When Jim decided to go gluten free for a while, we needed to come up with some alternatives to our favourite pasta dishes. Pasta with cauliflower, peas, mint and quinoa was one of the resulting dishes.
Because wheat-based pasta dishes are so much heavier to digest than gluten free pasta they give the illusion of a filling meal, particularly the ones with vegetarian sauces such as this one with cauliflower, peas, mint and quinoa. So the challenge was to find another ingredient that would “beef up” these dishes and also increase the quantity of vegetables.
This recipe is based on one from Matt Moran’s When I Get Home—which originally included panko breadcrumbs (to give a crunchy texture to the dish)—but replaces the breadcrumbs with quinoa to make it gluten free and also adds cream to make more of a sauce.
We think it’s pretty tasty.
Ingredients
1 tbs butter
¾ cup quinoa flakes
250g gluten free pasta (we like San Remo spirals made with maize, potato, soy and rice flours)
½ large cauliflower, cut into small florets
1–1½ cups peas
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¾–1 cup cream
2 tbs olive oil
Handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large sauté pan and add the quinoa flakes. Fry till golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Bring some water to the boil for the pasta and cook to the directions on the packet.
Heat the olive oil to the pan and add the cauliflower florets. Cook until golden brown and softened (around 8 minutes). You can add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan to help soften the cauliflower. Stir through the garlic and peas, and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked pasta, toasted quinoa flakes, mint and pecorino cheese. Stir until all the cheese has melted.
Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.