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Romaine lettuce rolls

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Rolls are a bit like meatballs: one leads to another! Here is an idea for preparing delicious Romaine lettuce rolls with a tasty and colourful filling that you can also prepare with me by by watching the video recipe.

I wanted to propose a vegetarian filling because we know that healthy eating guidelines recommend consuming meat no more than 3 times a week (1 time red meat, 2 times white meat), so I am always looking for tasty alternatives to meat so that the rest of the family will not notice its absence. Another idea? Also try the Vegetable au gratin.

Even the choice of lettuce is designed to change the flavours as much as possible, in short, variety is the key!

Romaine lettuce rolls

14.91g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 250g Romaine lettuce
  • 200g grated cheese (choice of Caciocavallo, Parmesan, Pecorino, etc., also mixed together)
  • 100g breadcrumbs Nutrifree**, and a little more to dust the surfce with
  • 2 eggs
  • 50g dried tomatoes
  • 15g dried Porcini mushrooms
  • vegetable stock
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Wash the leaves of Romaine lettuce and blanch them for less than a minute in slightly salted boiling water. Drain the leaves using a slotted spoon and plunge them in very cold water. Take the leaves out of the water and lay them on a tray or cloth so that they drain a bit.
  2. Prepare the filling. Heat the stock and use it to scald the breadcrumbs, which should be moist but not creamy. Let it cool down.
  3. Blend the dried Porcini to a powder; chop the dried cherry tomatoes.
  4. Add 170g grated cheese to the breadcrumbs, also incorporate cherry tomatoes, Porcini mushrooms and the whole eggs. Stir and add pepper (salt should not be needed).
  5. Take the lettuce leaves, remove the centre rib, place a roll of stuffing in the centre and wrap it, forming a roll for each leaf. Place the rolls in an oven dish, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, breadcrumbs and a drizzle of oil and bake au gratin in a static oven preheated to 200°C for about 15 minutes.

involtini di lattuga

Version with gluten of Romaine lettuce rolls

Replace the Nutrifree breadcrumbs with an equal amount of conventional breadcrumbs, while all other ingredients remain unchanged.

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Gluten-free fried cream: Carnival sweets

Do you know that we are already in the Carnival period? Pastry shops and bakeries have been swarming with fried desserts for some time now, so here is a recipe for an excellent gluten-free fried cream (which you can easily adapt to the gluten version by following the directions at the bottom of the recipe) prepared with rice flour and coconut biscuits.

If I hardly ever fry during the year, especially sweets, in these cold days with so many limitations for social life, Carnival overwhelms us with numerous and delicious food temptations. So get ready to surrender: even if in moderation, I think it will be impossible not to taste Chiacchiere, Krapfen and this irresistible Fried Cream, a soft heart encased in crispy breadcrumbs.

Gluten-free Fried Cream

30.50g carbohydrates per 100g without icing sugar dusting

Ingredients

  • 500g milk
  • 150g sugar
  • 125g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 50g chopped Le Veneziane coconut biscuits**
  • 50g almond flour*
  • 25g corn starch*
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • grated rind of 1 lemon
  • frying oil, icing sugar*, flour**

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Heat the milk with the vanilla (e.g. an empty pod kept aside) and grated lemon peel. Allow to cool and strain the liquid.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the milk, sugar, 1 yolk and 2 egg whites, add the flour and starch, stirring with a whisk; then bring the cream to the boil on the stove and let it cook for a few minutes.
  3. Pour the cream inside a rectangular steel ring  placed on a sheet of baking paper or in a small square or rectangular baking tin covered with parchment paper and leave to cool.

Uno_chef_per_Gaia_crema_fritta
4. Once ready, cut it into cubes, dip them first in flour, then in the 2 beaten eggs and finally in the biscuit and almond flour mixture.

Uno_Chef_per_Gaia_crema_fritta_senza Glutine

  1. Fry the cubes in hot oil, dry them well with kitchen paper and finish by dusting them with icing sugar.

uno_chef_per_gaia_ricetta_gluten_free_crema_fritta

Version with gluten of Fried cream

Replace gluten-free biscuits and flour for the breading with standard products.

 

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Torta soffice di mele e cannella

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In addition to bread and jam, one of my favourite breakfasts is with Soft apple and cinnamon cake, although I love any baked desserts made with this fruit that accompanies us all year round and which – especially at this time of spring when we are waiting for the great gifts of the warm season in terms of fruit – is one of the few seasonal products of Italian origin.

