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20 min. Yeast-Free, Gluten-Free Italian Bread & Easy Mezzetta Olive Tapenade

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My favorite holiday memories are of having lots of family and friends over for big meals. I love doing the cooking, preparing holiday recipes, the noise and laughter in the house, and of course, eating the food. I've happily adapted most of my old recipes to gluten-free but I had one more challenge. I was missing crusty chewy   Italian bread that I could make into Crostini! I've always loved warm toasted chewy bites of Italian bread at holiday parties. Topped with Tapenade or made into Bruschetta, they are my favorite appetizers, but I hadn't quite found the right gluten-free flour blend to achieve that wonderful chewiness, until now! I'm so excited to share my NEW 20-minute Gluten-free, Yeast-free, Egg-Free, and Xanthan Gum-Free Italian Bread Rolls with you and did I say, they only take 20 minutes? No yeast, no rising and so easy to make. This amazing dough is also perfect patted out thin for flatbread or pizza crust. Scroll down to see my new Pizza crust u
27

Low Carb Chicken & Cauliflower "Pasta" e Fagioli, gluten free

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Do you leave veggies in the fridge and they go bad?  You're not alone!  I hate wasting food, don't you?
So I work hard to use all of my beautiful organic produce in our dinners, but sometimes the week just disappears! (where does it go?)
When that happens I make soup. It's easy to make and works for a fast dinner or pack it in a thermos and it makes a great lunch for work or school.
This is one of my all time favorites.  I adore Pasta e Fagioli, but I'm not eating grains these days, so the cauliflower is a perfect low carb substitute.   You won't even miss the pasta!
Makes 10-12 servings  (apx 2 cups ea)

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup eggplant, diced
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, diced
  • 1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes or 10 fresh tomatoes, blanched and skinned
  • fresh parsley, chopped  (I just pull a few stalks off my plant or apx 2 tablespoons)
  • 3 tablespoons whole Italian herb seasoning, or more to taste  (basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary)
  • 2 tablespoons whole Herbs de Provence, to taste, opt
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 quart (32 ounces) homemade chicken stock, or more as needed 
  • 3-4 cups water, as needed
  • 4 cups cooked chicken,  chopped
  • 1 pound fresh white cannelli kidney beans, cooked, equals 7 cups or 4 cans of kidney beans, drained.  Or you can use red beans like I did if you're out of the white.  
  • Parmesan cheese, sprinkle at serving

Instructions:
  1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. 
  2. Stir in tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower and cook 5 minutes. Add  parsley, seasonings and simmer until tomatoes soften, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Add stock and 2 cups of the water and simmer about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
  3. Add beans and chicken. Add more stock or water to desired consistency. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing Parmesan separately.