JUVELA Fibre Linguine

I love pasta. Really love pasta. It has become quite an addiction, more so since fabulous gluten free offerings have appeared. Spaghetti? Marks and Spencer, or Salute if you can get it. Fusilli? Tesco has improved their recipe and now we love it! Tagliatelle? Er… Macaroni? I, erm… Linguine? Oh… The problem is, ‘coeliac’ does not bring with it a secondary label of ‘boring’.

Anyone who includes pasta in their diet would, from time to time, prefer something other than penne in their packed lunch. I recently tried a tagliatelle from a well-known supermarket, my excitement rapidly diminishing and four words heading to the forefront of my mind; grainy, heavy, dense, unappetising. That’s no good, is it?

If you are entitled to prescription foods, I can say with near certainty you will be thrilled with Juvela Macaroni, reviewed earlier this month. It is light, palatable and cooks brilliantly. It keeps well too, holding its shape and refraining from joining the Club of Gluey Pastas. Marvellous! But what of their linguine alternative? It’s a Fibre Linguine, i.e. brown, so I’m excited to be trying it out!

 

What’s in the box?

Linguine is similar in length to standard spaghetti but flatter. I would say it is about the width of three or four strands of spaghetti but flat like ribbon.

Fibre Linguine is egg free and dairy free, consisting of maize starch, potato flour, rice starch, soya flour and apple fibre, plus the usual stabiliser (to help preserve the structure) and emulsifier (to help combine ingredients that do not easily mix).

The dry linguine is a beautifully healthy brown colour. I am expecting it to taste like brown rice – which I love – and have a slightly grainy texture. Hopefully it will work al dente as well as soft.

What’s on the box?

As with all their products, Juvela have listed tantalising serving suggestions on the reverse. This time, they suggest two delicious meals; Creamy Smoked Salmon Linguine or, for vegetarians, Avocado Pesto Linguine.

This month’s Juvela newsletter also pictures enticing dishes for when you have a little more time to be creative, with Fibre Linguine included in a lovely broth and White Mix included in wonderfully patriotic cupcakes. There are plenty more fantastic recipe ideas on the Juvela website too!

 

Cooking

I am going to follow the instructions exactly to give a fair trial. No sauce or topping this time; just a half size serving for lunch with olive oil and seasoning.

Bringing a pan of water to the boil, I salt the water then carefully add the small handful of strands. Once all in, I set the timer for the recommended 10 minutes (the pack says 10 to 11 minutes). Usually I would add a drop of oil to prevent sticking but I refrain, seeing as the strands did not stick together.

The timer goes off and I test a strand. This looks promising!

Following a thorough drain, I am almost ready to enjoy. Almost. The instructions specify rinsing of the linguine with boiling water before draining again and serving. I suspect this to be crucial in ensuring maintenance of non-stick linguine and to remove unwanted clouded starchiness.

 

Eating

Scooping up the linguine with a spaghetti spoon, the gorgeous strands happen to exactly fill the little bowl I have chosen.

Before adding any seasoning or oil, I eat a few strands as they are. Ooh! The flavour is fantastic! It tastes healthy but not overpowering. Maize and potato often make a pasta heavy but the nice, slim cut of this linguine and careful balance of ingredients work very well.

Ten minutes is the perfect cooking time for an al dente finish. Largely soft, there is a subtle ‘bite’ to the centre.

 

Now for a less plain pasta…

I drizzle over a spoon of olive oil and season with rock salt and coarse black pepper. The linguine is cooling now but has not stuck together at all. Miracle! It’s a really delicious bowl of linguine. I can’t wait to enjoy a dinner-sized serving later this week!

 

I bet you a fibre…

I don’t think anyone else out there, whether manufacturing gluten free or standard pasta, produces a fibre-rich option as Juvela do. If they do, I bet it doesn’t cook without sticking and sit in a bowl, each strand separate and clean, as Juvela’s does. The fact is, yet again, Juvela have come out on top with a super alternative to terrible versions of linguine, meaning we no longer have to have ‘just’ spaghetti (privileged though I hope all coeliacs feel!) or ‘mainstream’ penne. There are non-prescription options out there, but at the moment they are not that great.

Makers of glutinous and gluten free pasta should take a leaf out of Juvela’s book. Go on – offer something clean and simple yet interesting, pasta and spaghetti free from dairy as well as gluten (and I mean really free from, not ‘may contain’ traces of), something to support people who need a fibre boost or supplemented vitamins.

Next from Juvela is Tagliatelle! I have a feeling it will be amazing…