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Travel Tips for Eating Gluten Free

1/30/2015

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PictureScallop with artichoke sauce at Kokken in Bilbao. They prepared a whole tasting menu gluten free for me.
Me overlooking the Plaza Mayor in charming Segovia, Spain.

Originally posted on October 27, 2014

“Soy alergica al gluten.”

This is a phrase I repeated over and over again during a recent trip to Spain.  It was my first trip to Europe since going gluten-free in April 2013.  I was worried about cross-contamination.  Even more so, I was worried about my lack of Spanish language skills and my inability to ask the necessary questions required to make me feel safe eating in any dining establishment.  A call to a friend in Barcelona for guidance was helpful.  Apparently gluten intolerance and celiac have been in the Spanish news because of the rising number of cases in children.  In the end, a couple of different strategies kept me safe and can help you, too!

When you have a food allergy or food intolerance, it is no time to be spontaneous.  Nothing ruins a trip faster than an allergic reaction.  Planning ahead is key.  Figure out where you are going.  Look up restaurant reviews on travel sites like TripAdvisor.  Read and ask questions on traveler forums like the ones found on Rick Steves’ Europe.  Someone else with your same challenge has already been to where you are about to go.  Learn from them.    

Once you have researched restaurants, you will probably have a good feel for the dominate local dishes.  Look up recipes online and in books.  Where is gluten present?  With what dishes will you have to be extra vigilant?  It turns out that much of Spanish cuisine does not use flour, not even as a thickener for sauces.  Also, when reading dishes, pay attention to preparation methods.  While flour is not used as a thickener, bread is in dishes like Romesco sauce and Gazpacho’s thicker Andalusian cousin, Salmorejo.

Travel with an idea of what restaurants you want to visit.  If your food challenges are severe, email the restaurant ahead of time to see if they can accommodate you.  No sense wasting your precious and limited vacation time going to restaurants where you cannot actually eat.  And at the restaurant, every table usually will receive a basket of bread.  So before the party gets started, ask where the bread is sliced.  Oftentimes in Spain this is done in the bar area rather than in the kitchen.


Then once you have done all this legwork, be open to synchronicity.  The traditional breakfast in Spain is a pastry or small sandwich with jamon and a café con leche.  I stuck with a Spanish tortilla which is often found at breakfast in cafes and bars.  Made of just four ingredients – eggs, potatoes, olive oil, and salt – I knew it was a safe way to start my day.  In San Sebastian, we used TripAdvisor reviews to find a bar that people raved about for breakfast, especially the many varieties of tortillas served.  Located in the basement of the city’s wonderful public market, La Bretxa, Bar Azkena it turns out has another claim to fame:  it specializes in gluten free pintxos.   Pintxos are small snacks and you can make a meal out of three or four of them.  So not only did we make Bar Azkena our breakfast place the three days we were in San Sebastian, we also dropped by for lunch.  In fact, the bar takes its gluten free pedigree so seriously it has gluten free bread available for patrons with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. 

To recap, to have a safe trip overseas, plan ahead:
  • Read restaurant reviews online.
  • Join travel forums and ask about how to eat safely at your destination(s).
  • Research local cuisines and traditional preparation methods.
  • Learn enough of the local language that you can clearly communicate your health concerns and understand responses.
  • Email restaurants beforehand and inquire about their ability to meet your needs.
Happy travels!







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My Favorite Sauce, Ever

1/30/2015

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Originally Posted on October 3, 2014

Sure that’s a big, bold statement.  It’s huge.  It’s epic.  How can a sauce be that good?  Oh, it can be, my friends.

I am here to declare that Romesco is the best sauce ever.  If you’ve never heard of it, bear with me, or get yourself to Spain, stat.

Romesco is a mixture of roasted red peppers, toasted bread, toasted nuts, chiles, parsley, olive oil, garlic, and sherry vinegar.  It is creamy and spicy and even a little bit sweet.  Romesco is not shy.  It does not sit on the bleachers at the school dance.  It’s out on the dance flooring shaking and twirling.

I can say it is my favorite sauce ever because since being introduced to it in 1995 at Jaleo restaurant in Washington, DC, my love for it has never wavered.  Sure, I can eat it the traditional way with patatas bravas, but I also enjoy it with grilled chicken, roasted squashes, or even tortilla chips. 

Why Romesco is largely unknown in the U.S. is peculiarto me.   If you want to surprise people at your next dinner party or spice up a weekend meal, it is a colorful and delicious accompaniment. 

Traditionally, Romesco is a bit time consuming.  Traditional recipes call for toasting a piece of bread and roasting a tomato or two.  They also call for hazelnuts, roasted, with skins rubbed off.  I have messed with the recipe a bit to suit my lifestyle.  I have made it weeknight friendly so you will not be scraping nut skins off with a towel, cursing my name, and wondering why you thought this was a good idea.  I’ve also eliminated the toasted bread as gluten and I are not friends.  If you would like to follow a more traditional recipe, a great source is the book Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret by Colman Andrews.

More than that, though, Romesco is a forgiving sauce.  Once you have made the recipe a couple of times, you can alter the heat of it, highlight the tomatoes, and augment the garlic profile if that suits.  It actually took a lot of effort for me to write down the recipe and amounts because now I just throw everything in the food processor, eyeballing amounts, and adjusting as I go. 

This recipe does make a lot of sauce.  However, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and can be used as a sandwich spread, a dip, or whatever uses your imagination creates.

It is gluten free, soy free, and dairy free.  It's vegan.  It's been known to cause joy and ooohs and ahhhs!

Allergy notes:  contains almonds, a tree nut and known allergen.  Also contains nightshade vegetables (tomatoes and red peppers) that some people find hard to digest.

Gluten Free Romesco Sauce

Yield:  ~ 3 cups

1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained

4 ½ ounces slivered almonds, toasted

1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeded, roughly chopped

         (leave the stems if you prefer a lot of heat)

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 – 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped (use an amount to suit your tastes)

1/3 cup fresh parsley, washed, dried, and roughly chopped

1 small shallot, roughly chopped (optional)

1 T sherry vinegar

1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (amount depends on how thick you want the sauce)

Salt, to taste

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Throw the first eight ingredients in a food processor and pulse until roughly pureed.  Pour olive oil into measuring cup until it reaches the 1/2 cup mark.  Through the feed tube, add 1/3 cup of olive oil and blend for one full minute.  Stop.  Scrape down food processor.  Blend 30 seconds more.  Taste.  If it is too thick, add a little more of the olive oil, until you have reached your desired thickness.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Taste.  Does it need brightness?  Add a teaspoon more of the sherry vinegar.  Add salt to taste, starting in 1/8 teaspoon increments.  Blend well after each addition. If you desire more spiciness, add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper.

Scrape into a lovely bowl and serve.  Goes beautifully with grilled meats and poultry, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, and even tortilla chips.  Can be used as sandwich spread.

Store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to one week. 



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    Author

    Hi friends!  I am Molly.  Welcome to my blog where I share my creations and adventures to help you create a life you love.  I am passionate about food, travel, and health! Thanks for stopping by and looking around.  All photos are taken by me unless otherwise attributed.  I develop and write all my recipes with attribution for inspiration and ideas where applicable.  All of my recipes are gluten free.  

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan, roseannadana