Linguini with Salsa Verde, Gremolata and Tomatoes

Last night I finally got around to reviewing the gluten-free, vegan challenge episode of Top Chef Masters I’ve had stored on the PVR forever. It started off a little rough but once the Chefs got over themselves and stopped whining about “how they had both hands tied behind their back”, a few really great dishes were born.  Michael Chiarello’s pasta was really well received by everyone regardless of their dietary status. Not only did it win best dish that episode but it looked damn tasty. I had to try and make this super yummy dish.

Now, normally I try to adapt “regular” recipes to fit vegan requirements, but this time the challenge was to try and replicate the already vegan recipe without a full ingredient list or the method available for reference. Suffice to say pause and rewind function of my remote got a really good workout. Adding to the difficulty level was the fact that I knew neither what differentiated a salsa verde from a pesto (they looked the same) nor did I have a good idea of what a gremolata was. Hummmm.

Apparently a salsa verde is a chopped herb condiment with parsley, vinegar, capers, garlic, onion and olive oil and is similar to a pesto except it doesn’t have the pine nuts or parmesan. Clearly the parmesan wasn’t gonna fly here but I’ve ad-libbed a little somethin’ somethin’ below to make this verde very fine.

Gremolatas are drier simplified version of a salsa verde composed of just parsley, garlic and lemon zest. Due the non-meatness of this dish, Chef Chiarello wanted to give this past a “little crunch and a lot more heft” so he elevated it by adding some gluten free crackers and pine nuts for good measure. Yum. Since I’m very cool with all things gluten, I used fresh breadcrumbs in place of the crackers, although I’m sure they were awesome too.

Considering more than 75% of the recipe was missing at the onset and the learning curve was a little steeper than usual, this turned out well. It’s a really well-rounded dish that will fill you up without filling you out. All of the components are pretty fantabulous but my favourite part has to be the oven-dried tomatoes drizzled with aged balsamic. So. Very. Yummy.

So once you get into the salsa verde recipe it looks like a ton of ingredients and a lot of work but I promise you it’s not. The food processor does all of the heavy lifting. If you’re really not feeling the effort, as long as you remove all of the stems from the herbs, you can throw almost everything in whole and just blend it a little longer. No biggie. If you complete all of the steps in the order outlined in the method the pasta, gremolata and tomatoes should finish within minutes of each other. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Linguini with Salsa Verde, Gremolata and Tomatoes

divined from Michael Chiarello, Top Chef Masters Season 1, serves 4
Prep time: 30 minutes / Active Time: 30 minutes (with some overlap)

For the Tomatoes:

2 pints of mini heirloom tomoatoes or sherry tomatoes
old balsamic vinegar you can get your hands on, 3 yr age minimum

For the Salsa Verde:

3 cups fresh parsley
2 cups olive oil
1 cup green onion
3/4 cup drained, rinsed capers
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped oregano
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 1/2 tsp fresh sage
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
freshly cracked pepper to taste

For the Gremolata

1 tbsp Earth balance Buttery Stick
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of baguette, very finely diced
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp lemon rind, coarsely grated
2 tbsp basil, roughly chopped
small pinch of red chili flakes

For the Pasta:

4 servings of linguini
1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp sea salt to season the water

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375℉.
2. Halve tomatoes and place sliced side up on a lined, neutral oil sprayed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized on the bottoms. Once out of the oven drizzle balsamic over the tops of each tomato and set aside until ready to serve.
3. While tomatoes are roasting, place all of the ingredients for the Salsa Verde in a food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside until ready for use.
4. Bring a large pot of water seasoned with sea salt and olive oil to a boil and cook pasta until el dente according to instructions on package. Drain and cover with lid to keep warm and set aside.
5. In a non-stick saute pan over medium high heat melt the Earth Balance and olive oil up to temperature. Add chili flakes, bread crumbs and garlic and toss to evenly coat in oil. Toast mixture in saute pan by shaking and tossing frequently to ensure mixture evenly browns. Once mixture begins to brown add, basil and pine nuts and continue to toast until entire mixture is golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a ceramic plate to halt the cooking process.
6. Add salsa verde to warm pasta and toss until evenly coated and serve in deep pasta bowls.
7. Spoon an even amount of tomatoes around the edge of each bowl, top with a big handful of gremolata and enjoy!

Note: The Salsa Verde can be done up to 3 days ahead of time when stored in a air-tight container in the fridge.