xgfx Pasta Ponza xgfx

Post number 3 for VeganMofo!

One of my favorite things to do when I have spare time is watch cooking shows and veganize the recipes. Since going gluten free over a year ago, I now task myself with veganizing and gluten freeing recipes. Those of us that are vegan and gluten free like to call vegan and gluten free foods xgfx.

Half of my heritage is Italian and it can often be challenging to have an Italian xgfx meal. While I can think of some, very few dishes are naturally free of gluten, dairy, and meat products. Instead of becoming discouraged, I try and remake my favorites. Many of those favorites contain pasta. I'll admit it, I love pasta. I grew up with it at the table at almost every Baccari family occasion. When the family learned I had gone vegetarian, the fix was "roni" with butter (roni= macaroni). Since going vegan and then later gluten free, I have had to become a bit more creative.

Our garden this year has been more abundant than years past and has yielded a crop of tomatoes that are going strong. Our sungold tomatoes are still blossoming and yesterday I picked a quart full of ripe tomatoes. In addition, I purchased another variety of tomatoes from the farmers market, knowing this would be one of the last weeks that they were in season. Having so many tomatoes in the house, I thought it was time for a pasta dish that I had veganized years ago. It is a dish created by a Food Network star who feels that butter and cheese are essential to every dish. I disagree. Here is my version of Pasta Ponza.

xgfx Pasta Ponza xgfx

• Olive oil spray
• 4 cups of tomatoes (sungolds, red cherry, grape, or yellow cherry will do)- chopped
• 1/4 c capers, liquid drained
• 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 c gluten free breadcrumbs*
• 1 lb of gluten free ziti or short tube pasta
• 1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 1/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8 x8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes, capers, olive oil, and pepper to taste in the baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the GF breadcrumbs* over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with additional olive oil and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add gluten free pasta and cook until tender, but still firm. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

pleace the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Thin out the sauce with a little cooking water, if needed. Season with more pepper. Sprinkle parsley and basil over the top and serve.

*To make the breadcrumbs, I ground up gluten free vegan bread and seasoned them with pepper and dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, etc)