Some of your gathering may be vegetarian, or gluten-free, or dairy-free, or all three. Pasta is pretty easy to do gluten-free, there are many gluten-free brands available that are pretty good (we’ve been using Bionaturae lately). But if you’re going dairy-free, what about the Parm? To me pasta without Parmesan, or some other nutty cheese, is just missing something. So, following a tip from Sunset Magazine, I used chopped toasted almonds instead. You still get that nutty richness from the almonds, and lots of flavor. One of the things I have found using gluten-free pasta is that it doesn’t do as well cold, as wheat pasta. I made the dish both ways, using gluten-free and regular pasta. Both were great warm and freshly made. The regular pasta version was also good cold and reheated. The gluten-free version got a little stiff when chilled, and never fully recovered when reheated. I love this pasta dish as a basis for experimentation. The original idea came from a farfalle roasted pepper recipe in Sunset. I could also see tossing in fresh sliced basil or strips of grilled chicken. While the pasta is cooking, prep the other ingredients. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the sun-dried tomato oil to the pasta, and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to mix. Taste and adjust seasonings. At this point you can make ahead and reheat to serve. Serve warm.
