Allergen Free Gluten Free Pasta with Roast Cherry Tomatoes Grilled Chicken and Nut Free Pesto
Allergen-free, Gluten-Free Pasta with Roast Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, and Nut-Free Pesto
Summer is the season for tomatoes and basil! But with pesto usually off-limits for people with food allergies — it traditionally contains tree nuts and dairy — I set about creating an allergen-free version of the original. The sweet and tangy roast cherry tomatoes are the perfect compliment to the earthy flavor of the basil, and the smokiness of the grilled chicken. As an added bonus, I’ve used hemp seeds in place of the traditional pine nuts or walnuts, boosting protein and omega 3 essential fatty acids. Upon tasting this recipe, my son Monte asked, “Can I have this for lunch tomorrow too?” There is no greater compliment.
Ingredients
Pesto:
- 1/3 cup shelled hemp seeds (Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds are allergen-free)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup gluten-free bread-crumbs (I like Hol-Grain for this recipe, they’re very fine and made from rice)
Roasted Tomatoes:
- 1 lb. cherry tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- salt and fresh ground pepper
Grilled Chicken:
- 1 lb. chicken breast (if you’re short on time, buy it pre-grilled)
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1 lb. rice or corn-quinoa penne or spirals or shells
- 6-8 large basil leaves to garnish
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Place hemp seeds in food processor and grind to a fine meal. Add garlic and puree. Add basil, and blend till finely chopped. Pour in extra virgin olive oil, a little at a time, till pesto is nice and smooth. Add salt and gluten-free bread crumbs. Combine thoroughly and set aside. (This can be made in advance. Makes 1 heaping cup.)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cover a baking tray with aluminum foil, scatter tomatoes on it, drizzle with 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss till all the tomatoes are coated.
Roast until tomatoes collapse in on themselves, about 30 minutes (it will be less if the tomatoes are really tiny).
Put water on to boil, and cook pasta according to instructions on packet.
Pound the chicken breast between two sheets of parchment paper with a meat mallet till it is 1/2-inch thick. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill over high heat about 3 minutes per side. Dice into 1-inch peices.
Drain pasta and toss with olive oil to coat in a large pasta bowl. Add the pesto and chicken. Toss. Add the roasted tomatoes and gently toss one more time. Scatter 6-8 basil leaves over top. MAKES 8 SERVINGS
Allergen-Free, Gluten-Free Pasta with Roast Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, and Nut-Free Pesto © 2010 by Cybele Pascal
(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)
SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns before consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.
Allergen Free Pasta Makes Great Summer Dish
Pasta, the staff of life. They say it’s bread, but I don’t think so. Does bread come in over 350 shapes, colors and sizes? Does bread have never-ending sauce options? Can you eat bread alone every single night? Maybe, but I bet you’d rather eat pasta.
Unless you’re allergic to it, of course. In fact, if you’re one of the more than 12 million Americans with Food Allergies, you’re probably avoiding one or more of the following foods; wheat/gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, or sesame. Given that pasta dishes are generally comprised of wheat/gluten, dairy, and eggs, and sometimes tree nuts, or fish and shellfish, eating pasta may seem like an impossibility. Not so! By switching to gluten-free noodles and using a little ingenuity with sauces, pasta will be the centerpiece of your summer table.
Finding a good wheat-free, gluten-free pasta takes a bit of patience. As an experiment, I set about testing all that I could get my hands on. Luckily, the industry has come a long way in meeting public demand for gluten-free pasta. Only a couple of years ago, there were very few options, and most gluten-free pastas would disintegrate into a mushy gloopy mess. Al Dente was unheard of, never mind twirling a long strand of spaghetti around a fork.
Not true anymore. While you still have to avoid a few brands that have not moved beyond a product that cooks into some sort of gruel, the following are some GREAT brands of pasta.
As far as I’m concerned, Tinkyada is the gold standard of rice spaghetti. It has a firm texture, and lovely taste. It is made with whole grains (brown rice, and rice bran), in a factory that produces only rice pasta, eliminating the risk of cross-contamination with other grains. Tinkyada is available at most health food stores and many regular grocery stores. Pastariso also has excellent texture , but I detected a faintly bitter aftertaste. Pastariso makes potato pastas as well, and is also produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility. Lundberg, the grandaddy of rice pastas has a great flavor — be sure to check out their short pastas (spirals, penne).
I was less enthusiastic about Mrs. Leepers, an Italian brand of rice pasta. To avoid the noodles turning to mush, I had to cook them for less time than instructed. However, they do make multi-colored vegetable spirals, which is appealing to kids. Trader Joe’s brown rice pasta was weird, to say the least. Though I cooked it to the maximum suggested time, it seemed completely underdone. I drained it anyway, because the instructions warn against overcooking, and after a few minutes, the texture improved. The next day, however, the leftovers were as hard as a rock, and completely inedible.
After my rice pasta adventures, I moved on to other gluten-free pastas, containing corn, or quinoa. DeBolescorn pasta, the most accessible gluten-free pasta at supermarkets and grocery stores, had good flavor but the noodles didn’t hold their shape, with the spaghetti/linguine looking more like shredded egg noodles. My favorite gluten-free pasta isQuinoa Corporation’s Ancient Harvest Quinoa Linguine. A blend of corn flour and quinoa flour, it has the best texture, a lovely pale yellow hue, and never got the slightly slimy coating that can accompany rice pasta. Even better, quinoa is an ancient grain with complete protein, (read:super-nutritious).
With pastas out of the way, I moved on to creating the sauce. For inspiration, I looked to the Italians, who know to rely on basics for flavor — ingredients like onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes, rich chicken or vegetable stock, white wine, fresh herbs, olives, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, sausage, prosciutto, or bacon (try nitrite free). Just a few of these flavorful ingredients combined gave me a great sauce, and you can do the same at home. During these summer months, look to your local greenmarket for fresh veggies, like zuchinni, yellow squash, fresh peas, and leeks, which add both color and texture to your dish. And remember to skip the cheese! While we have become so used to adding parmesan to our pasta, many sauces don’t require any cheese, and in fact are better without it.
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What’s your favorite pasta shape? Mine is linguine….