Friday, March 28, 2014

Gluten-Free Garlic Braided Spaghetti Loaf / Spaghetti en Croute

Sick of making spaghetti sandwiches with soggy bits of sauce-soaked bread? Put the 'ghetti in the garlic bread and get ready for a taste explosion. Spaghetti en croute!
This easy and quick Garlic Braided #Spaghetti Loaf  from Anyonita Nibbles is a perfect, kid-friendly dinner idea. Made healthier with #turkey mince.

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Gluten-Free Garlic Braided Spaghetti Loaf

I have strict rules about spaghetti. Normally, I prefer it the second day, after it's been refrigerated and rewarmed. It tastes so much better. And two, there has to be bread of some sort. As a kid, spaghetti was always accompanied by buttered slices of Wonderbread and the combination was just delicious. This is how the adults big kids do spaghetti and bread: perfectly al dente noodles with chunky meaty sauce inside buttery, flaky pastry. What you can't see is the insane amount of gooey cheese lurking inside.

Overhead view of garlic braided spaghetti loaf | Anyonita Nibbles



This recipe isn't going to be dubbed "healthy" but it is comforting, quick, delicious and kid-approved. Sometimes (particularly after those looooooong days where every little request is a full-fledged assertion of a strong-willed, stroppy toddler) comfort, speed and the sheer fact that food gets gobbled up and not used to redecorate the dining room wins out over healthy.

Close up of garlic braided spaghetti loaf | Anyonita Nibbles

En croute is the fancy French word referring to anything that is enclosed in pastry and then baked. But really this is just what it looks like: spaghetti in puff pastry. Shop bought, puff pastry. I had seen about a half dozen spaghetti braid recipes on Pinterest but couldn't find one that I liked. So I decided to go my own route. Or should I say, my en croute? Ha!

Braided Spaghetti Loaf | Anyonita Nibbles

My version uses lean turkey mince and super stringy Edam cheese. If you can't find Edam outside of Europe, then you could just use mozzarella or Swiss. I also throw a lot of herbs and spices at my spaghetti to really punch up the flavor. No bland pasta over here!

A slice of braided spaghetti loaf | Anyonita Nibbles

Pasta lovers might enjoy having a gander at this board, by the way:

Ingredients:

For the gluten-free glgarlic braided spaghetti loaf
1 pack shop bought gluten-free puff pastry
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp onion powder
1 egg, beaten
300g cooked gluten-free spaghetti noodles
400g lean turkey mince/ground turkey
500g shop bought spaghetti sauce
Edam or other cheese, to taste
parsley, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
Spaghetti inside of garlicky puff pastry | Anyonita Nibbles

Instructions:

Gluten-Free Garlic Braided Spaghetti Loaf
  1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
  2. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet for al dente,or for no longer than 8 minutes.
  3. Brown the mince in butter along with salt, pepper, oregano,basil and onion powder, while the spaghetti cooks.
  4. Add the sauce to the meat when it is nearly cooked. Reduce the heat. Strain the noddles and add them as well.
  5. Remove from the heat and mix well to combine. Let everything settle for about five minutes to prevent melting the pastry with the piping hot pasta and sauce.
  6. Roll out the pastry so it is thick but not too thin. Fringe each long side of the pastry by cutting 2 inch snips about 2 inches apart. Do this on both sides, leaving a nice patch of uncut pastry in the middle.
  7. Pile the pasta and sauce onto the middle of the pastry. Top with as much cheese as you'd like.
  8. Working on alternate sides, fold over one flap of cut dough, crossing it over the pastry. Work back and forth, overlapping the folds in the middle. Pinch folds together if necessary to keep them in place. You might find this bit a little slippery as it might seem like there's too much pasta. Just keep at it. It doesn't matter if pasta slips through the cracks or if one or two of the flaps tears away from the pastry.
  9. Brush with a beaten egg once braided. Sprinkle over garlic powder and parsley.
  10. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden.
Love fun takes on classic Italian dishes?

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza | Anyonita Nibbles

Kale & Wild Mushroom Carbonara | Anyonita Nibbles

Italian Pear & Mortadella Sandwich | Anyonita Nibbles

Spaghetti en Croute | Anyonita Nibbles

10 comments:

  1. G'day! I love this and can see me eating this right now Anyonita!
    Cheers! Joanne
    http://whatsonthelist.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would never have thought to do that Anyonita! I love this idea!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like this! stumbled

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is such a good idea! My kids always ask for spaghetti, but I need a break this would be a great way to mix things up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So creative! I love this meal. My big kid would devour the whole loaf :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, what a neat idea! This looks beautiful as well!

    Thanks again for joining the Link Up this week!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just posted a spaghetti braid a couple weeks ago. It used Rhodes loaf bread, though. I love the idea of doing it in puff pastry instead. Makes it a little lighter and more "fancy" :) Thanks for linking up to Let's Get Real!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Forget kids ... the MEN in my life would go crazy for this one! And you're sooooooo right about pasta dishes being better the next day - hot OR cold. [#TastyTuesdays]

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is such a fun idea, my kids would love it! Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very interesting concept on the spaghetti braid. I will just bet that will be a big hit with young and old alike. I will be trying this soon. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete

What do you think of this recipe? Be sure to tag me in any recipes you make on social media and use #anyonitanibbles!