Tag Archive for: vegetariana

From Sardinia, Cardinali muffins

Well, here we are with gluten-free Cardinali muffins… beautiful to look at, but especially delicious to eat.

Preparing them was a great fun because I needed someone from Sardinia who could teach me how to make the “real stuff”, so I invited my friend Maria Elena for a full immersion in Sardinian cuisine. So, together with Cardinali, we also prepared Culurgiones ravioli: amazing!

But let’s focus on the dessert now and find out what we need to prepare it!

Gluten free Cardinali muffins

63.18g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 200g gluten-free cake flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
  • 200g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 90g milk
  • 75g seed oil
  • 8g baking powder*
  • 1 lemon peel, grated
  • icing sugar*

Ingredients for the pastry cream and to complete

  • 250g milk
  • 50g sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 35g potato starch*
  • 1 whole lemon peel
  • alkermes liqueur* or raspberry juice with a few drops of red colouring*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and whip the latter until stiff.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the grated lemon zest, oil and flour, alternating with milk until all ingredients are well incorporated. Finally, add the sifted baking powder and lastly the egg whites.

Uno-Chef-per-gaia-cardinali-senza-glutine.Foto Chiara Marando

  1. Place 3-4 cm diameter ramekins inside silicone moulds, or aluminium ramekins, so that they do not get deformed during baking filling ¾ of the ramekins.
    Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown; let cool.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the cream. Heat the milk with the lemon peel. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, add the flour and mix well. Pour the lukewarm milk into the freshly prepared mixture and mix until smooth. Place everything on the heat and let it simmer, stirring with a whisk until the cream has thickened. Remove it from the heat and let it cool covered with cling film.
  3. And now assemble the cake.

Uno-chef-per-gaia-ricetta-senza.glutine-Foto Chiara Marando

  1. Holding a small knife at an angle, cut a cone and remove it whole from the sweets. Using a teaspoon, moisten the freshly hollowed-out inside with alkermes or red juice and do the same with the cones, dipping them in the coloured liquid until they are completely red.

uno-chef-per-gaia_Foto Chiara Marando

  1. Pour the cream into the holes you have drilled in the cakes and sprinkle with icing sugar. Finally, cover all the sweets with the cap, i.e. with the cones turned upside down with the tip facing upwards. Place them in the refrigerator and let them rest for a few hours to allow the cream to harden well.

uno-chef-per-gaia-ricetta-cardinali-senza-glutine

Version with gluten of Cardinali muffins

Replace Molino Dallagiovanna gluten-free flour with standard flour and reduce the amount of milk for the dough to 75g instead of 90g.

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White mushroom bites

Today we would like to recommend an appetiser, as well as an aperitif, that is tasty and inviting to eat as finger food: White mushroom bites.
Simple and tasty, they are the ideal way to make a mouth-watering and impressive dish to serve for an evening with friends or to pamper the whole family with finger-licking goodness.

Another idea for getting together with friends? Try this Savoury biscuit with Parma ham mousse!

A strictly gluten free, light and tasty recipe suitable for any season and occasion.

White mushroom bites

7.27g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 370g white mushrooms (approx. 20 mushrooms)
  • 80g Ricotta cheese
  • 70g Robiola cheese
  • 10g chopped parsley
  • 1 clove garlic
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and spices to taste

Preparation

  1. Cut the stalks off the mushrooms, chop them and, if the stalks weren’t enough, chop also some small mushrooms. Sauté in a pan with a little oil and 1 clove of garlic.

antipasto-senza-glutine_Foto Chiara Marando

  1. Meanwhile, chop the parsley with a bit of garlic and mix with the cheese; season with salt, pepper and herbs.

Ricette-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia_Foto Chiara Marando

  1. Stuff the mushroom caps with the chopped stalks and the cheese filling, season with a little oil, then bake in the oven at 180°C until the surface is golden brown.

Champignon-ripieni-senza-glutinrFoto Lorenzo Moreni

Version with gluten of White mushroom bites

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

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Sardinian Culurgiones ravioli

This time in the kitchen I was together with Maria Elena, a friend who really has a lot to teach about traditional food. Let’s say that she has ‘magical hands’ because she manages to create little culinary masterpieces, such as Sardinian Culurgiones ravioli.

