BECHAMELLE SAUCE, GLUTEN FREE
A recipe for people, with celiac disease, in the need to completely avoid gluten. I prepared a bechamelle sauce (white sauce) to prepare a "pasta pasticciata" (i.e. gluten free pasta, with tomato or meat sauce, grated cheese, and while sauce, all baked in the oven).
Often people think it is impossible to substitute usual ingredients, but I suggest to be brave and to try. It is not necessary to by ready-to-eat gluten free products, it is really not worth it! The preparation procedure is the usual one, but I used a gluten free flour. I mixed a gluten free flour for bread/pizza, with a gluten free flour for home made pasta (approximately fifty fifty). You could probably also use just plain corn starch or potato starch or maybe tapioca...I will try those as well....and I wait for your suggestions and comments!
INGREDIENTS
- gluten free flour, 50 g
- whole milk, 500 g
- olive oil, 20 g
- salt, 1 pinch
- nutmeg, to taste
Heat the oil. Add the flour and toast it for a few minutes.
Add the milk, slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add salt and nutmeg. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
This sauce can be used for baked pasta or rice, for vegetables, etc.
N.B. I often prepare the bechamelle/while sauce also with no fats added. In that case, I use a wisk, I add the milk to the flour, just a little at the time, to obtain a smooth sauce. Then I proceed as above.
BLACK RICE, GORGONZOLA CHEESE AND WALNUTS
This delicious dish is very rich in fat, in particular saturated fats: I therefore recommend to eat it just occasionally.
To have a complete meal, add lots of vegetables, raw and/or cooked, before or after the rice.
It is in theory a gluten free recipe, but check what the producer says: sometimes wheat and other non-gluten free cereals could be present in small amounts.
INGREDIENTS for 5 servings
- black rice, 400 g
- red onion, 1 piccola
- extravirgin olive oil, 20 g
- gorgonzola cheese (creamy), 150 g
- parmesan grated, 40 g
- walnuts, 100 g
- salt, pepper to taste
PREPARATION
Boil the rice "al dente" (approx 15 min), drain if needed, but keep aside the cooking water. Season with 1 table spoon EV olive oil.
While the rice cooks, gently stirfry the finely minced onion, until soft and lightly golden.
Add the pre-cooked rice, stir while adding some of the cooking water, to make the rice softer.
Continue to cook, enough to obtain the texture you like (I like it "al dente"). Add the gorgonzola and parmesan cheeses and finally some nut, directly on each plate.
Serve hot.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE per serving
- energy 579 kcal
- protein 18 g
- fat 30 g (di cui saturi 8 g)
- carbohydrates 65 g
- fibre 3 g
- cholesterol 28 g
- calcium 262 mg
SPINACH SOUFFLE'
At a first glance this recipe seems complicated, but if you have some small kitchen appliance you will work faster.
It's a complete dish, great source of folates (in the spinach), carotenoids (including lutein) and calcium (milk and ricotta).
Eat with some whole wheat bread and a salad, or some cooked vegetables, to obtain a complete and filling meal, relatively low in caloreis.
The original recipe is made with green beans, but you can try to adapt it to any vegetables that are in season or available in your freezer. Also the herbs/spices can be changed: try e.g. marjoram.
- spinach, frozen, 1 kg
- ricotta cheese, 300 g
- parmesan, 2 TBSP
- eggs, 4
for the bechamelle sauce
- milk, 500 g
- flour, 60 g
- salt
- nutmeg
to great the pan
- olive oil, 1 TBSP
- bread crumbs
PREPARATION
Heat the oven at 200°C
Thaw the spinach, by putting them in a low casserole with a drop of water in the bottom, and heat slowly. Or use the microwave.
In the mean time prepare the bechamelle sauce: put the flour in a small pan, with a pinch of salt and the grated nutmeg. Add the milk, slowly, stiring well with a whisk. Let it simmer for 5 minutes, continuing to stir with a wooden spoon or a whisk, until thick.
Grease an oven proof souflè dish and coat with some bread crumbs.
Beat to the egg whites until stiff.
Chop the spinach. Add the beachmelle sauce, the ricotta chesse, the egg yolks, the parmesan and finally the egg whites.
Check if additional nutmeg, pepper or salt are needed.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C, then turn down the heat to 150°C for additional 10 minutes.
Serve warm. Enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL VAUE per portion (1/6 of the recipe)
- energy 282 kcal (1183 kJ)
- protein 20 g
- fat 14 g (of which saturated 6.6 g, monounsat 4g)
- carbohydrates 20 g
- sodium 325 mg
- potassium 1149 mg
- calcium 406
- fosforus 393 mg
- vitamin C 91 mg
- folate 281 mcg
- beta-carotene eq. 8823 mcg