Tag Archive for: senza uova

Mediterranean Risotto

Behind the scenes of my Mediterranean Risotto: towards the final of the Rice Food Blogger Contest

When you have an unforgettable experience, you are afraid to try to repeat it for fear that it will disappoint you and spoil the fairytale atmosphere of your memories. With the ‘Chef Giuseppina Carboni’ Rice Food Blogger Contest this was not the case: the second experience not only did not disappoint expectations, but even gave us surprises and emotions that were totally unexpected: let’s discover the behind the scenes of my Mediterranean Risotto.

The day of the final

There were 12 of us, the semi-finalists of the contest, at the Chef Academy in Terni to challenge each other to the sound of risottos created from a mystery box designed by chef and jury member Roberta Massoli of the La Pergola Restaurant in Magliano Sabina.
My mystery box contained strawberries, goat cheese, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and Maremma rice.

The result: my Sweet Thoughts Risotto, cooked with strawberries, creamed with a goat’s cheese cream and served with a parmesan and pine nut crumble that I loved. Actually, the jury, composed of Chef Academy director Ronny Albucci, Chef Roberta Massoli, Chef Matteo Barbarossa, the winner of the last edition of the Contest, Cristiana Curri, and the event organiser Luca Puzzuoli , also liked it, and in addition to choosing me among the 5 finalists, they declared my risotto the best of the semifinal!

And do you know what was at stake? A real chef’s jacket from the prestigious host cooking school, the first one I have ever worn.

Foto vittoria semifinale

Furthermore, the products of the initiative’s sponsors have been gracing our table for several days: Maremma rice, Parmigiano Reggiano, Flagella tomatoes, Verrigni pasta and Infinito extra virgin olive oil.

A great surprise of this edition was the lunch organised at the Italyheart oil mill in Fornole di Amelia: a masterpiece from start to finish! In addition to a divine lunch, where my children for the first time tasted wild boar meat and pigeon with anchovy paste, there was a very interesting mini-lesson by Angela Canale – agronomist, panel head, olive oil expert – on Italian extra virgin olive oil and a tasting dedicated to the Infinito oil produced by the oil mill that welcomed us.

Many products for one risotto: my Mediterranean Risotto

Waiting for the highly anticipated final on 21 July in which I will see the other finalists, Bianca and Marta, Angela, Alessia and Sara, I couldn’t help but create a risotto with the extraordinary products that the organisers and sponsors have given us… I must admit that if the mystery box of the final contained these ingredients, few palates would be able to resist!

Enjoy this risotto!

Mediterranean Risotto

21.6g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • approx. 2 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
  • 360g Carnaroli rice
  • 300g Flagella tomato sauce
  • 85g cow’s milk mozzarella
  • 65g Stracchino cheese or another cream cheese
  • 60g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 60g extra virgin olive oil
  • 30g carrots
  • 30g leek
  • 30g water
  • 15g celery
  • salt, oregano, basil and Infinito extra virgin olive oil to garnish

Preparation

  1. First prepare the tomato cream. Put about 20g of Infinito extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan with the chopped leek, carrot and celery. Let the vegetables soften and brown, then add the Flagella tomato sauce, a pinch of salt and a ladle of stock; let it cook for about 15 minutes and whisk to obtain a homogeneous sauce, finally set aside.
  2. Prepare the cream cheese with mozzarella, stracchino cheese and 30g water; whisk for a few seconds until smooth and allow to rest at room temperature.
    Start preparing the rice. Put a little oil in a pan and toast the rice on a high heat (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and only add stock when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. After about 5 minutes, add the tomato sauce and continue to cook the risotto.
  3. Turn off the heat, leaving the rice still al dente, and start stirring in about 40g of extra virgin olive oil so that the starch is released and forms a nice creamy texture; then add the grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated. Let the risotto rest for at least 1 minute covered with a dish towel.
  4. Serve by placing a spoonful of mozzarella cream at room temperature in the centre of the plate; pour a few drops of extra virgin olive oil over the cream, place a basil leaf on top and sprinkle with a pinch of oregano.
  5. Serve and dream of summer in one of our beautiful Mediterranean countries!
risotto-mediterraneo-senza-glutine

Mediterranean Risotto

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Rice cabbage rolls au gratin

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Cabbage and Savoy cabbage have been with us all winter and have given us an incredible variety of preparations. One of our favourite recipes is Rice cabbage rolls au gratin and it is for several reasons.

