Lukewarm evenings, funky music, nice people, great atmosphere, a sense of freedom: yes, it’s that time of the year again – the coolest time of the year. Festival season! Be it the Poolbar Festival, the Donauinselfest, the Urban Arts Form Festival, the See-Rock Festival, the FM4 Frequency Festival, the Lake Festival or the Two Days a Week Festival, all of them mean summer, friends and live music!
What do I associate with Italy? Parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, really good olive oil, pasta, pizza and gelato – in a word: fantastic food. And of course spirited people, amazing holidays and great fashion. When Natalie of COOKING magazine came for a visit, I served my three favourite Italian dishes. As visits at the local Italian restaurant are usually a bit disappointing for me, since I’m not allowed to eat either pasta or pizza, I’ve collected my very own top gluten-free Italian recipes. They were mostly discovered on vacation but are a highlight all year round – like the Torta al Limone from Capri.
DETOX. What a trendy new word. This used to be called fasting. There’s a huge hype around fruit and vegetable juicing these days as well. And I got curious. I generally think it can’t hurt to give your body a rest and a good clean for a few days. Detoxing is all about removing toxins from your body by ingesting healthy juices. I tried it and juiced for three whole days.
Buongustaio – literally translated as gourmet or foodie. That’s me! I’ve recently felt a bit of a yearning for Italy. No wonder, what with the weather outside being all wet and disgusting. I had to think of my wonderful holiday in Tuscany, the amazing food, the incredible olive oil and the way Italians revere their food and wine. In Italy, eating is celebrated, and the quality and provenance of the produce is deemed to be extremely important.
Today, like many times before, I was asked whether I didn’t miss bread and maybe wished I had a different type of intolerance. What kinds of questions are these!? But never mind, I always tell myself that there are things that are much much worse than coeliac disease and that I’m dealing with it pretty well. Of course, occasionally I miss baked rolls and plaited buns, of course. Sometimes on my way home, when I smell fresh bread or feel a craving coming on, I wish I could have some. On the other hand, coeliac disease got me interested in cooking and alternative grains – foods that are naturally gluten-free and that aren’t a substitute but a valuable addition to my cooking, which became more creative and colourful due to those necessary alternatives. Quinoa definitely belongs in that group. Over here at my place, there is a truckload of jars filled with yellow polenta, red and white quinoa, amaranth pops, golden millet, brown buckwheat etc.
And here is the last of my recipe teasers for the new Suppito-Kochbuch cookbook. If you like the recipes and they’ve made you curious about the 5-elements approach to cooking, then you should absolutely get the book. It features many stews, cakes and desserts as well as Asian dishes – and all of them are gluten-, lactose- and yeast-free!
Hokkaiko squash. Pumpkin seeds. Figs. Sea salt. Pepper. Olive oil. Feta cheese. Truffle honey. Rocket. Beluga lentils. Caramelised Williams pear. These ingredients are pure poetry – my own personal dedication to the dying days of summer. Their combination is a work of art and create a harmonious synergy on the palate. Just like figs are little works of art, and they’re in season right now…
Tabbouleh. I especially like it with fresh ingredients like parsley and sun-ripened tomatoes on a warm summer’s day at Vienna’s busy Naschmarkt or the local Tel Aviv Beach on the Danube canal, where I can people watch and feel like I’m on holiday. Tabbouleh is of Arabic origin and is a salad popular in Lebanese cuisine, but there’s also a Turkish variety called Kisir.
As previously announced, I’m currently shooting for the new Suppito cookbook, which will be published by Cadmos Verlag. The hot weather we’re having at the moment is making the whole affair a bit sweaty, but it’s fun and I’m getting my vitamins right on location. Like this healthy asparagus salad, which will appear in the 3rd Suppito cookbook. It’s light as a feather and incredibly refreshing. Even more so, asparagus is a powerful diuretic and provides essential minerals.
Let’s be honest – broccoli isn’t exactly on the list of sexy vegetables. I like it and it tastes great in vegetable curries, but I’ve never found a really attractive flavour combination involving broccoli. Until last autumn!
I’ve created this recipe especially for the Bodensee Frauenlauf (Bodensee Women’s Run). I’m from the Bodensee region and a bit sporty myself, so I was very excited to contribute to this great campaign. The reason why this salad is such a great pre-activity hit with runners and other athletes of all ilk – it’s all in the ingredient composition…
I admit, I’ve got a thing for fennel at the moment. I just love it, and in addition, it’s very healthy. But I promise – particularly to you fennel-haters – that this one will be the last fennel recipe for a while. I’ve collected a lot of different ideas over the last few weeks and months that I will surprise you with very soon.
