Need to plan a 100% gluten-free dinner? Don’t panic! You have no idea how many naturally gluten-free and healthy recipes you can make with Italian cuisine!Even if it’s true that Italian cuisine features a high level of gluten – from pasta to other bread-related products – you can also avoid the gluten in just about any recipe, with a little bit of knowledge and creativity! First of all, though, it’s important to note: If you don’t have celiac disease or a strong allergy to gluten, small contaminations are allowed. If you have a dinner guest who does in fact struggle with celiac disease or allergies, then my best advice is to prepare an entirely gluten-free menu – since even a few breadcrumbs or a small amount of flour would be enough to ruin everything. Check to make sure whether or not the ingredients you use have been contaminated or produced in a factory where contaminants are also present.I would also like to add that avoiding gluten doesn’t mean less pleasure at the dinner table! This I can assure you because so many options within Italian cuisine are naturally gluten-free. Where do we start, then? A fabulous idea for a gluten-free course is potato gnocchi, which – unlike fresh pasta – is homemade food that can be easily prepared. Simply substitute white flour for gluten-free flour, which you can buy ready-made or you can make it at home by mixing rice flour with fioretto (small grain) cornflour. As for the potatoes, it’s best to use older ones, since they tend to absorb less water. For this reason, I also suggest you either boil or steam the potatoes with the peel still on.Gluten-Free Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato SauceServes 4Ingredients:For the gnocchi:35 oz old potatoes (starchy and not watery)
1 ½ cups gluten-free flour (certified for fresh pasta)For the sauce:12 oz fresh cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
EVO oil, to taste
Fresh basil
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese Start by making the sauceCut the fresh cherry tomatoes and sauté them in a pan with garlic, olive oil and chopped basil for 10 minutes over medium heat.Add a tablespoon of water if needed and adjust salt to taste.Then the gnocchi!Boil or steam the potatoes with the peel still on until tender. Once cooked, peel them and mash using a potato masher while still warm.Mix the mashed potatoes with a little flour. (The amount of flour will depend on how absorbent the potatoes are, so add just a little at a time.)For a soft but not-too-sticky mixture, use as little flour as possible.Once the gnocchi dough is ready, form small “snakes” of dough in the shape of a cylinder (about 2 cm thick).Cut the cylinders into 2-cm-long pieces. Then press the tines of a fork into each piece of dough (or use a gnocchi board) for the classic gnocchi shape.It’s not necessary to give the gnocchi this shape, but when you do, they tend to absorb the sauce better.Once shaped, place the finished gnocchi on a lightly floured cutting board or baking sheet (so they don’t stick together).To cook the gnocchi, add them gently to a pot with plenty of boiling salted water. Once they float to the surface (after a couple of minutes), fish them out with a slotted spoon and place them directly into the pan with the sauce.Add a tablespoon of the gnocchi cooking water and sauté gently, until the sauce is well absorbed.Serve with a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and fresh basil leaves.
Gluten-Free Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce
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