Alekson Nicole - Paleo Italian cooking: authentic Italian gluten-free family recipes

ABOUT CINDY

Cindys love for food began before she could reach the counter in her Nanas Italian kitchen. Her grandmother Nicolina, who was from Naples, loved to be surrounded by her family. She could always be found in the kitchen stirring a large pot of sauce or making lasagna to feed the neighborhood. Cindy is a lot like her Nana, as she enjoys sharing her love for cooking and preparing her familys favorite meals when all the kids are home visiting.

Every meal has a story of Cindy and Nana in the kitchen together, and Cindys eyes sparkle when these tales are shared with family and friends. Cindys two sisters also love to reminisce about their childhood. Although the sisters sometimes disagree about the way Nana made certain recipes, they always have fun when they get a chance to cook togetherwith, of course, a glass of wine in hand.

Cindys infectious enthusiasm for Italian food pervades all of her recipes, which demonstrate the passion inspired by her Italian heritage and her extensive travels throughout Italy. Her Italian style of cooking is flavorful yet clean, and very approachable. The recipes are not complicated, and many of them can be made in advance, but theyll always be the star of the party!

Cindy and her husband Glenn love to entertain in their large country home in Marlborough, Connecticut. Most of the recipes in this book appear regularly in Cindys kitchenespecially her antipasti, which is always offered to family and friends. Other favorites are the spinach and artichoke rolls and her delicious frittatas. She always serves Italian chopped salad alongside Tuscan favorites such as anchovy pizza or Roman braised eggplant. A pot of sauce or meatball and kale soup will be simmering on the stove on the weekends. On any given night at Cindys, you might be served her chicken scaloppine in a caper sauce or even osso buco; if she feels like seafood, you could have the salmon with lemon, capers and thyme. Cindys desserts are light and easy, but very Italian. This book offers a unique take on the flavors of Tuscany. Cindys hope in sharing these homemade Tuscan Paleo recipes is that you will feel like part of her family and share her love for the taste of Italy.

BUON APPETIT O!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am extremely thankful and grateful for the continued support from my friends in Connecticut. I offer my appreciation to the following amazing and caring people who have helped me so much along the way.

Jordan Coe, owner of Shop Rite (E. Hartford and Manchester), thanks for your generosity and continued support for my TV segments, nonprofit demonstrations and magazine, as well as this cookbook. I appreciate the time and effort you and your team put in to help me do my shopping for Cindys Table .

Danny and Rosanna DAprile, owners of D&D Market in Hartford, CT, I love your Italian market and all of your specialty items from Italy that make my recipes so much better. Your store brings back memories of shopping at Italian markets with Nana on Saturdays. I appreciate your continued support for my TV segments, my magazine and this cookbook!

To the amazing family of City Fish in Wethersfield, CT, you have all been so supportive. I love how Telly always chooses the best-looking fish for my photos. Your seafood is the freshest, and I am always honored to say I got this from City Fish. Thank you for everything, including your wonderful friendship.

A special thank-you to Le Creuset, Hamilton Beach, Emily Henry, Schmidt Bros. and Bialetti, for making items that work perfectly for my style of cooking. I appreciate the confidence you have shown in me and by sending me your products to use in my TV segments, the magazine, at other events and in this cookbook.

To my friends at Venoras salon, thank you so much for making sure I was ready for my photo shoots! Im especially grateful to Kristy, who came to my house at 7 a.m. to do my hair; and Cathy, who arrived right behind her to do my makeup. We certainly had a lot of laughs in my bathroom.

The biggest thank-you goes to my husband and kids. You have all been so patient with me when
I have to take pictures before we eat our meals together. I love you all so much. Glenn, you are an amazing husband and my best friend; I am so glad to be sharing this journey with you!

BASIC RECIPES

Spending a little time preparing ingredients that you will use often and storing them is part of keeping your ingredients as fresh and pure as possible. Homemade foods also make great gifts. I just love having homemade marinated vegetables on hand to serve as an appetizer, to add to my antipasto, or put on top of a salad.

Likewise, homemade stock or broth adds a depth of flavor to soups and stews that you just cant get out of a can or carton. Most Italians make stock and broth from scratch using meaty bones. Your butcher may sell soup bones; you can also just tell them that youre making stock and ask them for any bones they may have on hand. Just remember not to oversalt your stock! Its better to add seasoning to soups, stews, gravy and other dishes as they are being prepared.

ITALIAN PICKLED VEGETABLES

My grandfather had a large vegetable garden. When the vegetables were ready, Nana and I would make a bunch of jars of pickled vegetables to be served on an antipasto platter at Sunday dinner. Nana insisted that all of the vegetables, except for the cauliflower and artichokes, had to be the same shape. Really, though, you can cut them any way you want. I like to slice some and cut others into matchsticks.

1 cup (100 g) cauliflower, broken into small florets

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup (100 g) button or pearl onions

1 red bell pepper, sliced or cut into chunks

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1 cup (150 g) marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

2 cloves garlic, chopped

cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup (250 ml) white wine vinegar

cup (65 ml) fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

teaspoon dried rosemary

teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons whole black pepper-corns

Dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cauliflower, carrots, onions, pepper and zucchini and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove from pot and drain, then place in a large bowl. The vegetables should still be crisp.

Add the artichokes.

In a separate bowl, combine the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, then whisk together.

Pour over vegetables and, using a wooden spoon, stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Ladle the pickles into clean jars. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, if using, to each jar, then cover tightly with a lid.

These pickles will last for 1 week in the refrigerator.

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 3 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 CUPS

CHICKEN BROTH

Buying canned chicken broth is easy, surebut when you make your own, you know exactly what went into it. Homemade chicken broth does take a little planning and time, but you can make several quarts and freeze them for later use. All you need to do is defrost them before adding your homemade broth to soups, sauces, gravy and other recipes.