gluten-free fusion dish

A gluten-free Asian-Italian meal

Our congregation is organized into small caring units. One of my couples is homebound, for a time. She has a new artificial hip. He is her primary caretaker. So some of us provide food.

She cannot tolerate gluten. They offered a hint — rice pasta is a good base for a meal.

What follows is — in true Fearless Taster form — not a recipe. It is a guide. To be even less pretentious, it’s simply my recollection of how I prepared six generous servings (two for the day I delivered it; two in the fridge for a few days; and two in the freezer).

Pasta: One pound of gluten-free, additive-free rice penne or rigatoni ($1.09 at Trader Joe’s) is boiled (not vigorously, but stirred if necessary) in water to just al dente.

I added to the water the water in which I had rehydrated one-third of a cup of dried tomato halves (later snipped in half again).

Trader Joe’s offers an inexpensive medley of dried spices called Twenty-one Seasonings Salute. I used a quarter-cup of it, stirred into one cup of light sour cream and half a cup of non-fat milk, stirring it into the drained and rinsed pasta. I added a quarter cup of freshly-shredded peccorino romano (imported from Italy and made from sheep milk).

I briefly sauteed one pound of Trader Joe’s bay scallops in virgin olive oil, adding a quarter cup of chardonnay to bring the scallops to just opaque. Off the heat, I added to the pan two tablespoons of reduced-sodium soy sauce and a tablespoon and a half of toasted sesame oil (I prefer the assertiveness of the Dynasty brand).

Then in a large non-stick pan I sauteed, in a small amount of virgin olive oil, an entire green bell pepper (halved horizontally and then cut into thin slices) and half a large onion, chopped. That pan was added last into the pasta and the whole assemblage stirred thoroughly to blend.

Ordinarily this would go into a casserole dish and covered with buttered bread crumbs and baked until the top browns. But gluten is verboten, so the dish is consumed, gently warmed in a stovetop pan or in the microwave, accompanied by a simple salad.

Bob Cramer, The Fearless Taster.

2 thoughts on “gluten-free fusion dish

  1. Do tell us how the gluten-free dish works out, Donna. It can be adjusted to taste, and in contents, in any number of ways. This just gives you something to build creatively on. Bob, The Fearless Taster.

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