Although I like all apple desserts, for breakfast soft cakes are definitely the ones I enjoy the most, combining them with yoghurt, granola and my ever-present strong coffee: a pampering that I find really indispensable to get the day off to a good start.

I suggest you use cinnamon in the recipe, do you know why? Have you ever wondered why in all cultures of the world there are so many sweets containing cinnamon? This is by no means a coincidence.

In fact, this spice slows down gastric emptying time, which also slows down the absorption of blood sugar immediately after meals, i.e. cinnamon has a ‘hypoglycaemic’ function. This does not mean that the consumption of cinnamon can be considered a therapy for diabetes, but there are numerous studies showing its favourable effect on blood glucose control in people with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes (for some more information, you can read this article). So in addition to giving our preparations an unmistakable aroma, cinnamon also has a positive effect on our well-being!

Torta soffice di mele e cannella

Soft apple and cinnamon cake

 Soft apple and cinnamon cake   

40.10g carbohydrates per 100g

 Ingredients

  • 350g Granny Smith or rennet apples already cleaned and peeled (2 apples)
  • 200g brown sugar (+ 20g for sprinkling, optional)
  • 125g low fat plain yoghurt
  • 100g gluten free multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 100g corn starch*
  • 80g almond flour*
  • 70g butter
  • 30g coconut milk*
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 lemon
  • 16g baking powder*
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • cinnamon powder

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Peel and core the apples and sprinkle them with the juice of half a lemon so that they do not get dark.
  2. In a planetary mixer, whip the eggs with the brown sugar until white and frothy, then add the creamy butter, vanilla and the powder ingredients, i.e. almond flour, corn starch and the Massimo Zero mix; add the yoghurt, a pinch of salt and finally the baking powder and coconut milk. Remove the mixture from the planetary mixer and complete with grated lemon zest.
  3. Wet a sheet of baking paper and line a 24cm-diameter hinged cake tin. Pour in the mixture, level it and start covering it with the sliced apples, creating a pattern on the surface so that all the apples are used.
  4. To complete and if you wish, mix 30g brown sugar with a teaspoon of cinnamon, then sprinkle the apples with the mixture before placing the cake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 40 minutes.
  5. Remove the cake from the oven, allow it to cool, then take it out of the mould, remove the baking paper and place it on a cake tin. Watch the video recipe!

Version with gluten of Soft apple and cinnamon cake

Replace the Massimo Zero flour mix with an equal amount of conventional cake flour and do not add 30g of coconut milk.

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Flaxseed dark bread

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I had promised you a journey into gluten free bread, so the must stop is this Flaxseed dark bread. In addition to using a preparation rich in fibre and sunflower seeds, I thought I would also add flax seeds to benefit from all the qualities they contain. Taking care of oneself by eating good bread seems a good solution to me.

Flaxseeds are rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids, promote the expulsion of LDL cholesterol and promote the synthesis of HDL good cholesterol, thus preventing the onset of cardio-vascular diseases. They also help control triglycerides, keeping arteries clean and regulating blood pressure. And finally, they contain vitamins B, vitamins C and E, minerals and essential fatty acids: in short, real natural food supplements.

The important thing to emphasise is that in order to be able to digest flaxseeds and thus reap their full benefits, it is essential to break and/or blend them as their extremely hard outer part makes it impossible to digest them if swallowed whole.

At this point, let’s start kneading and wait for the house to fill with the unmistakable fragrance of freshly made bread. Watch the video recipe here.

Le pagnotte di pane nero con i semi di lino

The loaves of dark bread with linseeds

Flaxseed dark bread  

40.37g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 450g gluten free wholemeal bread flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 370g water
  • 40g linseeds* (soak in 100g water)
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 17g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • brown rice flour* for dusting
  • extra virgin olive oil to brush the surface

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Soak the linseed in 100g of water, let it soak for about ten minutes and whisk it lightly.
  2. Pour the dark bread mix into the bowl of the planetary mixer, add the blended flaxseeds then mix for a few minutes at low speed.
  3. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in the lukewarm water and pour into the planetary mixer. Mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes, then add salt and oil and mix for a few more minutes. When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, stop the planetary mixer and place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board.
  4. Again with the help of a little brown rice flour, flatten the dough slightly and let it rise, i.e. pre-rise, directly on the cutting board for about 15 minutes.
  5. With the help of a rasp, divide the dough into two parts, lightly roll each half to form a sort of cylinder and put it to rise in a rising basket in a warm place for about 1.5 hours.
  6. Once the bread has risen, tip the two loaves onto a baking tray covered with baking paper or a perforated silicone mat. Brush the surface with extra virgin olive oil, make a cross cut and bake in a static oven preheated to 230°C for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200°C, then bake, leaving the bread in the oven for a further 35 minutes, checking the bread because the baking time varies slightly depending on the oven.
  7. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool before cutting it.

