Tag: glutenfree

Gluten-free aperitif: many ideas to try – Italian Cuisine

Vegetables, cheeses, cold cuts, but not only: with the right ingredients you can also prepare pizzas and sandwiches, for a truly appetizing and completely safe aperitif for those who cannot consume gluten

The aperitif time marks the end of work: it does not just mean "have a drink", but also relax, unplug. And obviously nibbling on many good things. For those with celiac disease (or those who are intolerant to gluten), most of the standard snacks, such as croutons and crackers, pizzas and puff pastries, are taboo. Hence the need for reinvent the aperitif.

Gluten-free aperitif: many naturally gluten-free proposals

A gluten-free aperitif may include diced cheese and cured meat (obviously choosing from those allowed), hazelnuts and almonds lightly toasted in the oven, perhaps scented with a touch of paprika or other spices, chips (allowed) and vegetable chips, to be prepared by drying very thin slices of pumpkin, courgette, beetroot or other vegetables in the oven. And speaking of vegetables, an inviting and colorful idea is a pinzimonio: seasonal vegetables in sticks to be served with oil, salt and pepper or with your favorite sauces. And still olives, pickles, pickles … in short, there are so many alternatives.

Finally, also with regard to pizzas and pretzels, you certainly don't need to give up. They can be prepared starting from ready-made bases of gluten-free puff pastry or shortcrust pastry: easily available in supermarkets, garnished as desired and baked in the oven, just like those with gluten. Or, you can create bespoke appetizers following your own inventiveness and some targeted recipes, obviously using suitable ingredients. Here are 5 tasty proposals for a gluten-free aperitif!

Savory gluten-free almond biscuits

To prepare them, you must first mix 250 g of gluten-free flour with a pinch of salt, one of paprika (if you like) and 120 g of grated Parmesan cheese; knead quickly with 130 g of butter into small pieces, then add an egg and a yolk and knead briefly. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours, then roll it out to about one centimeter thick and cut it out with a mold to form the biscuits. Garnish each biscuit with an almond and bake them at 180 ° C for about a quarter of an hour.

Farinata lozenges

To prepare the farinata, in a bowl, dilute the chickpea flour with cold water added slowly: for 500 g of flour, one and a half liters of water are calculated. Add salt, cover the bowl and let it rest for at least 4 hours. Remove the foam that has formed on the surface with a slotted spoon and mix. Pour the mixture into a generously oiled baking pan. Season to taste with rosemary or other herbs and cook at 200 ° C for about 20 minutes. Cut the farinata into lozenges, sprinkle it with pepper and serve, perhaps accompanied by a selection of cold cuts.

Polenta pizzas

Prepare the polenta as usual, with the yellow flour, then pour it into a large rectangular pan, slightly moistened, and level it. Let it cool, then cut it into discs. Grill the polenta pizzas on both sides in a hot pan, garnish with cooked vegetables, cold cuts or cheese to taste and enjoy hot.

Potato mini-pizzas

Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel them while still hot and mash them in a potato masher, collecting the proceeds in a bowl: 500 g of potatoes add an egg, a little grated Parmesan cheese and a spoonful of starch. Transfer the dough to a pan greased with oil, level the surface and garnish as desired with mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, anchovies, or other ingredients to taste, always completing with a drizzle of oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for about 30 minutes, remove from the oven and cut into regular squares.

Pao de queljo

The typical ones Brazilian cheese sandwiches they are a tantalizing idea for a gluten-free aperitif. They prepare themselves with the tapioca flour: boil a mixture of 100 ml of milk, 100 ml of water and 150 ml of seed oil, and add 600 g of tapioca flour little by little, stirring with a whisk; when the mixture is cold, add 200 g of grated parmesan, and then two eggs, one at a time, stirring and waiting to add the second egg only when the first has been completely absorbed. Shape the dough into balls and bake in the oven at 180 ° C for 25 minutes.

The gluten-free stocking of the Befana – Italian Cuisine

Ideas and ideas for sweets and treats to be included in a gluten-free Epiphany sock, for celiac children of all ages

The Befana comes at night, you know. But if she has to enter the house of a celiac or intolerant child with her broken shoes, things get complicated. What can the good old woman put in the sock of those who cannot consume gluten? Obviously you can select desserts of all kinds among the gluten free guarantee products. Or it can be done in home. Obviously a leading role can be played by fruit, fresh (oranges and mandarins always give color and scent) or dry. And then you can add chocolate and candies, taking care to select them among the "safe" ones. The extra touch, however, what will not make you feel the lack of other products not tolerated, is the realization of small home made delights. Here are some greedy and completely gluten-free ideas

Puffed rice chocolates, pistachios and pine nuts

It starts by melting, separately, 150 g of dark chocolate, 150 g of milk chocolate and 150 g of white chocolate. In a bowl, mix 60 g of safe puffed rice with the same number of shelled pistachios and pine nuts. Each type of chocolate incorporates one third of mixed rice and dried fruit, then arrange the mixture obtained in well-spaced piles on one or more trays lined with baking paper. Put the sweets in the refrigerator to cool until the chocolate has solidified, before transferring them to colored tins or food bags.

meringues

It seems like a complex preparation, but it is not, it only takes a little time. After weighing them, whisk the egg whites of 4 eggs until stiff, with a pinch of salt. We will proceed first at low speed, then gradually at ever higher speed. Got one very swollen and soft mass, a quantity of sugar equal to double the weight of the egg whites is added, little by little. Continue to work until the mixture is firm and shiny. It is placed in bows with a pastry bag on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and baked in the oven at 80 ° C for about 4 hours.

Marzipan sweets

Finely chop 150 g of almonds and mix them with the same amount of sugar, a teaspoon of orange blossom water and 2 tablespoons of unmounted egg white. Work to obtain a firm mixture, adding more egg white if necessary. Divide the mixture into balls, arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them rest for a whole night, then brush them with egg white and brown them in the oven at 250 ° C for about 10 minutes.

Candied peels

To prepare the candied peel, you must first peel some oranges and cut the peel into sticks. After putting them in a saucepan, cover them with cold water, bring to a boil and drain. Repeat this operation 4 times, then put the peels back into the saucepan and sprinkle them with sugar: calculate 4 or 5 tablespoons of sugar for the peel of 4 oranges. Add a little water and boil them until they are candied. Let them dry before packing: if you like, you can dip them in chocolate melted dark chocolate, then let them dry again.

Crisp

Briefly toast 500 g of almonds in the oven (or if you prefer hazelnuts, pistachios, or mixed dried fruit). Put 300 g of sugar and a little water in a saucepan, bring to low heat and prepare a rather dark caramel. Pour the dried fruit into the caramel, remove immediately from the heat and pour the mixture into a pan greased with oil. Level with a spatula and let the brittle cool, then cut it into pieces.

Gluten-free Christmas cookies – Italian Cuisine

Put all the ingredients for the pastry (flour, sugar, baking soda, butter, egg, and flavorings).
Work quickly, then wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Take the pastry back, roll it out into a thin sheet and cut out the biscuits in the shapes you have chosen: I opted for Christmas trees, snowmen and candy cane (my molds were about 8 cm).
Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes at 180 ° C in a preheated convection oven.

Once ready, allow the biscuits to cool completely, then prepare the royal icing by mixing egg white, sugar and lemon juice.
Divide it into different bowls, leave 1 white and color the others with different colors (I chose red and green, but I made another one, small, yellow).

Glaze your cookies to taste (I used the food pen to complete the snowmen and the smarties to simulate the balls on the Christmas tree), then let them dry for a few hours.

Gluten-free Christmas cookies are ready.