Gluten Free Spaghetti: Royal Quinoa and Rice

I am always on the lookout for new gluten free products to try, particularly pastas.

I was at Thomas Dux Grocer in Surry Hills in Sydney and was delighted to see the number of gluten free products is growing.  They now have over 200 gluten free products in-store.  This is fantastic!

 Whilst browsing through the grocers I found this new pasta:  Organic Royal Quinoa and Rice Spaghetti.  Naturally I bought it along with a few other treats.

This pasta is lovely.  It held its shape well and did not turn to mush when cooked.  I am assuming that this is due to the royal quinoa in the pasta.  The flavour is nondescript, similar to non-gluten free pastas.

When trying this as home, I prepared a quick pasta sauce to my husband's request:  something with tomatoes, olives and pine nuts.  This I what I cooked on the fly:

Tomato, Black Olive and Pine Nut Spaghetti

3 handfuls of grape tomatoes, cut into halves - would equate to roughly two cups of whole tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of pitted black kalamata olives
3 tbs of pine nuts, toasted
salt to taste

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the tomatoes.  Stir them so they are coated in the oil.

Once the tomatoes have cooked for a minute or so, add the minced garlic and drop the heat down to low to prevent the garlic from burning.  Mix this through so it is well combined with the tomatoes.  Add a good pinch of salt and let the tomatoes cook down for five to ten minutes.

When the tomatoes have become soft, let the sauce reduce so that it thickens a little.

Once the sauce is of a slightly thick consistency taste and add salt as required.  The mix through the olives.

Stir the sauce through cooked spaghetti and serve topped with toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia