Memorial Day Gluten-Free Pasta Salads: Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower, Pasta with Olives and Walnuts

Going to a Memorial Day BBQ? Pasta salads are an easy made-ahead side dish that can feed a crowd. These are just two examples of pasta salads that you can make. Improvise some, add in some cheese for an extra rich variety. Or, some bacon instead of the tuna in the Romanesco cauliflower pasta salad.

Whatever you do, make these ahead of time, kick off your shoes and enjoy the BBQ.

Ingredients:

• 1 head Romanesco Cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 can Solid White Tuna, drained
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 cups Pasta, cooked (I used gluten-free rice pasta like this one from Tinkyada)
• 3 Tbsps Capers, drained
• 4 Pickled Italian Cherry Peppers

Method:

• Boil a large pot of salted water.
• Chop the peppers into small pieces, removing the stems.
• Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and a steamer basket on top of the pasta to parboil the romanesco cauliflower.
• Cook the romanesco for 3 minutes with the lid on.
• While the pasta/romanesco is boiling, heat a large skillet over high heat.
• Put the olive oil and the tuna in the saute pan and cook for 1 minute on high heat.
• Add the parboiled romanesco to the saute pan and cook for five minutes, or until beginning to brown.
• Put the capers and peppers in with the romanesco and cook for three minutes.
• Drain the pasta, rinse in cool water and  put in a large bowl.
• Mix the pasta and the tuna/romaesco mixture together and enjoy!

Pasta with Olives and Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cupLindsay chopped black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 lb pasta spirals (I used gluten-free rice pasta like this one from Tinkyada)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 diced red onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 tbsps Olive Oil, divided, plus some for drizzling at end

Method:

1. Set a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil for pasta.
2. Put drained, chopped olives in a bowl, add 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper and *red pepper flakes.
3. Leave to marinate while pasta water boils, and pasta cooks.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add 2 tbsps olive oil to pan, swirl to coat.
6. Lower heat to medium, add remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic, and chopped red onions.
7. Sautee until golden, then reduce heat to low.
8. Add chopped walnuts, moving them around in the pan so they brown evenly.
9. Cook pasta according to directions on box.
10. Just before it’s cooked through, add marinated olives to the onion, garlic, walnut mixture.
11. Raise heat to medium. Heat until olives are just warmed.
12. Drain pasta and place in large bowl.
13. Pour onion, garlic, walnut and olive mixture over pasta and mix.
14. Drizzle olive oil over mixed pasta, add a pinch of salt and *red pepper flakes.
15. Serve and enjoy!

My Love Affair with Anchovies (and Pasta)

I take it from the low traffic on my Anchovy Butter post day that most people aren't as enamored of anchovies as I am. If I could, I think I'd eat them everyday. I love the saltiness and the texture. The little bones kind of freak me out a bit, but if you get those salt-packed Italian ones, there are fewer of those to worry about.

Well, we grew up eating this Pasta with Anchovy dish. It makes a yearly appearance at Christmas during the Feast of the Seven Fishes. My friends just moved back to SF from NJ and their first request was a bowl of Pasta with Anchovy. It was my duty to oblige, especially because I can count on one hand (less than one hand, actually) those around me who would enjoy this dish with me.

As I was preparing to cook the anchovy filets, I recalled when my sister first made this dish for our family, probably when she was about 15 years old. She made the dish and set it on the table. She was pretty proud of herself. It was (and still is) a feat to serve Gran Fran one of her dishes made by yourself. Though there was a tough moment when some of the tiny bones in the 'chovies made themselves known, overall she did a great job. She lives here in SF, too, and I do believe her version always turns out just a little bit better than mine.

Actually, I think I've tasted this dish made by all of my sisters (3) and my brother (1), as well as Gran Fran. Each dish is excellent, but a bit different. Just like taking a photograph, each person interprets things in their own way and no two images or dishes are ever exactly alike. I know there is the joke about the Italian grandmas who don't share quite everything in their recipe or method with anyone so that their version of the dish is always the best. This theme was even used on the Dick Van Dyke show when Laura didn't tell Millie everything she had included in her dip recipe. I don't think Gran Fran is keeping anything from us, it's just that we each have our own style and it comes through in our versions of this dish (and many other old favorites).

I won't try to convert anyone to become an anchovy lover, but I will ask you to give this recipe a try since it is delicious!

Pasta with Anchovies

Serves 8

You will need a heavy-bottomed non-reactive saucepan and a 5 to 8qt stock pot.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans best anchovy fillets wrapped around capers
• 3 cloves of garlic quartered
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs ground from good quality white bread (I use crumbs made of rice bread like Udi's)
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 pounds spaghettini (I use rice pasta like Tinkyada)

Method:

• Put salted water on to boil for pasta.
• While pasta is boiling, in a skillet heat olive oil until it shimmers.
• Add garlic and cook until it is golden.
• Add red pepper flakes and anchovies with their oil.
• Stir rapidly to break up anchovies. Reduce heat.
• Add bread crumbs and toss until crumbs are golden.
• Remove skillet from heat. Drain pasta. Stir in sauce.

Note: The recipe above specifies salt only in the pasta water because the recipe contains salty anchovies.