The Gluten Free Blog

We wrote about Dell’Ugo gluten free penne last year. And now we’ve got to try their deliciously nutty gluten free chickpea fusilli too, which was an innovation award winner at the 2013 FreeFrom Food Awards.

Like the penne, the fusilli cooks exactly like regular pasta and the fat spirals keep their shape perfectly. Absolutely delicious served with a homemade tomato sauce, and a quick and healthy supper that can be rustled up in minutes.

Chickpea fusilli dish

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Rizopia Gluten Free Pasta made with Brown Rice

Now I don’t know about you but I always get nervous around brown gluten free pasta. It looks like that stuff in the old days that used to disintegrate into something resembling wallpaper paste the moment it got a sniff of a boiling pan of water.

Well, forget all that. Rizopia gluten free pasta made from organic brown rice and water cooks like a dream. Exactly like the ‘real thing’ in fact. And it feels substantial. So even if you have a small amount there’s a ‘meatiness’ to it that’s filling. Even better, it has a wonderful flavour. Almost nutty. No wonder it’s an award-winner at the Fresh From Food Awards. And as well as being gluten and wheat free it’s egg, milk, corn and nut free too. Read the rest of this entry »

Dell’Ugo Gluten Free Penne Pasta

Dell’Ugo is the UK’s largest fresh pasta brand and has been making pasta since 1929. But did you know they do an amazing gluten free range too?

So how did their gluten free range come about? Turns out, Kate, the wife of Dell’Ugo owner Paul Ugo is wheat sensitive, and he wanted them enjoy pasta meals together again. Awww. Well hooray for Paul. Because the Dell’Ugo’s gluten free penne pasta has been designed to mimic the taste, texture and consistency of a regular gluten pasta. So it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the two. And it only contains high quality maize and rice too. Which means it’s really flavoursome. Read the rest of this entry »

Our Free From Italy hamper

Just before Christmas, our friends at Free From Italy sent us a gorgeous hamper, which we’ve been gradually working our way through in the last couple of months.

Free From Italy is committed to sourcing the best gluten free Italian products and making them available to a UK market. And when it comes to pasta, who better to trust to get it right than the Italians? Read the rest of this entry »

Freidman’s pastrami sandwich and sweet potato fries

Friends of GFB, Wendy and Paul, recently made their annual pilgrimage to the amazing city of New York and Wendy, being gluten intolerant, was kind enough to write some notes about the places she visited that were GF friendly.

Freidman’s Lunch

A great café inside the foodie Chelsea Market. Many items on the menu can be adapted to be gluten free. I had a yummy pastrami sandwich and sweet potato fries. The bread they use was much tastier than anything I’ve had in the UK.

They also do bagels for breakfast/brunch but only at the weekend. And they stock a bottled gluten free beer called Redbridge which was really good.

Very reasonably priced.

S’MAC (short for Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese)

Great little place in the East Village serving only mac ‘n’ cheese – they position themselves as “New York’s best Macaroni & Cheese” on their website.

All dishes are ‘build your own’ where you choose your own cheese combinations and additional ingredients and can all be made with gluten free pasta. I had a ‘nosh’ size (the smallest size) though I wished I’d had the ‘major munch’ as it was so good! Only negative was that on their website they say they offer a vegan/non dairy cheese option but they didn’t have this on the day we visisted – (I shouldn’t really have dairy but did).

A filling and tasty cheap lunch.

Bar Breton, 250 5th Ave, New York

Bar Breton
UPDATE: Apparently closed now unfortunately
A smart but cosy French restaurant open for lunch and dinner on 5^th Avenue not far from the Empire State Building which specialises in traditional Brittany buckwheat galettes.

Absolutely delicious and they also have a dedicated gluten free fryer for their herb fries! We had a salmon galette with horseradish cream and also a Gruyère and Black Forest ham. Traditional Breton cider to drink served in a teacup!

Reasonably priced for the great quality.

Babycakes NYC, 248 Broome Street, New York

Babycakes NYC

Oh my God! Heaven on earth! Cute bakery on the Lower East Side selling the most delicious breads, cookies and cupcakes and all made with healthy ingredients. They don’t use eggs or dairy instead using healthy coconut oil and only use agave nectar, never sugar.

Almost all of their cakes are gluten free with the exception of a few which are made using spelt – though the cabinets are all clearly labeled and the staff always ask about intolerances when serving.

I had carrot cupcake and pumpkin bread (as it was Halloween) – really amazing and deliciously moist with the subtle taste of coconut. We need one of these in London!

Babycakes NYC cupcakes

I also bought the Babycakes book (Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-about Bakery) by founder Erin McKenna so will be testing out my baking skills over the coming weeks – I just need to source some of the ingredients online first which are not as easy to find in the UK – they have great online suppliers in the US.

Other places we ate were all very helpful by adapting dishes to exclude specific ingredients to ensure that they were gluten free.

It sounds like Wendy and Paul had a fantastic time in New York and we thank them for taking the time to send us their experiences.

Get yourselves over there to try out some of these places. It’s getting cheaper and cheaper for us in the UK to visit the States. And of course, let us know if you discover or know of any other great places in New York.