Tag Archives: gluten free italian

Eggplant Tower

They other day Jay really wanted me to make some good eggplant parm. But he requested it with little cheese, eggplant be thin and crispy but not fried. I decided to make up an easy gluten free and paleo version. It came out great and we ate the whole thing.

Ingredients:
2 Eggplant sliced into rounds (about 1/2 inch thick)
2/3 Cup Salt
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 TBS Garlic Powder
3 Cups Pasta Sauce
1/2 Cups Coconut flour (or parm cheese)

Start by coating each piece of eggplant with salt. Place salted eggplant in a container and allow it to sit for 2-8 hours. When ready, rinse the eggplant under water to remove salt and allow to dry for a few minutes. Place the dry eggplant on a foiled and sprayed baking pan. Sprinkle the garlic powder, pepper and Italian season on the top of eggplant. Bake at 450 degrees. Then, carefully flip each piece and cook another 5 min. Next, remove the tray and add about 1 TBS of sauce to each piece, sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the coconut flour or parm cheese. Place back in oven for 5 more minutes or broil for 3 minutes. When your ready to eat, stack the eggplant into small stacks and cover with extra sauce. Sprinkle with remaining flour or cheese and serve.

 

 

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Balsamic Chicken

I am always looking for new fun ways to make a quick week night chicken. This is a great spring Italian recipe that you will want to make over and over again!

Ingredients:

1 Pound Chicken Breast Cut into 4 Pieces

1/3 Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tomatoes

1/2 Cut Cut Fresh Basil

1 Tbs Olive Oil

2 tsp salt (separated)

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Start by pounding each piece of chicken with a mallet to help flatten. Dust chicken with pepper, garlic powder and half the salt in a large bowl. Pour balsamic over chicken and allow chicken to marinade for 2-4 hours in fridge. Once chicken is ready, place each piece on a hot oiled pan. Cooking each side for a few minutes until brown. While chicken is cooking dice tomatoes and in a bowl combine with basil, olive oil and remaining salt. Its important to do this last because tomatoes will start to break down as soon as they are cut and salted. When your ready to serve place each piece of chicken on a plate of top with the tomato salad.

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Gnocchi Re-do

Spending so much time in Italian kitchens making gnocchi has become second nature. With so much leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge I decided to do something fun with it. You will rarely find gluten free potato gnocchi, they normally make cheese gnocchi gluten free but this recipe works great.

Ingredients –

2 Cups Cold Leftover Mashed Potatoes (Check out my recipe for Fluffy Mashed Potatoes)

1/2 Cup Rice Flour with an additional 1/4 Cup for rolling out

1/2 Cup Chest Nut Flour

1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley

1 Egg

Mix everything together saving the flour for last. Work with about 1/6 of the dough at a time. Take about a handful and place it on a well floured cutting board. Roll dough out into long strips about 1 inch thick and about one foot long. Use a sharp knife and cut the strip into pieces a little less then an inch. Place the pieces in boiling water. Once they start to float give them an addition 3-4 minutes to cook. They will plump up and look very soft but they harden as they cool. Cook all the gnocchi in a few batches. If you have to many in the pot they will bump into each other and not cook correctly. Strain each batch in a calender and allow to cook on a large cookie sheet. I continue roll out and cut the gnocchi as I cook them. Once all the gnocchi are done I place them in a large deep pan over medium heat. Give them a little toss to re-heat and add any sauce you would like. This time I used pesto but red sauce or even some butter, capers and cheese would be great.

Enjoy

 

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Low Fat Tiramisu

I have started to become a big fan of Tiramisu but I needed to come up with a gluten free and guilt free recipe. This is a great recipe to play around with, easy to do and no baking needed. Great dessert for everyone for the holidays. With the added kick of espresso and liquore its a crowd pleasure and no one will know if guilt free.

Ingredents:

14 oz Light Cool Whip

25 Gluten Free Fingerling Cookies

8 oz marscappon cheese or light cream cheese

4 Eggs whites whisked to high peacks

1 oz Port

1 Oz Coffee Liquor

1 1/2 cups espresso or strong coffee light sweetened

2 Tbs Splenda

The first step is to whisk egg whites and cream cheese in two separate bowls. Pour the port into the cream cheese to help soften. Slowly combine the three in on large bowl working hard not to over work the eggs. Now, combine the coffee liquor and espresso and sugar.

Now its time to assemble. Soak each cookie in coffee for 15 seconds on each side. You want them to be well soaked but still firm. Place each cookie in a 9′ by 5′ dish to form layer. Then place half the cream mix on top. Place an addition layer of soaked cookies above the cream layer. Top the whole thing with remaining cream mix. Chill in fridge for 3 hour. Enjoy!

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