When I found out that I had Celiac Disease, the first food I mourned was pasta. That might sound dramatic, but being told you can never eat your favorite food again really sucks. I tried all of these different gluten-free pastas and thought they all tasted like cardboard. Since then, I've figured out some pasta recipes that taste delicious and that people can't even tell are gluten-free. I'll be sharing more of them with you soon, but this is one of my favorites.
Here's what you'll need:
1 package of gluten free pasta (see below)
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
Salt
Italian spice blend
Grated parmesan to taste
1/8 cup of sundried tomatoes
1 package of raw mushrooms
1 package of medium sized frozen shrimp
3 small zucchinis (you can substitute another type of squash if you prefer)
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of tomato paste
1/2 cup of whipping cream
Let's get started:
First, bring a pot of water to a boil and add in your gluten-free pasta. I've found that to avoid the cardboard taste, try to find ones that are corn-based (these tend to look more yellow). Surprisingly, Walmart's generic brand gluten-free pasta is the best one I've tried so far. Plus it's under $2 which is crazy for gluten free!
The other key with gluten-free pasta is to wash it. So after your pasta is cooked, strain it, and then rinse it really well. You might want to do this with cold water or using a spoon so you don't burn yourself. For some reason, gluten free pasta likes to congeal together in this mushy mass, especially if you're reheating it the next day. This helps separate the pasta and prevent that from happening.
Okay, now onto the sauce! Start defrosting your shrimp and leave them on the side. Then, add your garlic and olive oil to the pot. Cook this until the garlic turns a nice brown. Then chop up your mushrooms and zucchini and add them to the pot as well. It doesn't matter how you cut them, but I would aim for halving the veggies and then slicing them so that they're thin enough to cook evenly and are bite-sized. Go ahead and cover them with a lid for a few minutes so that they start to steam, then remove the lid and let them cook so that they get a nice golden color.
Those are going to take awhile to cook down, so next, finely chop your sun-dried tomatoes. Once the veggies are well cooked, add your sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes. Sprinkle in salt and Italian seasoning to taste. You don't want to go too crazy though; keep in mind you can always add more. Bring all of that to a boil and then let it cook down until it looks less liquid-y and more sauce like.
Next, turn your heat down to medium low and add your defrosted shrimp. Most frozen shrimp is pre-cooked so if that's the case with yours, it should need very little cook time from here. If not, cook the shrimp until they become a nice orange-y pink instead of gray. You want to be careful not to overcook the shrimp or they'll turn out rubbery.
Once your shrimp look like they're about to be finished, remove the pot from the heat. Let it cool down a bit and then slowly add in your cream. Start by adding very small amounts and lightly folding it into the sauce. You don't want to pour it in too fast or the sauce will curdle. Once you've finished folding in all of the cream, add some more salt to taste and you're all done.
I prefer to leave the pasta and sauce separate until plating just because I find it easier for leftovers, but that part's up to you. To finish it off, add a bit of parmesan cheese.
Plate and serve.