked shoulder ham

Replace gluten free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs and, if you prefer, rice flour with wheat flour.

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Vegetable omelettes with herbs

Nature is coming back to life all around us with an explosion of flowers and plants, including edible wild herbs and aromatic herbs, so what better idea than to prepare irresistible Vegetable omelettes with herbs?

They are the perfect solution for preparing a healthy, naturally gluten free and carbohydrate freedinner to accompany other seasonal vegetables and a slice of fragrant fibre rich bread: don’t you think so?

Furthermore, if you find some dandelion or some wild hops do not hesitate to pick some to add to your vegetable omelettes or to prepare other vegetarian recipes.

Vegetable omelettes with herbs   

negligible carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 omelettes

  • 8 eggs
  • 170g Swiss chard (just the green part)
  • 140g Tropea red onions
  • 120g peeled tomatoes
  • 60g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 1 clove garlic
  • dried oregano
  • a few marjoram and thyme leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Preparation

  1. Clean the red onions and slice them. Wash the Swiss chard and cut them into strips.
  2. In a non-stick pan, brown the garlic in a little oil, then add the onions and Swiss chard, season with salt and pepper, then cook with the lid on for a few minutes.
  3. Coarsely chop the peeled tomatoes and add them to the vegetables in the pan; cook for another 5 minutes to completely dry the water from the vegetables and remove the garlic.
  4. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley, oregano, aromatic herbs and the cooled down vegetables. Finally, add the grated Parmesan cheese.
  5. Heat a non-stick frying pan of 18-20cm diameter with a little oil and pour in one fourth of the mixture, cooking the omelettes for 2 minutes on each side.
  6. Serve the omelettes accompanied by raw and cooked vegetables to taste.

Frittatine di verdure alle erbe

Vegetables omelettes with herbs ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Vegetable omelettes with herbs

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

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Creamy beetroot risotto: welcome spring!

Welcome Spring! And what better way to do this than by preparing a Creamy beetroot risotto to pay homage to the pink colour of the blossoming trees? Because the typical pink colour of the peach tree is given precisely by the beetroot, which we can buy already cooked, perhaps baked, from our greengrocer.

Creamy beetroot risotto: pink on the plate.

The second star of the risotto is one of my absolute favourite cheeses, namely Gorgonzola, the Italian blue cheese par excellence, whose light spiciness gives the slightly earthy flavour of beetroot a boost of flavour.

Furthermore, you know well I love adding a crunchy touch to risottos, the perfect complement to the creaminess of well-roasted and smooth grains, and a very simple and effective idea are slivers of Jerusalem artichoke and slivers of Parmesan cheese.

ingredienti del risotto cremoso alla barbabietola

The ingredients of creamy beetroot risotto

Jerusalem artichoke: a zero-mileage tuber

Despite the name that makes us think it comes from who knows what distant country, Jerusalem artichoke is a herbaceous perennial plant with an underground tuber native to the American continent whose name probably comes from the South American Tupinamba tribe that made abundant use of it.

Like potato and tomato, Jerusalem artichoke has adapted perfectly to the climate of our country where it grows wild and almost weedy, especially along watercourses, and we recognise it by its beautiful yellow flowers on tall, straight stalks. So don’t be afraid to buy this kind of lumpy potato: it will be a constant surprise when you eat it raw, as in this risotto, or cooked as a side dish or cream.

So if you are looking for recipes for Easter, simple but surprising recipes and ideas to colour your table, here is a solution! And to complete the menu, try Easter pie.

Creamy beetroot risotto

25.35g carbohydrates per 100g  

 Ingredients for 4 servings

  • approx. 1.5 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
  • 320g rice
  • 100g baked beetroot
  • 80g Gorgonzola
  • 70g red wine
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 30g shallot
  • 30g butter
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, Pecorino Romano cheese for crisps

Ingredients to complete

  • 1 Jerusalem artichoke
  • Parmesan shavings
  • 2 slices of baked beetroot

Preparation

Put a little oil in a pan and very slowly brown the thinly sliced shallot and diced beetroot. After a few minutes, add a ladle of stock and let it cook for a few minutes. Transfer this vegetable base to a blender and blend to a cream-like mixture.

Start preparing the risotto. Put the rice in a thick-bottomed pan and toast it dry over high heat (it took me 3 minutes to have transparent rice grains with a white core in the centre). Douse the rice with red wine, allow to evaporate, then start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and only add stock when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. Five minutes from the end of cooking, add the beetroot cream and Gorgonzola cheese to the rice.

When the rice is still al dente, take it away from the heat and proceed with the creaming. Add 30 grams of butter, stirring the rice well so that the starch is released to form a nice creamy mixture, add the grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring vigorously until all ingredients are perfectly incorporated. Cover the pan with a tea towel and let it rest for 1 minute.

Serve the risotto on hot plates and distribute some very thin slices of Jerusalem artichoke cut with a mandoline, Parmesan shavings and a few cubes of beetroot on the surface.

Il risotto cremoso alla barbabietola pronto per essere gustato

Creamy beetroot risotto ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Creamy beetroot risotto

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

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Vegan muffins with almond butter

An alternative breakfast: Vegan muffins with almond butter.

For some of the ingredients I use in my recipes, I now have my absolute trusted suppliers and one of these is Andrea, the greengrocer who patiently accommodates my requests, including the most unusual ones!

Having now made my passion for cooking his own, Andrea often sources products that he brings from his wonderful homeland, Sicily. So I manage to have wonderful sheep’s ricotta for preparing Cassata my own way and other wonderful sweet and savoury preparations, fresh and mature Caciocavallo, oregano, cherry tomatoes, anchovies and a little gem produced by his cousin in Agrigento, the Mennulataa butter made from 100% almonds.

I must admit that I have used it in many preparations, but always around lunch or dinner time so I never managed to take a photo before my family had eaten everything up!

This time I am finally able to share a recipe that is a little unusual for me because it is vegan, but very interesting and tasty for those who do not want to give up a sweet breakfast while avoiding butter and eggs.

Vegan muffins with almond butter

36.30g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 9 muffins

  • 120g almond and rice milk* (or another type of plant milk)
  • 75g plant yoghurt*
  • 50g fine corn flour*
  • 50g dark chocolate*
  • 45g buckwheat flour*
  • 40g Mennulata almond butter*
  • 35g rice oil
  • 30g brown sugar
  • 27g corn starch*
  • 25g finely grated coconut*
  • 25g coconut sugar
  • 8g baking powder*
  • a pinch of salt

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

Preparation

  1. Pour the yoghurt into a bowl and mix it with the sugars and almond butter. Gradually add the flours, continuing to stir so that no lumps form, and when the mixture starts to feel rather thick, add the rice oil and the almond and rice milk; finally, add a pinch of salt, baking powder and the dark chocolate pulverised in a food processor.
  2. Place the paper cups inside a silicone or metal muffin tin, fill them ¾ full, then bake the muffins in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  4. They are a great breakfast, especially cut in half and enriched with a teaspoon of raspberry jam.

muffin-vegani-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Vegan muffins with almond butter

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

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