First, we like the name in Italian, “Valigini” meaning small suitcases, trolleys, because a small suitcase always contains something we take with us on a trip and maybe even a gift from a faraway place when we return… it gives us a foretaste of surprise. Then, we like it because it is an explosion of colours in a season that is not very lively.

Moreover, it is a delicacy that can be easily served as a one-course meal, both for its satiating power and for its nutritional composition: carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins. And finally, for the delicate but, at the same time, full and rich flavour of those surprises kept in our little suitcases: the sweetness of the raisins enhanced by the unmistakable savouriness of the pecorino cheese, the crunchiness of the cashews and the tenderness of the soft green cabbage that envelops them.

In short, a preparation that makes adults happy and makes kids forget that they are eating the often ‘hated’ vegetables.

Rice cabbage rolls au gratin

13.74g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 800g cabbage cooking water
  • 370g green cabbage (the 6 largest outer leaves)
  • 150g purple cabbage
  • 200g Carnaroli rice
  • 50g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 50g raisins
  • 40g red wine
  • 30g cashews or Brazil nuts
  • 30g Pecorino cheese, grated
  • 25g extra virgin olive oil
  • 25g spring onion
  • 10g butter
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Take 6 large leaves of green cabbage. Wash them and blanch them in boiling salted water for a few minutes; drain and throw them in cold water. Wait a few moments, drain them well on paper towels and keep the hot cooking water as vegetable stock.
  2. Put a little oil in a pan, soften the thinly chopped spring onion, then add the thinly sliced purple cabbage in small pieces; after lightly browning, add a drop of water and cook the cabbage almost through, allowing the liquid to evaporate.
La preparazione del riso

Rice preparation

  1. Throw the rice in the pan with the cabbage and toast it well. Pour red wine and allow to evaporate, when the smell of alcohol has disappeared, start stirring the rice using the cooking water from the outer leaves. Add the soaked raisins and lightly chopped cashews and continue to roll the rice.
Il riso pronto per la mantecatura

The rice ready for the stir-frying

  1. When the rice is almost cooked, but still rather al dente, cream it with butter and Parmesan cheese; let it cool and spread it out on a rather large plate so that the rice does not brown: in this way, the risotto should be cooked to perfection after gratin.
  2. Take the blanched leaves and cut them in half, removing the harder, thicker central rib. Place a heaped spoonful of risotto on each half and roll the cabbage forming a cylinder.
La preparazione degli involtini

Preparing the rolls

Gli involtini prima della gratinatura

The rolls before baking au gratin

  1. Place the rolls in an oven dish, sprinkle with grated pecorino cheese and drizzle a little oil on the surface.

Gratinatura

  1. Grate under the oven grill at 220°C for about 10 minutes until the pecorino is lightly browned.
Gli involtini pronti per essere gustati

The rolls ready to be enjoyed

This recipe participates in the Contest “Rice Food Blogger 2017 – Chef Giuseppina Carboni“

Risultati immagini per risate e risotti Risultati immagini per chefacademy Risultati immagini per chef&maitre Risultati immagini per aifb

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Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

Dense, creamy and delicious! Definitely Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika is a tasty way to get children to eat vegetables and pulses.

The sweetness of pumpkin, combined with the unmistakable flavour of lentils, makes this soup perfect also for children, while if you want to give a twist to sweetness, paprika or, why not, chilli pepper, will be the ideal solution.

A light, balanced and tasty meal!

Do you love soups and creams? Try my Cabbage, potato and shallot soup.

Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

3.75g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 1.3 litres of water
  • 700g pumpkin
  • 375g onions
  • 50g lentils
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • ½ tsp turmeric (optional)
  • 1 pinch of chilli pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Cut the pumpkin and onion into small pieces, season with oil, salt and pepper and place in a baking dish covered with parchment paper; bake at 200°C for 20 minutes and set aside.
    Put water on the stove with garlic, bay leaf and lentils; cook for about ten minutes. Now add the baked pumpkin and onion, keeping a few pieces aside to decorate the dishes.
  2. Finish cooking the lentils and vegetables, remove the garlic and bay leaf, then blend and season with spices, salt and pepper. Finally, add the vegetable pieces left whole.
  3. Serve with a drizzle of oil and croutons to taste.

vellutata-di-zucca-e-lenticchie-alla-paprika-uno-chef-per-gaia-ph-chiara-marando

Version with gluten of Pumpkin and lentil soup with paprika

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

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Olive bread braid

But how pleasant is it to breathe in the aroma of freshly baked bread? It gives your home that extra touch of enveloping warmth that soothes. That we like bread a lot is a well-known fact by now, but today we have chosen to share with you an alternative and tasty version to be enjoyed slice by slice: Olive bread braid.

