Word on the Mill

Our last night in Villa Minozzo happened to include a dinner in the town square, organised by a local football squad, featuring polenta, another Italian staple, effectively just cormeal boiled into a porridge-like consistency, which, when given time to set, makes for a wonderful accompaniment to stews; an outstanding alternative to pasta or mash. I was able to go behind the scenes and talk to the chefs preparing the polenta in massive vats and they assured me the mill that processes the polenta grains is separate from any wheat mill so there was little to no risk of cross contamination. I opted for more prosciutto as a side and I couldn't have been happier in a bath of champagne.

Most of the locals turn up for the al fresco wining and dining experience in the town square, as they do for any opportunity to enjoy summer nights, live music, and a bout of gossip.

Polenta in the town square

Tempura Zucchini Blossoms

A fantastic treat, particularly common in Italy at the height of summer. Picked from the ends of zucchinis/courgettes and their plants, zucchini flowers can often be found at markets and stores selling fresh produce but they don't keep very long so should be purchased closed, then washed and cooked within a day of being picked.

By whisking equal parts DS' gluten-free flour mix with some strong sparkling water (the more carbonation, the lighter the batter will be) and a dash of salt and pepper, we had a perfect tempura batter. The batter should cling to the blossoms and drip off any excess so add more liquid to lower viscosity if need be. Over-whisking will deflate the batter so no need to over work it and any small lumps will simply cling to the blossoms and fry up to give an extra crunch anyway. The rice flour component of the mix definitely added to the crisp texture illustrating how gluten-free can sometimes trump the more conventional wheat flour. A couple of minutes deep-frying til golden and there we have my new favourite thing.

Hyper Trolley

Senza Glutine!

The drive from Bologna through to Reggio Emilia takes us past the Ipercoop in Modena which houses a massive gluten-free aisle. Considering I was staying in a small village north of Tuscany for a week, I was't sure how often I would come across such a treasure-trove so the shopping cart was loaded. In went two breads (a plain white loaf and a country style loaf - both quite passable), gnocchi, and savoiardi biscuits for tiramisu (a cracking find), all by DS. The gnocchi were surprisigly good, as good as store-bought gnocchi get anyway, though as with all gluten-free pasta, I would recommend adding a drizzle of olive oil to the boiling water to help prevent clumpage.

Happiness is potatoes.

The Coop also carry their own line of gluten-free items of which their Frollini Classici (effectively delicate butter biscuits, wonderful with tea and coffee) were my favourite. The shop also stocked the Fantastic Delite rice crackers from Australia, a great Japanese inspired snack. All around a good shopping experience. Updates to follow once we put the Savoiardi biscuits to the test in a toramisu.