Sprinkled with herbes de Provence and served with a slow roasted tomato sauce, these grissini (Italian breadsticks) are a twist on traditional breadsticks and marinara sauce.
Sturdy enough to scoop up a hearty dip but entirely munchable on their own, grissini are dependable nibbles for good reason.
Neither bread nor cracker, but with a hearty and crunchy texture, they pair well with foods and make an excellent palate cleanser at wine tastings. The pencil-thin Italian bread sticks are also right at home at the dinner table or on an anti-pasto platter.
Sprinkled with herbs for a savory depth of flavor and served with a slow roasted tomato sauce, they’re an elegant twist on traditional breadsticks and marinara sauce.
These long slender bread sticks are delicately flavored with olive oil and Herbes de Provence and finished with a touch of salt. Golden and pleasantly crunchy they are easy to make at home.
The process starts by roasting a pan of garlic and olive oil slicked tomatoes. Juicer than sun-dried tomatoes, and more intense than regular oven roasted tomatoes, slow roasted tomatoes have a pure concentrated flavor that’s deeper due to a long slow cooking that gently coaxes out a caramelized sweetness.
Set your oven to the lowest heat and forget about them for a few hours while they do their thing; after that a quick blitz in the processor turns the wrinkly quarters into a thick dipping sauce for your grissini.
The grissini are a one bowl affair that come together fairly quickly and are rolled out one at time and stretched into branch-like sticks that receive a good brushing of olive oil and herbs before going into the oven.
Serve them alongside the tomato sauce with a few olives and a hunk of cheese and don’t forget to pour yourself a glass of wine.
Italian Breadsticks (Grissini) with Slow Roasted Tomato Dipping Sauce (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan))
Sprinkled with herbs for a savory depth of flavor and served with a slow roasted tomato sauce, these gluten-free grissini are an elegant twist on traditional bread sticks with marinara sauce.
Ingredients
For the Breadsticks (Grissini):
- 2 cups/ 225g almond flour
- ½ cup/ 64g arrowroot
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
- ¼ cup/60ml Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml Extra Virgin Olive (plus extra for coating)
- ¼ cup/60ml Filtered Water
- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
For the Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce (makes about 8 oz):
- 2 lbs (about 10-11 medium sized tomatoes) Roma Tomatoes
- A handful of fresh thyme sprigs (leaves removed) or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 large or three small garlic cloves, finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
For the Breadsticks (Grissini):
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the almond flour, arrowroot, baking soda and salt.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil and water and mix thoroughly with a fork until dough comes together in a ball. (The dough may seem sticky at first but will come together with a bit of kneading by hand.)
- Cut the dough into about 16 equal pieces. With lightly greased hands, stretch and roll each piece on a silpat or clean lightly oiled counter to make about sixteen 12-inch-long bread sticks. Place a ½ inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with extra olive oil and sprinkle with the Herbes de Provence rolling them once over to coat completely. Sprinkle with an additional pinch of salt.
- Bake the bread sticks for 15-17 minutes until crisp and lightly golden.
- Remove and transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Serve with Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce.
For the Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºF.
- Cut the tomatoes in quarters and toss them with the remaining ingredients.
- Arrange them cut side up on a sheetpan or in an ovenproof dish.
- Leave in the oven for 4 hours until wrinkly and reduced in size.
- Remove from oven and puree in a food processor or put through a food mill.
- Serve with breadsticks. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan
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Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Jeanne @ Cooksister says
That last line is rhetorical, right?? 😉
Good grissini are spectacular - I've been nibbling on olive-flecked ones from Spain recently. Yours look spectacularly good as does the dip.
Helene D'souza says
A very exciting Grissini recipe but also the tomato dipping sauce is very sexy. What I like is the tart addition of apple cider, that should give the grissini some more character and I love that. I never thought of it but of course I knew you would come up with something to make me dream Sylvie!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Beautiful photos, this looks so perfect!
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective says
Whoa! These are gorgeous!! This is an appetizer that I would love to eat or serve!
Cristina says
Perfect with that evening glass of wine. Love grissini! Great idea, Sylvie!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I can kill entire breadsticks and I'm not kidding. 😀 Great idea to dip in roasted (hmm! yum) tomato sauce. Loving your food styling, Sylvie!
jean | Lemons & Anchovies says
I love everything about these breadsticks and the dipping sauce. I've always wanted to try making the former at home and now you've inspired me to put them at the top of my to-try list. 🙂
ea-the spicy rd says
Oh, yum! This would be a fun cooking project to do with my kids this summer 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
I love the use of herb de provence here. Delectable 🙂