Thanks to her Sardinian roots, she wanted to propose some traditional recipes that I have reinterpreted in a gluten free way.
We will discover them little by little, but today we are beginning from an extremely tasty first course: gluten-free Sardinian Culurgiones. 

So let’s get started… hands in the dough! And if you like homemade pasta, you can also try Pisarei e fasò.

Gluten-free Sardinian Culurgiones

27.5g carbohydrates per 100g raw Culurgiones

 

Ingredients for the dough

  • 500g gluten-free fresh pasta mix, brand Nutrifree**
  • 320g water
  • 8g xanthan gum*
  • 1 pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling

  • 500g fresh sweet Pecorino cheese, grated
  • 400g boiled and mashed potatoes
  • 30g medium-aged Pecorino cheese, grated
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • 10g chopped mint
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • milk and salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation of gluten free Sardinian Culurgiones

  1. Prepare the dough by mixing flour, xanthan gum and water. In no time, you will obtain a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest.
L'impasto per i culurgiones

The dough for Culurgiones

  1. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
  2. Place the grated cheese and the mashed potatoes in a bowl and mix well to form an even mixture. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and as soon as it is hot, add the chopped garlic.
    Let it rest for a minute, then pour the aromatic oil over the potato mixture and sprinkle with Pecorino cheese.
    Mix well, add salt to taste and, if the mixture is too thick, soften it with a few tablespoons of warm milk.

La pasta tirata per i culurgiones

  1. Now take the dough and roll it out with a pasta sheeter to the last-but-one hole; with an 8cm diameter pastry cutter, cut circles.
I dischi per realizzare i culurgiones

The discs for making Culurgiones

5. With the help of a teaspoon or your hands, place the filling in the centre of the disc, then close the Culurgiones in the shape of a ‘spike’, i.e. pinch the outside starting from the right end or simply pinch the disc edges together to make them stick well and cut them off with a toothed cutter.

La chiusura dei culurgiones

The closing of the Culurgiones

  1. Bring the water to the boil, salt it lightly and gently toss in the Culurgiones.
La chiusura pizzicata dei culurgiones

The pinched closure of Culurgiones

  1. After a few minutes, drain them and dress them with melted butter, grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, or tomato sauce and cheese.
I culurgiones pronti per essere mangiati

Culurgiones ready to be eaten

Version with gluten of Sardinian Culurgiones

Replace the gluten free Nutrifree flour with semolina and knead it without xanthan and with the necessary amount of water to obtain a smooth, elastic dough.

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Strawberry cheesecakes

Spring doesn’t just mean milder air and the awakening of nature, it also means the arrival of juicier fruit that precedes summer delights… in short, it means strawberries and Strawberry cheesecakes.

In fact, remember that strawberries are a very diabetes-friendly fruit, having only 5.3g of carbohydrates per 100g of strawberries. And since they are in season and friendly to our needs, also try Ricotta and strawberry cake.

Let’s get to work now!

Strawberry cheesecakes

22.01g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the cake

  • 200g gluten-free biscuits**
  • 110g butter
  • 50g Nutella

Ingredients for the mousse

  • 200g strawberries
  • 250g whipping cream
  • 150g cream cheese at room temperature
  • 60g icing sugar*
  • 10g gelatine sheets*
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 vanilla pod

Ingredients for the strawberry sauce

  • 250g strawberries

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Place the biscuits with the softened butter in the blender and chop until a rather fine mixture is obtained; complete by adding the Nutella and mixing well with the chopped biscuits.
    Pour the mixture on the bottom of 9 round pastry rings with a diameter of 8cm placed on a tray, levelling well and compacting it with the back of a spoon. Finally, let your bases rest in the refrigerator for half an hour.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the mousse.
  3. Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water for at least 10 minutes.
    In a bowl, mix the cheese with the icing sugar with a fork; wash and clean the strawberries, then blend them to a juice and add them to the cheese cream, mixing well.
    In another bowl, whip the cream and add the seeds of the vanilla pod.
    Heat 2 tablespoons of milk in a saucepan without reaching the boil, remove from the heat, add the squeezed gelatine and stir to dissolve it.
  4. When the gelatine mixture has cooled, add it to the cheese cream. Finally, also incorporate the whipped cream and stir gently with a spatula, from the bottom upwards so as not to cause the mixture to go runny. Pour the resulting cream over the biscuit base inside the rings.
    Now put the cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
La preparazione delle cheesecake

Cheesecake preparation

  1. Before serving, set aside some strawberries to use as a garnishing and blend the remaining ones to make a sauce.
    Take the cheesecakes out of the refrigerator, remove the rings and top with the strawberry sauce and a sliced or whole strawberry.
  2. This recipe can also be prepared by replacing sugar in the cream with a sweetener of your choice, e.g. 30-40g agave syrup, thus reducing the amount of carbohydrates.
La cheesecake pronta da gustare

The ready-to-eat cheesecakes

Version with gluten of Strawberry cheesecakes

Replace gluten-free biscuits with standard ones; no other adaptation is needed.

