A Creamy Sauced Gluten-Free Pasta

Gluten free pasta with bacon and artichoke hearts in a creamy sauce
Artichokes and a creamy sauce make this pasta pure comfort food.

Dairy-Free Creamy Goodness


This was almost a vegan recipe.

Until I added the bacon.

Non-carnivores, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I was standing there (quite innocent!) in my humble little kitchen stirring this velvety dairy-free cream sauce (that I'd just improvised with some leftover sweet potato) listening to my pick-me-up when I'm draggin' 80's playist (Phil Collins, The Church, Suzanne Vega, Tears For Fears, Wham! and Simple Minds) when I remembered the smoky gluten-free and casein-free Sunday bacon Steve had cooked earlier. 

And that, as they say in Guy Ritchie land, was Bob's yer uncle. And speaking of Tears For Fears- I have one quick question. Does everybody want to rule the world? Because to me, it seems like too much work.

For those of you who are fans of my Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe and well acquainted with nutritional yeast- a fab source of those requisite B vitamins and a non-dairy sort-of-but-not-exactly cheesy nutty flavor spike for those us lucky enough to live gluten and casein-free by celiac necessity or neuro-different choice (or hope or, I don't know why it works it just does) you'll love this variation on a vegan cheese sauce theme.

The sweet potato adds body, color, and flavor (not to mention those beneficial beta carotenes). And this sauce- unlike my favorite Cheesy Uncheese Sauce- does not contain any flour. The sweet potato acts as a thickener. Which I suppose makes it more South Beach friendly, too, with less refined carbs (sweet potato is a lower glycemic carbohydrate) if you serve it over low carb pasta or roasted cauliflower.





Creamy gluten-free sauce on brown rice pasta.


A Creamy- Non-Dairy- Sauced Pasta with Artichokes and Bacon

Posted December 2008.

Vegans and non-pork people- leave off the bacon and this recipe is vegan non-dairy goodness on a plate.

For the pasta- to serve four:

1 package of your favorite brown rice pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 artichoke hearts
8 strips Applegate Farms GF/CF bacon- cooked ahead of time, chopped
4 scallions, sliced

Instructions:

 Put on a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until it is al dente.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add in the garlic and artichoke hearts and cook lightly until slightly golden. Add in the bacon pieces and scallions; stir; heat through; keep warm.

Drain the pasta and spoon into warm bowls. Top with the artichoke mixture and sauce- recipe follows.

For the Creamy No-Dairy Sweet Potato Sauce you'll need:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/2 cup cooked sweet potato puree
2 1/2 cups unsweetened plain hemp milk (or rice milk- but it's thinner, less creamy)
4 rounded tablespoons good tasting nutritional yeast- I use KAL brand
1 rounded tablespoon of sesame tahini- may omit if allergic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more, to taste
A good dash or two of Simply Organic Garlic Powder, to taste
A good dash or two of Simply Organic Minced Onion, to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon or honey mustard, or to taste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or lemon juice- to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika (for orange) or turmeric (for yellow) color- may omit
1/4 cup white wine, to taste (Frey Organic is vegan/egg-free)

Instructions:

 In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over low-medium heat, and stir in the sweet potato (I like to use a whisk to do this). Slowly add in the hemp milk, whisking to blend the sweet potato and hemp milk.

Add the nutritional yeast, sesame tahini, sea salt, garlic and onion powder, mustard, vinegar/lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika/turmeric, wine; whisk to blend.

Continue heating and stirring the sauce over gentle heat for about five to ten minutes. Taste test. Does it need a hint more salt? Wine?

Stir and gently heat through until the sauce has thickened and reduced a bit to your liking.

Remove from heat and use on pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables or casserole fillings.

