I think I am going to write a regular post on new products or one’s folks may be missing in the store. This one is on pasta. The other week I was in Trader Joe’s and got some wide pasta, tagliatelle. In the past I have bought similar shaped noodles on Amazon for a ridiculous price, and it was nothing that amazing. This store brand pasta is great looking and at a super great price. It will pair well with a chunky meaty ragu and you won’t even miss that darn gluten!

Next, I looked at the cassava-based orzo; purchased at my local Shoprite and is a shape that is very hard to find in a gf format. Orzo is particularly great in soups; I have missed it in mine… I made a chickpea pasta soup this week and used gf orzo for the pasta; it was great to have it the right size already; no breaking up elbow pasta that is in a Ziplock baggie. Which gives you irregular jagged bits and pieces, certainly not what you really want in your soup?

I just made the classic tuna casserole but without the canned soup goop. Instead, I made a scratch white sauce flavored with sautéed onions, celery, garlic and peas plus a hint of dill week. Mixed with the par cooked pasta and 2 cans of drained solid white tuna it was somewhat sad looking. I topped it with partially crushed Shaar Company crackers, like Ritz crackers but gf. then I drizzled melted butter over the crackers and baked it for 25 minutes. It became all crunchy buttery crumbs that elevated my delicate white sauced tuna into a delicious treat. I don’t actually remember when I last made a gf tuna noodle casserole. That’s because so often it is a goopy dull mess of that canned sauce and sad noodles. this is just an elegant and tasty version I know I will make it again and again. One cavoite; I think I will cook the noodles less so they are definitely underdone before assembling the casserole. Mine were a tad overcooked when reheated the next day so undercooking is the way to go.

I will try the capellini another time; only so much pasta I eat these days. I am looking forward to it! If you don’t have a ShopRite near you try the store with the biggest gf section; most likely place to find these tempting pasta shapes.

There are so many more gf pastas than there were 11 years ago when I had to go gluten free. Get out there and try some; it makes all the difference to a recipe to use the right size and shape of pasta and it adds variety to what you can make. Enjoy!