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Revisiting tradition: Vegetarian rice cake

Rice cake is a dish that takes me back to my childhood. It was indeed a special celebration dish as it needed a special ingredient, pigeon, but also a lot of time to make, so my revisited recipe is this Vegetarian rice cake.

To tell the truth, when I think back to what I felt when I ate it, the taste of that dish still remains clear and contrasting: I remember how delicious the meat sauce prepared with pigeon meat cut into small pieces was, but the rice around the meat was a bit dry and too much (for me as a child) since it filled the large, high-sided pan, the one perfect for being slipped into the Petronilla (the Dutch oven, the only one we had) so that the surface, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, could brown and become crispy.

Well, many years later, I came up with the idea of revisiting our Rice cake to adapt it to today’s needs (i.e. to replace a meat that is not readily available with healthy, light vegetables) and, why not, to eliminate what I considered to be a defect, i.e. to reduce the ratio of rice to filling, thus obtaining a pleasant juicy sensation in a nice crispy envelope. And if you like preparations in the frying pan, try myPan-fried potato pie.

Vegetarian rice cake

22.37g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 540g vegetable stock*
  • 270g Carnaroli rice
  • 150g Scamorza cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 200g small courgettes
  • 120g carrots
  • 50g red pepper
  • 50g yellow pepper
  • 50g spring onion
  • 40g breadcrumbs**
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, 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)

Gli ingredienti della bomba di riso vegetarianaThe ingredients of the Vegetarian rice cake

Preparation

  1. Cook the rice in the vegetable stock and turn off the heat when it is still rather al dente, then let it cool and season with egg and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese.
  2. In the meantime, julienne cut courgettes and carrots, dice the red and yellow pepper into approximately 1cm cubes and thinly slice the white part of the spring onion.
Le verdure tagliate

Chopped vegetables

  1. Heat the wok, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, pour in the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on for a few minutes so that a little water escapes from the vegetables, which will allow them to cook. Cook until the vegetables are slightly soft.
La cottura delle verdure nella wok

Cooking vegetables in the wok

  1. Spread half of the cooked and seasoned rice on a sheet of parchment paper lightly greased with oil and form a circle the diameter of the non-stick pan in which we will cook our cake (approx. 26cm); sprinkle the surface with breadcrumbs.
La preparazione del disco di riso

Preparation of the rice disc

  1. Brush the frying pan with oil and tip the rice disc into it so that the side with the breadcrumbs is in contact with the pan. Sprinkle the disc with part of the Scamorza cheese lightly chopped in a food processor, cover with the vegetable sauce and add the remaining Scamorza.
La farcitura

The stuffing

Prepare another disc with the cooked rice, this time without sprinkling it with breadcrumbs. With the help of parchment paper, lay it on top of the vegetables and, once in place, break off the parchment paper to remove it, leaving the disc to top the cake. Alternatively, cover the vegetables by creating a layer of rice with your hands directly on top of them. In this case, the layer of rice may not be perfectly even, but this will not compromise the flavour of the preparation.

When the base of the cake is golden brown, use two lids as big as the cake to help you turn it over and put it back into the pan upside down. Let the second side of the cake brown as well and serve it hot.

Ricette_senza_glutine_Bomba_di_riso_vegetariana_Foto Lorenzo Moreni

Version with gluten of Vegetarian rice cake

Replace gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs

 

This recipe participates in the “Rice Food Blogger 2016 – Chef Giuseppina Carboni” contest

 logo Risate e risotti

Comune di Lucignano

Etoile campus Academy

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Spicy recipes: let’s cook Falafel

,

For “Friends’ recipes” today we share an idea that Aura sent us: the recipe of Falafel.

The think that struck me in this recipe is that chickpeas are not cooked, but soaked in water for a long time to make the dried chickpeas soft enough to be blended to a creamy texture: this is something very different from the use we make of chickpeas in Italy.

