Le Veneziane Pasta

Miracle of miracles, I have found the best gluten free pasta, possibly on the entire planet. I have tried more types than I can remember, and while Tinkyada and Gillian's make a good product, the Italians have swooped in and succeeded brilliantly, as expected, in providing a fantastic pasta. Le Veneziane pasta is made out of corn flour, cooks wonderfully (without that weird gluten-free milk water that you have to rinse off of the pasta), comes in a variety of classic Italian pasta types, looks, feels, and TASTES LIKE NORMAL PASTA! My verdict on the top three gluten-free pastas as of now is as follows:

Numbah one: Le Veneziane
Two: Gillian's
And three: Tinkyada

Buy it on Amazon here and go eat a huge bowl of pasta! Try it with Pesto or Alfredo sauce. (Above it is shown with my family's home-smushed tomato sauce....I think that recipe will have to remain a secret mainly because you have to be partially insane to actually do it).

:) The Celiac Seal

Tacos

Ok, yes, this is kind of a cop-out because tacos are usually a gluten-free food. Just a reminder that Old El Paso taco shells and taco seasoning are Celiac-friendly! Go make some of these and whip up a pitcher of margaritas!

:) The Celiac Seal

Pesto

This is an easy and delicious pasta sauce, especially wonderful in the summer when my Dad uses our homegrown basil. Since it is not even remotely close to summer, we can just make ourselves some pesto and pretend we are in the sunny and warm place the basil came from that is so NOT HERE.

So, here's what you need:

• 2 cups of cleaned basil leaves
• 1 clove of garlic
• about 1/8 tsp salt (to taste)
• about 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 or a bit more grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  

In a food processor or blender, layer the ingredients: garlic, nuts, some basil, some oil, salt, more basil, oil, cheese. It doesn't hurt to dice up the garlic before hand and tear up the basil leaves a bit to give the processor/blender an easier time. I never measure out the olive oil, I just put it in as necessary to sauce-ify the basil and co. Push the button and watch it go! Serve with some not-too-hot pasta and ENJOY!

:) The Celiac Seal

Alfredo Sauce

This recipe is courtesy of Gourmet. It is absolutely delicious and easy-peasy to make.

Here's what you need:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I like to use Pecorino Romano)

Throw 8-9 ounces of pasta in a pot and cook it up, save 1/2 cup of pasta water for the sauce.

Meanwhile, bring cream and butter to a simmer in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, adding 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Add 8-9 ounces of pasta, 1/4 cup reserved water, and cheese to sauce and toss. Add more cooking water if necessary.

Enjoy this not-so-low-fat but SOOOO delicious bowl (or two) of pasta!

:) The Celiac Seal