Serves 6
IN MANHATTAN’S EAST VILLAGE there is a restaurant called Frank that my friends and I used to frequent. It had the best Italian food you could imagine, at amazing prices. The restaurant started with only ten tables, and became a favorite from word of mouth. In those days, the young owner, who became a friend, had four other restaurants as well. Basically, his secret was to take his grandmother’s recipes and create the simplest dishes using only the very best and freshest ingredients. One night, my friends and I ran into the chef and he invited us all back to his closed restaurant. It was 3 a.m. (I definitely can’t do those kinds of late nights anymore, but those were the days.) Anyway, he said he would make us something simple: pasta with lemon and Parmesan. I instantly grimaced. Lemon on pasta? But he went into the back and in what seemed like minutes, he reappeared with a piping-hot bowl of pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and lemon and topped with fresh parsley. Tentatively, I tried it. Shock and awe. I didn’t just like it, I was mad for it. I had never imagined those flavors could ever add so many dimensions to a simple pasta.
Through the years, I re-created the pasta many times, and people often asked me for the recipe because they loved it so much. Then celiac came along, and there I was, stuck with new rules: no pasta, no cheese. I figured out that I could substitute the pasta, as there are now many high-quality, great-tasting gluten-free pastas out there. But cheese? Italian Parmesan? Sorry, but that is a big fat no. I’d heard of nut cheese, but I can’t handle nuts very well either and it sounded terrible. I had to think of some other ingenious way to re-create the flavor of that pasta.
Then I discovered seaweed gomasio, a Japanese seasoning consisting of sesame seeds, salt, and seaweed. Amazingly, when combined with hot pasta, it becomes a starchy, savory substitute for Parmesan cheese! So I gave it a try with lemon and pasta. A hit! I have made this many times since and, to tell the truth, I will always miss Parmesan cheese—but this version still hits the spot.
You may be able to find seaweed gomasio in your local health food store, but you can definitely buy it online. Eden Organic makes a good version.
Himalayan salt
1 pound gluten-free spaghetti
2 tablespoons seaweed gomasio
2 tablespoons olive oil
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Fill a medium to large saucepan with water, sprinkle in some salt, and bring to a boil for the pasta. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and return to the warm saucepan. Add the gomasio, olive oil, and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper, mix to combine, and serve hot.