Ready to work? Also try Vegetable buns.

Olive bread braid

45.58g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 450g water
  • 450g flour mix for bread, brand Nutrifree**
  • 70g pitted olives
  • 50g buckwheat flour*
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 20g sprouted buckwheat flour* (optional)
  • 12g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • oil to brush the surface, flour* for dusting the board

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, add the water to the flours, in a bowl or a planetary mixer, and mix. Add the oil, salt and chopped olives and continue to knead until smooth and homogeneous. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour.

treccia-di-pane-alle-olive-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. Divide it into three equal parts, form three cylinders and twist them together to form a braid. Place the braid on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and leave it to rise for about 1 hour or until nice and swollen.

treccia-di-pane-alle-olive-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. Bake in a static oven preheated to 190°C for about 30 minutes.

treccia-di-pane-alle-olive-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

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Aperitif time: Guacamole Salsa

Aperitif is more and more an Italian ritual, a way to enjoy some food with a good drink with family and friends. So, even early in the week, we may be thinking about the Friday night aperitif and, this time, we have decided it will be homemade.
So we share with you a recipe for an appetising salsa to enjoy with crispy nachos: Guacamole Salsa. You can also accompany it with Teff crackers.

Do you like the idea? We are already anticipating it.

Guacamole Salsa

1.86g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 200g avocado (the pulp of 1 avocado)
  • 30g lime or lemon juice
  • 10g onion or spring onion
  • 3g salt
  • 2g coriander or parsley
  • 1-2 g finely chopped garlic
  • pepper, chilli and chopped tomato to taste

Preparation of Guacamole Salsa

  1. Place the avocado pulp in a blender, add the lime or lemon juice and blend well. Then add all the other ingredients chopped very finely.
  2. Season with salt, pepper and chilli and, if you want, add a chopped tomato.
    Serve the guacamole salsa with nachos or use it to stuff tortillas together with tasty Chilli con carne.

salsa-guacamole-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia-ph-chiara-marando

Version with gluten of Guacamola Salsa

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

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Mexican dinner: Vegetarian Chili

How about organising a fun Mexican dinner? We have done so and would like to recommend a recipe that is going to be a true success, with intense, spicy flavours suitable for all palates: Vegetarian Chili.

Would you like to accompany the recipe with an aperitif? Try the Guacamole Salsa.

Let’s begin!

Vegetarian Chili

7.41g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 400g tomato sauce
  • 300g yellow pepper
  • 300g red pepper
  • 250g carrots
  • 250g cooked Mexican black beans (about 120g dry soaked in water for at least 12 hours)
  • 200g cooked yellow soy (approx. 100g dry soaked in water for at least 12 hours)
  • 100g water
  • 40g onions
  • 1 piece of chilli pepper
  • paprika, parsley or coriander, extra virgin olive oil, salt

Preparation

  1. Put the beans in water and cook them for the time necessary for them to remain firm. Once cooked, drain them and set them aside. Repeat the same operation with the yellow soy.
  2. Chop the onion fairly finely and sauté it in a slightly high-sided pan with a little oil, adding the garlic clove and a pinch of chilli pepper according to personal preferences for spiciness.
  3. In the meantime, slice the carrots into rounds and dice the pepper, chop the parsley (in Mexico, coriander is used, but its specific flavour is not liked by all), then add all the vegetables and tomato sauce to the stir-fry, then season with salt and paprika.
  4. Let the vegetables cook for about 15 minutes. Finally, incorporate the soy and beans and let everything gain flavour for another 5 minutes before serving.

Chili-vegetariano-senza-glutine-uni-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Vegetarian Chili

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

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Traditional recipes from the world: Gulash

You know those evenings when you want to eat something really juicy to treat yourself after the long working day or week?
So, with this in mind, on an afternoon when appetite was king, we decided to prepare Gulash. This is a fantastic way to travel and discover the traditions from other countries, remember.

Are you already anticipating the flavour? We are!

So here’s the recipe!