Version with gluten of Linseed dark bread

Replace the Massimo Zero wholemeal bread with Petra 9 flour or QB Multicereale flour and mix it with 300g water instead of 370g.

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Viva l’Italia vegetarian Supplì

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What is Supplì? A rice ball containing succulent fillings that will satisfy any palate. And why this Viva l’Italia vegetarian Supplì?

Viva l’Italia vegetarian supplì for the SuppliTiamo contest

Those of you who have followed me over the years know of my rice-related adventures and especially of the Risate & Risotti event from which my first participation in a cookery competition started, the stages of which became the leitmotif of my book ‘Food bloggers in viaggio’ (read here some stories and recipes that were featured in the contest “Rice Food Blogger Contest Chef Giuseppina Carboni”).

Since the initiative could not be organised this year due to the Covid emergency, a very nice contest was launched called SuppliTiamo dedicated, as the name itself reveals, to Suppli and in which this recipe participates.

What are Supplì? Supplì are a kind of elongated rice ball, stuffed and fried just like the Sicilian Arancini. Its name comes from the French surprise because such is the feeling one gets from eating it: the suprise of the filling contained within its crunchy shell. Supplì is a rustic speciality, typical of Roman cuisine, that has been popular since its origins: what better solution could there be for the soldiers’ ration than to have a single dish in ‘pocket’ size?

While the original recipe called for a ragout prepared with chicken giblets, the seasonings have since become more and more creative, although a classic of Roman cuisine remains ‘Supplì al telefono‘ (meaning Supplì on the phone) prepared with mozzarella cheese inside and amusingly named so to describe the moment when it breaks in half to be eaten, forming a long, stringy mozzarella dripping that is reminiscent of the telephone sets before the advent of wireless devices.

My proposal

So here is my Supplì which I wanted to dedicate to our country to which, never more than now, we must show a sense of belonging and support. So my Supplì ‘Viva l’Italia’ wants to wish all of us who live in this country to find the positive energy we need in this moment of restart. And you know who I wanted to give it to? To my friend Lucia, companion of adventures and help in my cooking classes, the friend who made me find shopping bags right in front of this gate in the most difficult moments of our quarantine.

Il supplì regalato alla mia amica Lucia

The supplì given to my friend Lucia

I made my Supplì using a delicious tomato risotto (drawing inspiration from my Mediterranean Risottowith a few minor changes) which I cooked by doubling the amount so that I would have half to make 8 Supplì. The other change was the cooking: in order to avoid fried food, which in our house should be eaten in moderation, I cooked the supplì in the oven under the grill and they turned out delicious!!!!

I supplì al pomodoro farciti di pesto di rucola e formaggio filante

Tomato supplì stuffed with rocket pesto and stringy cheese

Viva l’Italia vegetarian supplì  

24.35g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the risotto for 8 supplì

  • approx. 2 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
  • 360g Vialone nano rice
  • 300g tomato sauce
  • 60g grated Parmesan cheese
  • 40g butter
  • 30g carrots
  • 30g leek
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 15g celery
  • 1 egg
  • salt, pepper, chilli

