If you’re among the many gluten-free folks who ALSO can’t tolerate dairy, then Silvana Nardone’s new cookbook, Silvana’s Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Kitchen is for you.
Silvana’s Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Kitchen: Timeless Favorites Transformed
We cookbook authors write cookbooks for different reasons, but Silvana’s goal was to make food that her young son, Isaiah, could safely eat. So, she wrote this cookbook, as well as an earlier one called Cooking with Isaiah. Our gluten-free community benefits from Silvana’s fresh perspective on making our own gluten-free food and I have always welcomed new authors because I think we all need choices in the food we eat. Silvana’s new book provides lots of wonderful choices!
Her book has fantastic recipes for many dishes—illustrated by enticing, mouthwatering color photos— but my favorite section is the Dairy-Free Basics section at the end of the book. Here, Silvana shows us how to make our own dairy-free substitutes…such as buttermilk, condensed milk, whipped cream, dulce de lech, sour cream, yogurt…and many more. I think this is very important because many cookbook authors don’t give us alternatives to dairy, even though a huge percentage of us can’t tolerate dairy of any kind. So, thanks Silvana for making our lives much easier… and tastier!
Being a lover of coconut and extremely fond of whipped cream, I was particularly intrigued by her recipe for Dairy-Free Whipped Cream. So, here it is; it’s fabulous!!
Dairy-Free Whipped Cream
Reprinted with permission from Silvana’s Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Kitchen by Silvana Nardone (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014).
1 can (13-ounces) full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon water
Spoon the solid coconut cream from the top of the coconut milk into a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, whip the cream together with the confectioner’s sugar on medium high speed until stiff peaks begin to form. Whip in the salt and water. The whipped cream can be refrigerated in a resealable container for up to a week. Makes 1 ¼ cups in about 5 minutes.
Silvana’s Tips
[1] Thai Kitchen’s brand of full-fat coconut milk yields the most consistent results. Like Silvana, I have found that the low-fat versions of coconut milk just don’t work.
[2] That tiny little teaspoon of water at the end makes the whipped cream nice and billowy, so don’t forget it.
[3] For best results, place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer before you start whipping.
[4] You can make this whipped cream even lighter by whipping in up to ½ cup store-bought marshmallow crème for every 1 cup coconut cream.
