OK so… this gluten free breakfast pasta dish is pretty much the best breakfast I’ve had in ages! I could seriously eat this every day!
If you’re into savoury breakfasts and, like me, you really couldn’t care less about weird food rules that claim things like pasta aren’t morning foods (because how is pasta any different to bread or cereals anyway?! They’re all grains, just under different forms), then you really need to try this.ย It’s absolutely delicious, filling and nutritious too.
Of course it works for any meal as well, not just breakfast. I just really love eating this sort of thing in the morning. It keeps me going a lot longer than some peanut butter toasts or bowl of cereals would and let’s face it, while I do love ‘normal’ breakfast foods as well, meals like this tend to be a bit more exciting! Perfect for weekend brunches or whenever you have a bit more time to make food in the morning. Not that it’s overly time consuming to make, but it does require more efforts than putting bread in a toaster so, in that sense, I’m aware of it not being the ideal weekday breakfast before work. However, if you put your mind to it, you can get this done within 20-25 minutes, which is well worth making time for. You can also cook a big batch that will last a few days. ๐
To make it even more complete, you could also add eggs. At the end of this recipe, just make a few wells in the pasta with a spoon, crack an egg into each well and cover the pan with a lid until the eggs are cooked through.
And don’t you dare swap the brussels sprouts for something else. Seriously, I know a lot of people are put off by them for some reasons, but brussels sprouts are incredibly nutritious and I promise they taste great in this. ๐
Ingredients
- Pasta (I used Morrisons gluten free fusilli)
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 cups brussels sprouts
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup button mushrooms
- 4 bacon slices
- 1 cup grated extra mature cheddar cheese
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian herbs
- Cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
- 1 or 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Yields 3 large servings.
Directions
- Cook the pasta and drain. For the perfect gluten free pasta, useย a large pan so the pasta has enough room to swim in, add some salt and make sure the water starts boiling before adding the pasta. Then stir occasionally and keep testing the pasta to see if it’s ready (as gluten free pasta is notorious for quickly turning mushy when it overcooks!). It should still have a certain firmness to it, in other words be al dente.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, bell pepper and button mushrooms, roughly chop the brussels sprouts, slice the cherry tomatoes in half and cut the bacon slices into small pieces.
- Steam the chopped up brussels sprouts either in a pan or in the microwave (which is by far my preferred method – in a bowl with a bit of water and covered with a plate, cook for a few minutes and check once in a while to make sure they don’t overcook/soften up too much).
- Heat a bit of olive oil in a non-stick sautรฉ pan on medium heat and fry the bacon pieces until slightly crispy. Turn the heat down to medium/low and add the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Pan fry for a couple of minutes and add the steamed brussels sprouts and halved cherry tomatoes along with the seasonings (garlic powder, Italian herbs, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper). Pan fry for a few more minutes.
- Add the milk, toss the cooked pasta in and add the grated cheese. Stir everything together for a couple of minutes and serve.
Enjoy!