Ingredients for the stuffing

  • 240g buffalo Bergamino cheese (or any cheese melting easily)
  • 160g breadcrumbs** (20g per supplì)
  • 70g rocket
  • 50g almonds, peeled
  • 2 basil leaves
  • 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. Put the extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan with the chopped leek, carrot and celery. Let the mince soften and brown, then add the tomato sauce, a pinch of salt and a ladle of stock; let it cook for about 15 minutes, then whisk to obtain an even sauce and set it aside.
  2. 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 well transparent with the white central part). Start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and add stock only when the rice is almost dry. After about 5 minutes, add the tomato sauce and continue to cook the risotto. When the rice is still al dente, turn off the heat and start stirring by adding the butter and grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until the rice is completely blended and creamy. Let the risotto cool down, then add the whole egg and mix thoroughly; let it cool down.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the rocket cream. Put a saucepan of water on the stove, add salt and bring to the boil; blanch the rocket for 30 seconds, drain it (retaining the cooking water) and throw it into ice water.
  4. Put the peeled almonds in a blender and blend them to a flour; add the drained rocket, 2 basil leaves, a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and blend to a cream, adding a tablespoon of cooking water from the rocket if necessary.
  5. Assemble the supplì. Lightly grease your hands with extra virgin olive oil, place a layer of tomato risotto on the palm and fingers of one hand, place a heaped teaspoon of rocket cream in the centre of the rice, spreading it over almost the entire length of the layer, and on top place two pieces of cheese, amounting to about 30g. Using lightly greased fingers, take more risotto to cover the supplì and form the cylinder, sealing it well. Coat it in breadcrumbs and place it on a perforated baking tray covered with baking paper. When you have finished all the rice (I made 8 supplì), put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the breaded surface and bake them in a preheated oven at 230°C under the grill for 10-15 minutes until they are perfectly golden.
  6. Serve them hot and… don’t eat too many!

Version with gluten of Viva l’Italia vegetarian supplì

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

 

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Assortment of white bread

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During National Coeliac Disease Week, I couldn’t help but share a recipe for a wonderful gluten-free assortment of white bread, the food that is the main challenge in the daily lives of those who cannot eat gluten.

My choice went to a fibre-rich preparation, Preparato Universale per prodotti da forno Massimo Zero, because fibre is a valuable ally in controlling blood sugar levels when we consume gluten free bread, which is generally high in carbohydrates and low in fibre.

While the presence of fibre in the mixture is very useful from a nutritional point of view, it makes it slightly ‘harder’ to work with, so having a kneading machine or robot at hand makes the task easier and ensures really good results.

This is precisely why I thought that sharing a video recipe could be extremely useful to prepare a tasty bread without any difficulty. So enjoy viewing and cooking!

Assortment of white bread  

44.19g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 500g gluten free multi-purpose flour mix, brand Massimo Zero**
  • 240g water
  • 240g milk
  • 50g mixed seeds* (to be soaked in 50g water)
  • 40g extra virgin olive oil
  • 17g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • brown rice flour* for dusting
  • extra virgin olive oil to brush the surface
  • water to soak the mixed seeds

Preparation

  1. Put the mixed seeds in a small bowl and barely cover them with water, then let them rest while you knead the bread so that they completely absorb the liquid.
  2. Shake the bag of mix well before pouring it into the jar of the planetary mixer, then run it for a few minutes at low speed with the flour mix alone.
  3. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in warm water, pour it into the planetary mixer and add the remaining water and milk. Mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes, then add salt and oil. Stop the planetary mixer to detach the dough from the sides of the pot and run it at high speed for a few seconds so that the oil is perfectly incorporated into the dough. When the dough is smooth and homogeneous, stop the planetary mixer and remove half the dough by placing it on a lightly floured cutting board.
  4. Add the seeds to the remaining dough in the planetary mixer and mix at high speed so that they are fully incorporated.
  5. Shape into loaves or braids of the desired size (I formed 4 loaves with the white dough and 5 braids with the dough with seeds), differentiating the shape according to the type of dough. Brush the surface with extra virgin olive oil and leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or in the oven with the proving function for about 1 hour and fifteen minutes.

Shaping the dough

  1. Bring the oven to 200°C, brush the surface of the bread with oil again and bake. Let it bake for about 40 minutes, keeping an eye on the baking time, which varies slightly depending on the oven and, above all, the size of the bread.
  2. Remove from the oven and let the bread cool before cutting it.
  3. Portate il forno a 200°C, spennellate nuovamente la superficie del pane con olio e infornate. Lasciate cuocere per circa 40 minuti tenendo controllata la cottura che varia leggermente in base al forno e, soprattutto, alla pezzatura del pane.
  4. Togliete dal forno e lasciate intiepidire il pane prima di tagliarlo.
L'interno dei panini

The bread crumb

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Pink chickpea hummus

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We finally have a chance to get out of the house and enjoy nature, the temperatures have risen and the colours around us charge us with energy, so the plates get coloured too: Pink chickpea hummus with chickpea Sfogliette.