Makes about three cups sauce.




xox Karina

TRENDING

Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach, Pecans + Maple Vinaigrette

Image
Vegan Gluten-Free Bliss, Ya'll. And it makes a fabulous (beautiful!) Labor Day picnic offering for all your guests that shun gluten, dairy, eggs, and critters. From the archives, in the nick of time... If you're looking for a fresh idea to liven up your ho-hum salad plate, Sweetcakes, have I got a recipe for you. Light, vegan, and packed with protein, this is no ordinary bunny food. It's got quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette? In fact, this is a salad even salad haters would eat. You know, those stalwart gotta have my meat and potatoes aficionados who eschew anything leafy. Who snicker at fiber. And mock carrot sticks. The sort of individual who gets misty eyed for melted butter and bacon martinis. To said individuals, salad could never be anything but rabbit chow. But this lovely mélange of flavors just might piqu
Read more

Gluten-Free Goddess Zucchini Bread

Image
Got Zukes Galore? Sharing a favorite summer recipe here on Gluten-Free Goddess-- a cinnamon laced tea bread made with garden fresh zucchini. You'll love it. And so will everyone else. I also jotted down some batter and baking tips for ya. See below. GFG Tips on gluten-free bread baking: Here's my all-time favorite baking pan for gluten-free breads. It's a lovely glazed ceramic pan that creates steady, even heating for gluten-free batters. In other words, it's as foolproof as you can get. Find it here at Amazon:  Good Cook 9-Inch Ceramic Loaf Pan . Make sure your batter isn't cold when you put it into the oven. If you keep your flours in the fridge, for instance, this will cool down your batter quite a bit. If you find your batter is cooler than room temperature, allow the batter to rest in the pan near the pre-heating stove and let it come to room temperature before you place the bread pan in the oven to bake (I also do this with cakes sometimes). The first time
Read more

Gluten-Free Goddess Blueberry Crisp

Image
A Summer Classic: Blueberry Crisp We had a sudden hankering. You know how it is. A craving hits that will not be denied. Insistent. Growling. Desire with an uppercase D. So I'm digging into the archives. June is here. And you start imagining fresh, juicy blueberries, nestled beneath a perfectly golden crumble of a crust, warm, the deepest purple, bubbling as you slide it- ever so gently- out of the oven and onto a cooling rack to rest and settle until you can't stand it a minute longer, breathing in the cinnamon laced aroma of a summer dessert classic. The forever glorious blueberry crisp. And this one's gluten-free. And dairy-free. No xanthan gum either- a bonus. So darling. Don't wait. Blueberry season is short and sweet. Peace + Love, Karina xox
Read more

Asparagus with Maple Tahini Dressing

Image
    The Queen of Spring. Asparagus. It's a welcome signal of warmer days (and nights!) when those bundles of slender green stalks are back, standing tall in elegant rows at the local market. Erect, perky little beauties. My deep and abiding craving for asparagus is surprising for someone who never tendered a single bite of fresh asparagus until my third decade here on planet Earth. Yes, you read that right. Three decades. I admit it. I was anti-asparagus. In my own defense, I must mention, in full transparency, that the only asparagus I was served in childhood came from a can. A CAN. And Darling! If you've never had the non-pleasure of noshing said limp and stringy excuse for a such a brilliant vegetable, I am here to assure you, it was tinny, flaccid, and disgusting with a capital D (and in full disclosure, it ended up buried deep inside my paper napkin, doomed for the garbage pail as soon as the parental and familial accomplices to this vegetable horror were occupie
Read more

Grilled Vegetable Stack + Lemon Hummus

Image
Grilling, Vegetarian Goddess Style. Beneath the hot sapphire skies of an all too brief July, backyard grills will be smokin' as savvy cooks keep the kitchen cool by stoking briquettes al fresco. Cooking and dining in the open air- even if your outdoorsy territory is merely a closet-sized urban balcony hanging off a sun-kissed wall of brick and mortar- is an enduring, classic, summer pleasure.  The smoky sweet heat of barbeque spices, chipotle, and hickory laced sauces slathered on everything from burgers to shrimp and meaty portobellos is intoxicating- and hunger pang inducing. So to further feed the flames of desire, I'm sharing one of my all time favorite grilling recipes. And this one's for the gluten-free vegan crowd. Over the weekend we grilled some of our favorite farm fresh veggies and made these rustic grilled vegetable stacks layered with a light and creamy homemade lemon hummus. Deliciousness was the word. Karina xo
Read more