Gulash

5.8g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 1 kg beef shoulder
  • 400g onions
  • 250g yellow pepper (about 1 trimmed pepper)
  • 250g red pepper (about 1 trimmed pepper)
  • 150g carrots
  • 50g sweet paprika
  • stock, salt, extra virgin olive oil, chilli pepper

Preparation

  1. Cut the onion and put it in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, letting it soften slowly for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped beef and let it cook for about 15 minutes.
  2. Add paprika, stir and cook for 1 hour.
  3. Add the chopped pepper and carrot, season with salt, moisten with a little stock and cook for another 40 minutes.
  4. Finally, adjust the flavour with a pinch of chilli pepper to taste and serve with boiled potatoes or polenta.

 

Gulash

Version with gluten of Gulash

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

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Soy and pumpkin patties

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Soy and pumpkin patties are a nice appetiser, a tasty dish that is hard to give up, a dish that comes when hunger starts to set in and prepares for the upcoming meal. That’s why it must certainly be appetising but, at the same time, balanced so as not to weigh you down and allow you to fully enjoy the following courses.

Soy and pumpkin patties fulfil all these characteristics: they are light, healthy and tasty. And to continue having fun with patties and meatballs, dive into the Patties and meatballs section: you will find a solution to make young and old happy.

And if you are looking for a salad to go with these patties, try this Dominican salad or just prepare a mixed green and tomato salad.

Ready to start cooking?

Soy and pumpkin patties

12.20g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 300g pumpkin cooked in the oven
  • 150g boiled yellow soy
  • 50g breadcrumbs**
  • 30g leek
  • parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Slice the leek thinly and put it in a pan with a little oil, brown it and add soy and pumpkin.
  2. Season with herbs and spices, add salt and blend in a food processor until creamy.
  3. Form into patties (we had about 14) and roll them in breadcrumbs. Brown in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil, then serve with fresh vegetables.

Polpettine-di-soia-e-zucca-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Soy and pumpkin patties

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

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Vegan chocolate biscuits

It was a challenge I wanted to try, namely to bake Vegan chocolate biscuits because on one of my trips I tasted a vegan biscuit that really bewitched me. After many trials, I have finally arrived at a version that the whole family loves, but beware that vegan does not mean low-calorie and low-carbohydrate!

So let’s enjoy these biscuits, but in moderation, also because it’s hard to stop once you’ve tasted them! Other biscuits? Try these Coffee flavoured ones.

Vegan chocolate biscuits

62.28g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 100g fine corn flour*
  • 100g fat emulsion (with Zero butter)*
  • 80g dark chocolate*
  • 75g teff flour*
  • 75g sugar
  • 65g Moscovado sugar
  • 60g hazelnuts
  • 40g water
  • 30g bitter cocoa*
  • 7g soy lecithin*
  • 4g baking powder*
  • 1 vanilla pod

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

Preparation of Vegan chocolate biscuits

  1. Start by chopping the hazelnuts to a flour-like powder; then chop the dark chocolate; prepare an emulsion with water and soy lecithin.
  2. Whip the plant butter with the sugars and add all the other ingredients until you obtain a firm dough; cover it with cling film and place in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.
  3. When the time has elapsed, take the mixture and form small balls of 40g each; arrange them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper at a distance of 5cm; finally, place in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. The last step is to bake your chocolate balls in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes. You can decorate each ball with 1 hazelnut before baking.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. Once baked, let the sweets cool and serve.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Vegan chocolate biscuits

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

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Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

The New Year has arrived and with it the cold that has brought us to enjoy the warmth of home these days, perhaps snuggled up on the sofa in front of a good film. And you know that for us cold temperatures equate to tasty, wholesome soups, to be enjoyed perhaps accompanied by croutons and a good glass of wine, just like the Broccoli and cauliflower velouté.

Today, we recommend a recipe that is light, easy to prepare and perfect for delighting children and adults alike with healthy seasonal vegetables.

If you like soups, you can also try my Pulse and vegetable soup.

Here’s what you need to prepare it!

Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

4.41g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 400g cauliflower
  • 400g broccoli
  • 400g potatoes
  • 200g onions
  • 1.2 litres of water
  • extra virgin olive oil and salt as needed

Preparation

  1. Put the sliced onion in a pan with oil, add the broccoli and cauliflower florets, the diced potatoes and finally cover with water.
  2. Bring to the boil and cook for 40 minutes until the vegetables have become soft. Blend everything, adjust salt and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and possibly some croutons.
  3. Simple, isn’t it? 🙂

vellutata-di-broccoli-e-cavolfiore-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Broccoli and cauliflower velouté

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

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