This is the effect that colours have on me. Chickpea hummus turns pink to accompany a gift from Sarchio: delicious chickpea Sfogliette that have only good qualities as they are organic, gluten free, baked in the oven and with just the right amount of carbohydrates for a snack or a nice aperitif with friends.

I barely finished taking the photos after recording the video recipe before the family gathered around the small bowls to fill the little crispy sheets with creamy hummus, impatiently waiting for dinner.

Remember also that you can indulge in ‘colouring’ the hummus with your favourite flavours by using vegetables or spices to make it even tastier.

 

Pink chickpea hummus with chickpea Sfogliette

10.64g carbohydrates per 100g

67g carbohydrates per 100g Sarchio chickpea Sfogliette


Ingredients 

  • 230g cooked or canned chickpeas
  • 60g water
  • 40g tahini (sesame seed cream)*
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • 20g red beet
  • 20g lemon juice
  • chives, optional
  • salt and pepper
  • Sarchio chickpea Sfogliette*

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

Preparation

  1. Take the red beet and cook it in boiling water for about 40 minutes or until soft when pierced with the tines of a fork. Take a small amount for this preparation, while keeping the other to use as a side dish to season with oil, vinegar and salt.
  2. Put the chickpeas in a blender with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth and even.
  3. Complement this beautiful and colourful hummus with chives or other spices to taste.
  4. It is ideal to serve as a dip or topping for croutons and Bruschetta.
Il colore brillante dell'hummus di ceci

Il colore brillante dell’hummus di ceci

Version with gluten of Pink chickpea hummus with chickpea Sfogliette

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

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Crispy bread in casserole

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Do you know the irresistible texture of bread baked in a wood-fired oven? When the crust, under the blade of the serrated knife, makes that unmistakable sound that already gives you a foretaste of the pleasure of the taste of bread? Crispy bread in casserole is a gift for the senses: it is for the sight, because the colour of the bread is just right golden; it is for the smell, because the fragrance has the irresistible fragrance of bread; it is for the taste, because in addition to the flavour, the crunchy texture of the crust and the softness of the crumb are simply perfect. And everything is gluten-free!

If we want to find some faults, well, we cannot deny that it requires a lot of resting time, even though we can easily knead it the day before and ‘forget’ it in the refrigerator, and moreover, baking it requires a little more energy than bread baked in the usual way. Yet, if you have a cast-iron casserole dish, my advice is to try it right away because it is a bread that has nothing to envy the products of the best bakers in our towns.

Crispy bread in casserole

46.55g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 500g water
  • 450g flour mix for bread, brand Nutrifree**
  • 50g buckwheat flour*
  • 20g extra virgin olive oil
  • 5g brewer’s yeast
  • 5g salt
  • rice flour* for dusting and extra virgin olive oil for brushing

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water; place the Nutrifree mix and buckwheat flour in the planetary mixer and start mixing the flours together, then gradually add the water with the yeast while continuing to knead. After kneading for at least 5 minutes, add the salt and extra virgin olive oil and mix for a few more minutes. Transfer the dough into a bowl, brush with a little oil, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 15 hours.
  2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a cutting board dusted with rice flour. Again using rice flour, fold the dough 5-6 times at least, then give it the round shape of a loaf and leave it to rise for about 2 hours covered with a cloth.
  3. Bring the oven to 230°C with a cast-iron casserole inside (I use my Le Creuset casserole) with a lid. When the oven has reached the set temperature, remove the casserole from the oven by placing it on a trivet because of the very high temperature. You can cut a cross on the surface of the loaf and drop it, literally, into the casserole to avoid burning yourself.
  4. Place the casserole in the oven closed with its lid and bake for 45 minutes.
  5. After this time, take out the casserole from the oven, open it with the help of an oven glove or potholders and turn the loaf upside down. Put the whole thing back in the oven and bake at 210°C for another 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the casserole from the oven and take out the bread; if you feel that the bread is still slightly heavy, place it in the oven without the container for another 10 minutes. Let it cool and enjoy it while listening to the sound of the crust under your teeth!

Version with gluten of Crispy bread in casserole

Replace the Nutrifree bread mix with wheat flour, but mix it with about 300g water.

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Talent For Food 2019: Lentil flour dumplings

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If the adventures of the Mystery Box received for the Talent for Food contest were surprising, even more surprising was the news that I was one of the three finalists, so I would like to tell you about my adventure from a slightly different perspective than a mere report: how to try to make the impossible possible.