This is an extremely tasty North African and Middle Eastern dish consisting of spiced and fried pulse balls. An appetising main course, also perfect for children and those who choose a vegan diet. To stay in the same geographical area, try an enchanting rosewater dessert: Mahalabiya.

Let’s see how to prepare them!

Falafel

20.78g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 150g dried chickpeas
  • 50g onions
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2g parsley
  • 2g cilantro
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/3 tsp pepper
  • salt to taste, oil for frying

Preparation

  1. Soak the chickpeas for 24 hours, then dry them well on a tea towel.
  2. Blend in a processor until the mixture is not completely creamy, but remains somewhat grainy. Add finely chopped garlic, onion and parsley to the mixture, then add pepper, salt, cilantro, cumin and bicarbonate of soda and mix well (in case the ingredients remain too divided, blend again). Finally, add the sesame seeds.
  3. Using two soup spoons, form small elongated patties and fry them in hot oil. We made them round to speed up the process. Be careful not to overcook the patties, they must be thrown little by little into the boiling oil because the presence of bicarbonate in the mixture will make it fizz, so it is difficult to see when the patties are ready.
  4. Once golden brown on both sides, drain them and let them dry on kitchen paper.

Falafel

Version with gluten of Falafel

The recipe is naturally gluten-free, so no adaptation is needed.

 

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Mini apple strudels

Fancy something sweet and fragrant? Mini apple strudels are just the perfect choice.

Good, because my recipe today is not only tasty and tempting, but also easy to prepare and light.

The main ingredient is apple, a precious fruit with many properties, which becomes an important ally in the kitchen because it can enrich many preparations with flavour without the need for too much fat.

In short, a wholesome fruit that I like to interpret (try my Soft apple and cinnamon cake).

That said, let’s roll up our sleeves and start making some delicious Mini apple strudels, perfect for breakfast, as a snack or dessert at the end of a meal.

Mini apple strudels

25.85g carbohydrates per 100g of strudels with no sugar in the apples

Ingredients for 6 mini strudels

  • 350g green apples
  • 150g gluten-free bread flour mix, brand BiAglut**
  • 75g cold butter
  • 40g water
  • 1 egg
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • sweetener*, brown sugar

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Prepare the shortcrust pastry by mixing the flour, chopped butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor or by hand. The dough will be grainy: compact it, cover it with plastic film and put it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  2. Peel and chop the apples, place them in a non-stick pan with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of sweetener and cook until soft. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

mini_strudel_di_mele_senza_glutine_uno_chef_per_gaia

  1. Roll out the shortbread pastry to a thin thickness, cut out disks 12cm in diameter, put about 50g of apples on each disk, close them forming a half-moon and cut three slits in the surface.

mini_strudel_di_mele_senza_glutine_blog_uno_chef_per_gaia

  1. Finally, brush the surface with beaten egg and sprinkle with a pinch (3g) of brown sugar.

ricetta_mini_strudel_di_mele_senza_glutine

  1. Bake the mini strudels in a static oven preheated to 190°C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

ricetta_senza_glutine_mini_strudel_di_mele_uno_chef_per_gaia

Version with gluten of Mini apple strudel

Replace the gluten-free BiAglut flour with an equal amount of wheat flour and possibly reduce the amount of water to be added to the crust.

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Happy Easter with our Easter small Colombas

Easter is getting close and the traditional dessert par excellence – Colomba – cannot be missing from the table. So, today I am sharing a mouth-watering recipe for making irresistibly soft, gluten-free Easter small Colombas at home.

They will not disappoint you even if they are an easy, smaller version prepared with baking powder instead of the traditional, standard size made with brewer’s yeast that you can bake following the recipe of Colomba Pasquale: whatever decision you make, you are going to have a great dessert.

Easter small Colombas

48.84g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 215g gluten free cake flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
  • 200g sugar
  • 125g vanilla yoghurt*
  • 100g chocolate chips*
  • 95g seed oil
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 16g baking powder*
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • grated lemon or orange peel, whole almonds, granulated sugar

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation of gluten free Easter small Colombas

  1. Whisk the eggs with the sugar, then add all the other ingredients while continuing to mix. Once the mixture has become smooth and even, add the chocolate chips or, if you prefer, candied fruit or raisins and pour the mixture into 75-100g Colomba moulds.
  2. Sprinkle the surface with granulated sugar and bake in a static oven preheated to 170°C for about 15-20 minutes.

