Who says eating gluten free is a sacrifice? This week, we are going to show you how eating gluten free can be a pleasure. We will update this post all week with photos, video and recipes from our Tuscan Dream Getaway in Lucca with the Gluten Free Girl and the Chef, Shauna and Danny.

SATURDAY, 5/26- Shauna and family arrive and get settled.

SUNDAY, 5/27- Our winners, Carole and Elizabeth arrive with their guests and the cooking begins around 3pm. We will all take part in preparing the Welcome dinner with our local chef, Aurelio around 3pm. Here is the menù for Sunday.

A grain of einkorn is noticeably smaller than modern wheat varieties. Each einkorn kernel or wheat berry weighs half as much as a grain of regular wheat (22 mg vs. 46mg). You can also notice the difference because einkorn does not have the crease on one side. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution explains how plants evolved over thousands of years when humans selected better seeds at harvest and planted them each year, naturally changing plant genetics. Modern wheat also became considerably plumper as plant breeders worked to increase yields by creating new varieties for large-scale agriculture. When the size of wheat kernels changed, the proportion of nutrients that make up a seed or a wheat berry changed as well.

Wheat consists of three main parts- the bran is the coating of the seeds, the germ is the embryo of the seed and the endosperm is the starchy part of wheat where we get flour from. Researchers compared the proportion of bran, germ and endosperm of einkorn to that of modern bread wheat and here is what they found.

• Einkorn and modern wheat both have about 3% germ.
• Einkorn consists of 24% bran and modern wheat has 14% bran.
• Einkorn wheat has 73% endosperm and modern wheat has 83%. 

Endosperm contains starch and einkorn has 15% less starch than regular wheat after milling. You can see that for yourself when you cook our pasta by noticing how clear the cooking water is.

WHOLE VS. WHITE FLOUR

When flour is milled whole, it contains all of the germ, bran and endosperm, but the germ and the bran deteriorate very quickly after milling and can become rancid. Germ and bran are often heat-treated by millers to ‘stabilize’ them so the flour is preserved longer. This is why we do not sell 100% Whole Einkorn Flour. Our einkorn flour is milled at 81%, with most of the germ and a portion of the bran sifted and removed from the finished product. Our product is never heat-treated. We believe the healthiest option for whole wheat is to grind wheat berries at home as needed, with a grain mill. When we make our whole wheat einkorn pasta, the wheat is milled fresh for each production and we slow dry our pasta at low temperatures.

Einkorn wheat has more protein, essential and trace minerals like iron and zinc. It also has an abundance of tocotrienols and lutein compared to modern wheat. What is interesting is that more of these nutrients are contained in the endosperm of einkorn, which means that white einkorn flour is more nutritious than white bread wheat flour. In fact, our einkorn flour has a golden color because it contains 70% more tocotrienols and 800% more lutein than regular white flour.

The more we learn about this grain, the more we love it! It yields less than one third of today’s wheat and it has a protective husk that reduces the weight of the harvest by 40%, which explains why so many ancient foods like einkorn have gone lost over time- for economics. The Living Planet Report was released a few days ago stating that we have lost 30% of plant varieties since 1970. It was already reported in 2010 by FAO that we have lost 75% of plant diversity since 1900. Choosing to eat einkorn wheat is a great choice for your own nutrition, but more importantly, it means supporting agricultural biodiversity.

References: A. Hidalfo, A. Brandolini (Food Chemistry 107 (2008) 444-448.

Wow, in less than two weeks, the Gluten Free Girl and the Chef, Shauna and Danny, will be with us here in Italy! The week starts with a traditional dinner for our guests that will be prepared by our own local chef, Aurelio Barattini. We would like to introduce you to him.

I was born and grew up just above my family’s restaurant, just outside of Lucca. I am the fourth generation of restaurant owners and cooks. As a child, when I ate breakfast, I could smell the aroma coming out of the kitchen at the restaurant where my grandmother Ida was already busy cooking. The food I cook is traditional Tuscan cuisine and I only use fresh ingredients that are in season. I use my dad’s olive oil and get all of my ingredients from local farmers who are working the land the way it was done years ago.

Aurelio will be preparing an exciting meal of naturally gluten free dishes from traditional Lucchese cooking. He will be sharing these authentic recipes with you so you can prepare your very own Tuscan Dream Meal at home. 

And by the way, the world is really small. When I mentioned the meal included a woman who writes about being gluten free, Aurelio asked “Could it be Shauna Ahern? I have been following her blog for years.”

Pesto comes from the Italian word pestare, which means to crush, and is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle. So many of us love the flavor of pesto, and for good reason. Pesto is a healthy way to eat pasta because it combines a number of nutritious ingredients in a healthy preparation.

• fresh basil has strong antioxidant properties
• pesto contains fat, but the fats are not cooked or heated 
• pesto can be made with other herbs like arugula, watercress, cilantro or with spinach
• pesto taste delicious without cheese, as long as the ingredients are fresh, the olive oil is of good quality and the salt is adjusted to taste.

Sometimes people get frustrated with making pesto at home because the basil sticks to the sides of the food processor and does not get chopped fine enough unless a really large amount of oil is added. If that is keeping you from making fresh pesto at home, we suggest adding a handful of cooked baby spinach. Adding baby spinach will make the pesto softer and greener and you will easily get the texture very fine.

Here are two of our pesto recipes.

BROWN RICE CAPELLINI WITH SPINACH PESTO & ROASTED TOMATOES

INGREDIENTS

3 oz. baby spinach, steamed

1/2 cup basil

!/4 cup parsley

2 walnuts

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. sea salt

1/3 cup Pecorino cheese, grated

6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3/4 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved

4 rosemary sprigs

INSTRUCTIONS

• Season tomatoes with 1 tbsp. olive oil, salt, rosemary. Roast tomatoes at 375℉ for 25 minutes.
• Combine 3 tbsp. olive oil, parsley, basil, garlic, salt and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until blended.
• Squeeze water from spinach, add to pesto with 2 tbsp. of oil and pulse until creamy. Stir in cheese.
• Cook pasta according to package instructions, toss with pesto and garnish with roasted tomatoes.