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

Gluten Free Cooking 101

One staple that I always have on hand in the fridge is a homemade tomato sauce.  I do find that many meals I make are based on a tomato sauce.  My mother always says that this is one of the simplest things to cook and can be used as a basis for many dishes.

By pre-making this sauce and keeping it in either the fridge or freezer, you can cut your dinner preparation time right down whether it be for a quick pasta or one pot wonder of chicken and veg in the oven.  This sauce is very versatile and I hope that you find many uses for it yourself.

My Basic Gluten Free Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion
a glug of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbs verjuice
3 x 400g tins of diced Italian tomatoes
half a 400g tin of water - used to rinse out the tomato tin
a large sprig of fresh basil, preferably sweet basil or a pinch of dried basil
a small sprig of fresh oregano or a large pinch of dried oregano 
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil and sauté the diced onion until transparent.  It is at this point that I add the herbs and salt to quickly heat them.  Add the verjuice to the pan and let it evaporate a little.

Add the tomatoes and stir through the onions, verjuice and herbs.  At this point, add the half tin of water,  I rinse the tins out so that no bits of tomato are wasted.  

Let this cook at a low simmer for about 35-40 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated, so that the sauce is at a nice thick consistency.  

Add the extra virgin olive oil and the vinegar and taste checking for a balance between the oil and the vinegar - you don't want too much of one or the other.  Also add salt and pepper as needed as well. 

If you have used fresh herbs, fish the stems of the basil and the oregano out of the sauce before bottling in a clean jar, covering the sauce with a layer of extra virgin olive oil.  This can keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze and defrost and use as required.

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia