BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND RICE SOUP

Soup - vegetarian - Celiac and lactose intolerant ssafe (do not use Parmigiano) - dietetic

After Christmas eating, here's something light and filling....


2 1/2 qt of broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 lb Butternut squash, cleaned and cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup Italian Carnaroli rice
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp extravirgin oive oil
4 tbsp Parmigiano reggiano, grated
1 tsp chopped sage
1 tsp chopped rosemary
Salt


Bring broth to a boil.

Warm olive oil in a large saucepan (with lid) over medium heat. Sautee onion, rosemary and sage until onion is translucent, then add squash. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add boiling broth, cover, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir rice in and raise heat to medium again. Cook for about 20 minutes or until you reach your desired tenderness.

Serve immediately in individual bowls, drizzled with some extravirgin olive oil and sprinkle with Parmigiano reggiano!

This recipe serves 4


- You can cook squash a little longer and blend it before adding rice (if you don't like pieces). In this case remember to stir it almost constanty because the thickness of the soup will cause sticking to the bottom.
- Remember not to overcook rice (or pasta): if "al dente" or slightly undercooked they'll be easier to digest and will not raise your blood sugar as much as an overcooked one.
- You can add chopped pancetta with onion and herbs at the beginning: with this option use only 1 tsp of extravirgin olive oil. If you use bacon, cut some fat away before chopping it: bacon is fatter than pancetta.

BAKED FISH, POTATOES AND FENNEL BULBS

Fish entree - Celiacs and Lactose intolerants safe

1 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/4" slices
2 fennel bulbs with fronds
1 1/2 lbs cod fillets, cut widthwise into 1" pieces
1/4 cup Italian dried black olives, roughly chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt


Bring water to a boil, add salt and potatoes and boil for 4-5 minutes; drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice fennel bulbs thinly and chop fronds.

Line a baking dish with a large sheet of foil; layer fennel slices on bottom and season with salt, then arrange fish and fennel fronds, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. End with potaoes, olives, the remaining olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Cover with another sheet of foil, crimp edges of both sheets together tightly to create a sealed pouch.

Bake for about 20 minutes, open foil and serve imediately with a fresh, green salad.

This recipe serves 4

- This recipe is safe for Lactose intolerants and celiacs
- You can use any white fish: Tilapia, Monkfish, Swai....
- You can add an extra kick sprinkling with a pinch hot pepper flakes, if you like the taste.

PACCHERI WITH TOMATO AND RICOTTA

Pasta entree - vegetarian

1 lb paccheri

1 24-oz bottle of Italian crushed tomatoes

7 oz fresh ricotta

1 carrot, chopped

1 small onion, chopped,

1 celery stalk chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp chopped basil

Salt

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil.

While you wait, in a large non-stick saucepan (with lid) over medium heat warm olive oil and sautee chopped vegetables for about 3-4 minutes; add tomatoes and season with salt, lower to simmer, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Add ricotta, stir and remove from heat.

When water boils, add salt and pasta and cook until al dente, about 10/12 minutes.

Drain pasta and arrange it in the saucepan, srinkle with chopped basil and sautee for 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately sprinkled with Parmigiano, if you like it.

This recipe serves 4-6 people, depending on whatelse is gooing to be served.

- Paccheri are similiar to rigatoni, bigger, that flatten down after you cook them.

- You can also arrange them in an oiled baking dish, sprinkle with parmigiano and bake at 375 until golden.

- You can make your sauce with whole peeled tomatoes, if you like.

- Instead of tomato sauce, you can succesfully use meat sauce.

PANDORO RICCO (rich pandoro)

Dessert - vegetarian - definitely NOT dietetic

Pandoro is the other Italian Christmas cake, star shaped, less known than panettone but, many times, more loved!

1 Pandoro

1 3.5 oz Italian dark chocolate bar

1 8 oz mascarpone

3 eggs

3 tbsp sugar

Cream or milk

Chopped almonds, hazelnuts or pinenuts

Slice the Pandoro vertically, dividing all points of the star in half (always vertically); this should create 14 slices.

Arrange them in the oven and toast at 250 until they become crisp but not too crunchy.

In the meantime, prepare the mascarpone cream.

Divide the eggs and put sugar in the yolks, whisk until they become pale yellow, then add mascarpone and whisk for another minute or twon, until combined.

Add a pinch of salt in the whites and whisk until soft peaks hold, then carefully fold them into the mascarpone mixture, always stirring from bottom up.

Melt chocolate, broken into pieces, in the microwave with 3 tbsp of cream or milk.

Compose the dish: line the bottom of your dish with mascarpone cream, arrange slice over it (you can cut it in 2 parts, since it's long), drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

You can finish with confectioner's sugar, that is included in the cake's box.

- You can use one kind of nuts or a mix of them.

- You can prepare the cream in advance (not earlier than the evening before) and finish the dish just before eating it.

- The cake can be eaten by itself, sprinkled with the sugar it comes with.

- Panettone is not suggested for this dish pecause of the fruits in it.

- This cream is the same used for tiramisù

- Yes, we have the pandoro in stock (and also the chocolate).