Sometimes food changes your life.

I’ve become accustomed to low-quality gluten free options, especially at restaurants. For some reason many restaurants translate “gluten free” to “flavorless” and “bland.” Pizza doughs and dried pastas are often of low quality, leaving something to be desired. Obviously, there are always some exceptions, such as Flatbread Company’s gluten free pizza.

Very rarely do I come across a restaurant whose gluten free options blow me away. I recently had the pleasure of dining at Nick’s Italian here in Scottsdale. It was a really lovely experience and I would recommend them to anyone in the area. Everyone who I have taken there has loved it; family from afar, picky eaters, etc. Their pizzas are a really good size and everything is very fresh, they even have house-made regular pasta and pizza dough!

They have a limited GF menu so I decided to just order a regular pasta dish, subbing gluten free pasta instead of regular pasta. I chose the Farfalle Emperial which includes bowtie pasta, Shrimp, Chicken, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Onions, Feta, Kalamata Olives, Garlic White Wine Sauce. My first bite of my dish was surprising because I was convinced that they accidentally served me regular pasta. My boyfriend also tasted it and couldn’t tell, so we decided to ask the server, who assured us that it was in fact gluten free, stating “our gluten free pasta is just really good!” Um, yeah! I asked to see a package, did a little research, and here we are with this recipe.

I’m not going to say I’m a hero or anything… but you’re welcome.

This dish is way decadent, more so than I would normally make, but this is a CELEBRATION! I went to the grocery store today just to buy fancy ingredients because I knew there was a special package waiting for me at home. I chose to buy my olives at my local grocery store’s olive bar because I like the ones that are marinated with herbs and feta cheese, but this is up to you.

Gluten Free Mediterranean Pasta with Garlic White Wine Sauce

Serves: 2 people
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp diced shallots
pinch of dried chili flakes
3 tbsp olive oil, separated
2/3 cup dry white wine (I used pino grigio)
3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
10 quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp assorted olives, slivered
Cubed marinated feta (however much you want, I only used about 1 tbsp)
1/2 package Le Veneziane Gluten Free Pasta
Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Remano cheese, to serve
1 tbsp slivered fresh basil, to serve

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add 1/2 package of gluten free pasta. Cook according to package directions- if you are using Le Veneziane, I cooked mine for about 10-11 minutes to al dente.

Chop onions and dice garlic and shallots; set aside separately. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add onions and stir. Let the onions saute for 4 to 5 minutes and then add mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, shallots and chili flakes. Saute until garlic just starts to become golden and then add white wine. Simmer the wine until it reduces by half and then add 2 tbsp butter. Let the butter melt and simmer for a bit more to combine and remove from heat, set aside.

Once the onions and mushrooms are golden brown, add olives and tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes and then add cooked pasta and toss. Add garlic white wine sauce and stir until pasta is coated. Lastly, add the remaining tbsp of butter and once it has melted, stir in the marinated feta and serve with freshly grated cheese and slivered basil.

This dish would be awesome with shrimp or chicken as well. Enjoy!

It’s products like this pasta that make me realize that I don’t need gluten to be happy. Does that sound silly? Probably because I’m still eating this pasta so I’m just super blissful and happy and thinking this pasta could bring about world peace. Go stock up, my gluten free friends.

MORE TSIPORAH BLOG:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

***