My Talent For Food 2019 adventure and my Lentil flour dumplings

Let’s start with the fact that in my day-to-day life I am a conference interpreter and CEO of a language service company, Interconsul srl – Benefit Company, based in Parma, so on Friday 11 October, duty called as it does every other day, and at 7.45 a.m., after the kids’ hectic school drop-off, I was expected to review the translations to be sent to customers before the weekend. Oh yes, because convinced that I would never be among the finalists of the Talent from the Veneto region, my schedule continued, ineluctable, so I had to switch to weekend mode at 3.30 p.m. that Friday by picking up my friend and food blogger Cristiana Curri at the station (https://blog.giallozafferano.it/chicchecris/) with whom I had organised a cooking class dedicated to the great pasta classics in Roman cuisine on Saturday 12 October in the afternoon. Also, because I like challenges (this is the conclusion I came to), at 9 a.m. on the same day I had a nice course dedicated to savoury recipes using alternative flours to wheat.

A message on WhatsApp: panic!

So what happens when you get a congratulatory message on WhatsApp on a Sunday afternoon as you are driving to Rimini (about 220 km from home) to work as an interpreter at a conference? You wonder what you are being congratulated for, you run through your head what has happened in the last few days, you give up and ask your interpreter colleague sitting in the car with you to answer: “For what?” Return message: “You are in the finals at Talent for Food. Panic. Yes, literally panic, but not because of the competition as cooking competitions always put me in a good mood, but because of the Rubik’s puzzle I managed to create. In my head it is a succession of thoughts to put the coloured boxes of the magic cube into place, and in the end it comes out like a risk-taking game plan: I calculate the Parma-Valdobbiadene journey time on Google Maps (3 hours), I beg Cristiana to change the train ticket so that I can get there before noon to accompany me to Valdobbiadene, and I ask AIFB if it is possible to give up (the most painful part) the discovery programme planned for Saturday morning. You know what? In the end it all seemed… almost simple!

A Friday afternoon in Valdobbiadene for Talent For Food

So I find myself on a Friday afternoon at the DIEFFE Academy of Professions in Valdobbiadene (Treviso) with 50 minutes to prepare, cook and serve a recipe using the ingredients provided by 29 companies from Treviso and Padua that have supplied ‘mystery boxes’ with products from the Veneto region. While cooking with Daniela Boscariolo (blog.giallozafferano.it/timoelenticchie the winner) and Daniela Pennisi (www.laboulangeriepatisserie.it), Angela Frenda – Editor-in-Chief of the monthly magazine ‘Cook’ (Corriere della Sera), writer and cooking teacher – gives the floor to Giovanni Taliana and Armando Serena, Presidents of the Food Group and the Wine and Spirits Group of Assindustria Venetocentro, to Anna Maria Pellegrino, President of AIFB, to Innocente Nardi, President of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg and to Alessandro Marzotto, Hospitality Wine Shop Manager of Santa Margherita Wine Group. Le tre finaliste alle prese con le preparazioni The three finalists whilst cookingFaithful to one of the guiding principles of the contest, in my recipe I combine the culinary tradition of Emilia with products from the Veneto region, which is why I prepare the ever-present stuffed pasta, but this time with Vicenza-style salt cod and artichokes inside, saffron in the dough and sautéed mushrooms as a dressing. What was missing on my plate? A crispy part, but I don’t like fritters, so I couldn’t think of any alternative… I’ll be ready for next time!

I tre piatti presentati

The three dishes presented

 

Impiattamento dei miei ravioli

My ravioli

After judgement, ritual photos, hugs and kisses between new friends and new acquaintances, we headed back to Parma, a stop at a gas station for a hot drink and a super, but brief sleep before a second day of challenges with two cooking classes and… this recipe prepared on the fly on Saturday evening for my super-helpful guest and dear friend Cristiana, naturally cooked with Talent for Food 2019 products!

