Three Gluten Free Italian Recipes from Gorgeous Book Senza Glutine
Dear friends,
Today I want to introduce you to some new friends of mine. You’re going to love them as much as I do and you’re really going to love their recipes.
These two friends Cynthia Coddington and Josephine Hoppe (known as the Gluten Free Epicureans) were at a recent conference I attended. It was the first time I’d experienced this conference and was sprinting across a jam-packed brightly lit room when someone yelled “Rachel - is that you?”
Turns out, Cindy reads this very newsletter and she recognized me as I ran by! (Side note - if we see each other in the wild please say hi. I’d LOVE to meet you!) I stopped and as soon as I started talking to these ladies I knew they are something special. I ordered their gorgeous gluten free Italian cookbook Senza Glutine on the spot and due to the magic of quick delivery had it in hand by the time I came home.
Let me tell you, I’m going to make so many dishes from this book! These ladies have such an intriguing story that I wanted to keep talking to them all day long. I’m going to let them tell you all about their story here. Be sure to scroll to the bottom, they’ve generously shared three recipes from their book with us today and you can download those.
I’ll be back with you in just a few days with an extra quick tip for amazing gluten free bread - because May is GLUTEN FREE BREAD MONTH at Next Level Gluten Free!! I know, I’m excited too!
See you soon,
Rachel
Just one thing! Next Level Gluten Free recipes are tested over and over and scientifically work! Then I walk you through all the details. I’m like your friend in the kitchen, who’s a gluten free expert. Upgrade to a paid membership so you can get more recipes, articles, videos and info you need to eat more delicious gluten free food.
Photo of our first meeting! It won’t be the last I hope to meet up with the ladies again and have more fun!
From Jo & Cynthia:
Several years ago, Cynthia and Jo met at a neighborhood gathering. Jo and her husband had just sold their home and retired to the lakes region of Maine where Cynthia and her family vacationed.
Cynthia and Jo quickly discovered that they had many things in common. Both of the women came from southern Italian roots, their families originated in Brooklyn, both were studying the Italian language, both had spent their professional lives in Massachusetts (Cynthia in Finance, Jo in Technology), and both made their homes on the same rural fire lane in Maine - two lots over.
More importantly, both shared a genuine passion for cooking. The daughters of traditional, stay-at-home mothers, who took great pride in preparing family meals from scratch, the authors were the beneficiaries of their mothers’ hard work, ingenuity and love. They marveled at their mothers’ ability to use ingredients on hand and to waste nothing. Leftovers become new variations of old favorites or a redux of last night’s dinner.
As they married, had families of their own and embarked on careers in technology and finance, it became obvious that replicating their mothers’ efforts would require some improvisation. Busy schedules, time limitations and different tastes led them to update classics - all without sacrificing quality or taste.
Retirement, however, opened new doors. Having spent their entire careers in “left-brain” fields, both women longed to satisfy the creative side of their natures, especially as it related to all things culinary.
Looking back on that fateful day in which their paths first crossed, the authors fondly point to the closing scene of Casablanca in which Rick Blain (Humphrey Bogart) turns to Captain Louis Renault (Claude Raines) and retorts, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” And so it goes...
The Gluten Connection....
As time passed and their friendship developed, Jo and Cynthia discovered other areas of commonality. Both women had been independently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Eating gluten-free required that they give up many of the wonderful pasta dishes and baked goods that they’d come to know and love in their youth. While gluten free breads and pasta were starting to show up on grocery shelves, they were, and for the most part continue to be, either tasteless or gummy versions of their wheat-based counterparts.
Determined to solve this problem, the authors embarked on a mission to recreate the wonderful meals they’d come to love using gluten free ingredients. Their goal was to create gluten free versions that were indistinguishable from their wheat-based counterparts.
It was a big undertaking. Over the course of this journey, they’ve researched and found scores of wonderful products, many imported from Italy. The results of this research can be found in the Gluten Free Italian Pantry chapter of this book.
In writing this book, Cynthia and Jo have spent considerable time creating authentic gluten free Italian pizza crust, artisan breads and homemade pastas that taste as good as their wheat-based alternatives.
If this challenge were not daunting enough, they added another criterion: the recipes needed to pass the “Jackie/Mary test”. As it happens, the authors both have sisters who live in the same town in Virginia and love good Italian food. However, neither of these women would spend hours preparing a meal, unless it were a special occasion.
Simply said, the recipes needed to be easy to make with ingredients that were readily available in most grocery stores.
The vast majority of recipes in this book pass this test, and those that do not are highlighted as such. You will find, for example, that many of the pasta dishes can be made in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta.
Of paramount importance with these recipes is the use of fresh, authentic ingredients. Using dry, canned romano or parmesan cheese, for example, will not yield the same result as freshly grated pecorino sourced from a reputable Italian specialty store. If this is not possible, seek out the best imported pecorino you can find at Whole Foods or a similar market. The same is true of produce. Wherever possible use local, organically grown produce that is crisp and fresh.
The true measure of success is to serve up a meal to guests and to pleasantly surprise them when they learn the meal they just devoured was gluten free.
For those of you suffering from gluten intolerance, we hope this book will liberate you from the bondage of gluten intolerance and allow you to once again enjoy great tasting meals.
Of friendship, family and food....
This book was a joy to write, and what made it extra special was sharing it with a kindred spirit. Special thanks go to our family members and dear friends who have provided encouragement and support during this journey and to the special women family members whose unforgettable meals provided the inspiration for this book.
Below are three recipes from the book Senza Glutine!
Note from Rachel:
How can you find out more? I know you want to!
Visit their website at https://www.theglutenfreeepicureans.com/
Check out more videos about them!
Be like me and buy their gorgeous cookbook! Link to Senza Glutine on Amazon:
Catch up with them at a gluten free expo! They’ll be at the Boston South Shore Expo hosted by Wicked Gluten Free, Saturday, October 26th. https://wickedglutenfree.com/expos-events/
Friends try that carbonara it is soooooo good!
I am so buying this book!!