Gluten-Free Goodness

I almost titled this post "First Food Post" because, well, it is my first food post.  Instead I'll focus on the Gluten-Free aspect of this meal as my hubs can't tolerate gluten and I hope to share a lot of gluten-free meals or recipes in the future.  Please note: my husband is gluten intolerant which means he does not eat wheat products or anything made of wheat.  I don't consider myself an expert on anything except what works for our family.  If you get diagnosed with Celiac's Disease please do visit www.glutenfreegirl.com as Shauna Ahern has worked tirelessly and carefully to educate folks on gluten-free living.  Her site is amazing.  Now, on to the deliciousness.

I love this recipe first for the title; tell me this does not get you immediately: Cheese-Gilded Linguine with Smoky Tomatoes.  Second, I'm pretty sure when I made this the other night I had every ingredient in my fridge/pantry already.  Love that.  I'm just sharing my experience of making/enjoying this dish but I will post the complete recipe from House Beautiful which, by the way, does great and honest reviews of cookbooks. Here goes!  P.S.  This sauce can sit for awhile so I just enjoyed making it first and put pasta on to boil only after I had cleaned up the mess and put on pj's. Nice and relaxing.

It starts with bacon.  I love making some bacon for breakfast and the reserving a few raw slabs for situations just like this.  Bacon makes any simple pasta meal more sophisticated and it makes husbands less wary of pasta for dinner.

Saute some onion IN the bacon grease?  Yes please.  Also add red pepper flakes here to taste (I like a lot).  Not pictured are the five or so cloves of garlic, minced, that jump into the party well after the onions soften and brown a bit.

Now, here is a tip I have read and followed over and over again.  When a sauce recipe calls for tomatoes always go for canned, whole kind and mush them up yourself.  This time I used my potato masher to squish the tomatoes in the pan. I still got juice on my shirt so if you feel like squeezing something with your hands go right ahead.  There may not be a neat way to do this and it does not matter.  I love rustic cooking that uses all your senses!

Ok, I'm skipping ahead to pasta here so pretend you've made your perfect sauce and it's making the whole house smell great.  If you can tolerate wheat by all means use regular linguine prepared according to the package.  If, like us, you like spending wads of cash on gluten-free products then I cannot recommend a pasta more highly than bionaturae gluten-free pastas.  I used spaghetti because it's what I had but they make linguine, rigatoni, macaroni--you name it.  I get it at Whole Foods and nobody would ever know.  I am so grateful for this product.

Beauty-shots of sauce meeting pasta and lots of grated parm.  Does this make you as happy as it does me?  And finally. . .

People, it was fantastic and worth making again and again.  Thank you House Beautiful for this wonderful recipe.  I think I may have to buy the book from whence it came.  

And I'm pretty sure the authors, Kasper and Swift, who host NPR's "The Splendid Table" . . .

Are the inspiration behind SNL's "Delicious Dish."  You really don't need any more reasons to make this.  Enjoy and happy weekend!

CHEESE-GILDED LINGUINE WITH SMOKY TOMATOES

Serves 4 as a main dish.

15 minutes prep time
20 minutes stove time

Sauce can be made 1 hour before serving.

5 quarts salted water in a 6-quart pot
Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
6 thick slices bacon, sliced into 1/4-inch-wide sticks
1 medium to large onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper 
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2-3 pounds delicious ripe tomatoes, cored and fine chopped (do not peel or seed), or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with their liquid, plus one 14-ounce can, drained
1 pound imported linguine
1 generous cup fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for the table

1. Bring the salted water to a boil.

2. Lightly film a straight-sided 12-inch sauté pan with oil, add the bacon, and set over medium-high heat. Sauté until the bacon is golden. Remove it with a slotted spoon, setting it on paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons fat from the pan.

3. Return the pan to the heat, stirring in the onions, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium. Sauté the onions until they soften and start to color, 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Blend in the garlic, cooking for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes. If using canned ones, crush them as they go into the pan. Blend in the cooked bacon. Bring the sauce to a lively bubble and cook until it is thick, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir the sauce to keep it from sticking. Remove from the heat, taste for seasoning, and cover the pan. The sauce can wait on the stovetop up to an hour. Bring it to a bubble before adding to the pasta.

5. Drop the pasta in the boiling water, cook until tender but still a little firm to the bite, drain, and turn it into a serving bowl. Toss with the 1 cup of cheese until it clings to the noodles, then toss with the sauce. Serve hot with additional cheese at the table if desired.