Lentil flour dumplings with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

13.32g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the dumplings

  • 270g milk
  • 90g potato starch*
  • 60g lentil flour*
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 35g organic sunflower oil
  • 4 eggs
  • nutmeg, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Gnocchi sauce

  • 250g cream of artichoke*
  • 100g Stracchino cheese or another cream cheese
  • pepper

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

Preparation

  1. Put 270g of milk in a saucepan together with oil, a grinding of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and add starch and lentil flour in one go, stirring well so that no lumps form. Let cool, then add the grated cheese and one egg at a time, mixing well. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a round tip, approximately 1.5-2 cm in diameter.
  2. Put a pot of water on the stove, bring it to the boil and salt it. With a pastry bag, drop small cylinders 2-3 cm long with the help of a knife (although the dough is very soft, so the knife is only needed to interrupt the flow of mixture) into boiling water and when they rise to the surface, let them cook 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl with the stracchino cheese and artichoke cream.  Stir well to melt the cheese.
  3. Serve the Gnocchi hot with a grinding of black pepper.
I miei gnocchetti alla farina di lenticchie con crema di carciofi e stracchino

My lentil flour gnocchi with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

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Gola Gola asparagus risotto

Summer suddenly arrived and, with the good weather, so did wonderful opportunities to meet. Like the Gola Gola Festival in Piacenza from 9 June. I was given the honour of opening the dances with my gluten-free proposal designed to tempt everyone: Gola Gola asparagus risotto.

In a festival dedicated to food, I believe it is fundamental to give space to local products, so I thought of choosing some of the many ingredients of the that area: Pontenure asparagus (given the season), Malvasia dei colli piacentini wine and Grana Padano cheese. All this on a very special base, namely my favourite Carnaroli rice, the one cultivated by Riserva San Massimo within the Lombardy Ticino Valley Park, a gift for the palate and for those who care about preserving biodiversity.

A possible alternative to the cheese crisp is another famous product from Piacenza: its pancetta, also made crispy in a non-stick pan, or in the microwave oven, following the same procedure as described for the cheese.

So run to buy some asparagus not to miss the season and enjoy this delicacy!

Gola Gola asparagus risotto

23.55g carbohydrates per 100g

without the reduction of Malvasia wine  

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1.2 litres of previously prepared meat stock
  • 600g Malvasia dei colli piacentini white wine
  • 400g asparagus, already cleaned
  • 320g Carnaroli rice Riserva San Massimo
  • 100g Grana Padano cheese
  • 30g spring onion
  • 30g butter
  • 20g sesame seeds
  • 20g brown sugar
  • 3 cardamom berries
  • 1 star anise berry
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • nutmeg, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the Malvasia reduction

  1. First, prepare the Malvasia reduction because it is the most time-consuming operation. Pour almost all the wine into a thick-bottomed saucepan (keep about 60g for dousing the rice), add the spices and brown sugar and let it simmer without a lid for about 1.5 hours or until the wine has turned into a rather thick, amber-coloured liquid.

Preparation of Risotto

  1. Wash the asparagus and cut them into 3 parts: remove the woody part, keep the tips whole and cut the middle part of the asparagus into pieces. Put the asparagus chunks in a saucepan with about 200g of stock and cook them, leaving the pan uncovered. Once cooked, put the asparagus in a blender to obtain a cream, season with salt and set aside.
  2. Prepare the cheese and sesame crisps. Mix 30g of cheese and the sesame seeds, then place a spoonful of the mixture on a plate, forming a kind of disc with the back of the spoon. Place everything in the microwave for a short time on medium power until the cheese has melted slightly. With the help of a scraper, remove the disc from the plate and keep it aside.
  3. You can now start preparing the risotto.
  4. Sweat the finely chopped spring onion in a saucepan with a little oil.
  5. Toast the rice in the saucepan with the leek for about 3 minutes in order to have the grains well transparent with the white central part, then sprinkle with the Malvasia kept aside and let it evaporate.
  6. Start stirring the rice adding a ladle of boiling stock. Continue stirring and add more stock only when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. After about 5 minutes, add the asparagus tips, then continue with the stock and stirring. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the blended asparagus and mix well. When the rice is still well al dente, remove from the heat and add the frozen butter, stirring the rice well so that the starch is released to form a nice cream, add the grated cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated; add salt to taste. Cover the risotto with a tea towel and let it rest for a minute.
  7. Plate the rice and complete with a few pieces of sesame crisp and drops of Malvasia reduction.

Risotto-asparagi-senza-glutine-gola-gola-festival

Gola Gola asparagus risotto

Version with gluten of Gola Gola asparagus risotto

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

If you like risottos, try my Celeriac risotto with apple and rose mayonnaise

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