IMG_6263_foto_Lorenzo_Moreni

Version with gluten of Easter small Colombas

Replace the 215g gluten-free flour with 120g standard flour and 100g potato starch.

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Soup of pulses and vegetables

What could be better than warming up with a tasty soup? Creamy, thick and full of good, wholesome ingredients, these are the characteristics of the recipe we recommend today: a delicious Soup of pulses and vegetables.

All the flavour and properties of natural, healthy foods that will make this first course extremely enjoyable in the colder months. And remember that pulses and vegetables are the best ingredients to prepare recipes for people with diabetes and celiac disease since they are both gluten-free and low or no-sugar.

Here is how to prepare it!

Soup of pulses and vegetables

9.42g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 1250g water
  • 300g dry mixed pulses (beans, chickpeas and broad beans)
  • 250g seasonal vegetables
  • 200g tomato sauce
  • salt and oil

Preparation

  1. Soak all the dried pulses in water for about 12 hours so that they soften.
  2. Once they are ready and rinsed, put them in a pot with water and cook them for about 40 minutes on low heat.
  3. Skim off the brown foam released by the pulses, add all the chopped vegetables and tomato sauce. Season with salt and leave to cook for another hour.

Zuppa di legumi e verdure_uno chef per gaia

  1. To obtain a creamy mixture, blend some of the vegetables with an immersion blender.
  2. Finally, serve the soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Zuppa_di_legumi_e_verdure_Uno_chef_per_Gaia

Version with gluten of Soup of pulses and vegetables

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

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Valentine’s day’s recipes: Lovers’ Sacher cake

Valentine’s Day is arriving to celebrate the feeling of love, to be together and exchange sweet thoughts. And what gift could be more appreciated than a delicious Lovers’ Sacher cake, decorated with fresh raspberries?

The perfect ingredients are all there: irresistible dark chocolate, delicate apricot jam and the intense flavour of raspberries to top it.

The shape chosen, needless to say, is the heart shape.

Try our recipe and give it to someone you love! And if you want more ideas for Valentine’s Day, have a look at these Chocolate sweets with candied violets.

Lovers’ Sacher cake

39.85g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the cake

  • 150g gluten free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 150g sugar free dark chocolate*
  • 150g butter
  • 150g sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • a bit of vanilla from the pod
  • a pinch of salt

Ingredients for filling and coating

  • 250g raspberry jam without added sugar*
  • 120g apricot jam*
  • 150g sugar free dark chocolate*
  • 50g fresh raspberries
  • 50g fresh cream
  • 30g water

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

  1. Melt chocolate and butter in a bain-marie, or in the microwave, stirring so that the two ingredients are perfectly incorporated. Then let the mixture cool.
    Separate the yolks from the egg whites and whip the latter until stiff, adding a pinch of salt; then set them aside. Add sugar to the chocolate mixture and then one egg yolk at a time, stirring with a whisk. Add the sifted flour and vanilla, continuing to mix so that no lumps form.
    Finally, incorporate the beaten egg whites.
  2. Pour the mixture into a heart-shaped cake tin, corresponding to a baking tin about 24cm in diameter, lined with wet and squeezed baking paper so that it adheres well to the walls of the tin; gently beat the tin on a surface to let any air bubbles out and bake in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 35 minutes. Once the necessary time has elapsed, remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool.
La base della Sacher

Sacher base

  1. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Spread 250g of raspberry jam on the lower half, then cover it with the top half. Pour the apricot jam into a thick-bottomed saucepan together with a little water; put it on the heat and let it melt slightly, then strain it through a fairly thick sieve to obtain a kind of thick, smooth juice.
  2. Use this jam to generously moisten the surface and sides of the chocolate cake.
La copertura con il cioccolato

Chocolate coating

  1. Prepare the chocolate coating by melting the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over very low heat or in the microwave. Stir well to obtain a smooth and even cream and cover the cake with the help of a smooth-bladed knife.
La decorazione con i lamponi

Decorating with raspberries

  1. Place fresh raspberries around the perimeter of the heart to define it.
La Sacher pronta per essere gustata

Sacher ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Lovers’ Sacher cake

Replace the 150g of gluten-free flour with an equal amount of wheat flour.

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