Jovial Gluten-Free Brown Rice Fusilli – $4.99+
I have to hand it to Jovial. They create something amazingly simple, yet so delicious with their brown rice pastas. I have always been a Tinkyáda pasta girl, but I find at times the rice pasta, when refrigerated for leftovers, will absorb water and become very, very mushy.
Well, once again I didn’t make something that made leftovers when I made dinner up the other night, but I did crack open another amazing brown rice pasta from Jovial.
The first thing I want to point out, because I can, is that Jovial’s brown rice pastas contain two ingredients. Yes. Two.
Organic Brown Rice Flour. Water.
No chemicals, no unnecessary additions. Just gluten-free (and organic) flour and water. Nothing complicated. Nothing that could potentially harm you years down the road. Nothing unrecognizable or unpronounceable. Just organic, gluten-free, simplicity in a package.
For the organic, natural foodie that I am…this makes me beyond happy.
For the foodie in me…the fact that this pasta cooked up al dente within nine minutes, didn’t require a cold water rinse upon draining, and stood up to the addition of steamed asparagus and a red heirloom tomato sauce, a toss, and a sprinkling of freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano, speaks volumes of the quality.
Nine minutes is all it took to cook in a bath of boiling water. Just like every other pasta out there. I stirred it a couple of times to keep it from sticking together or to the bottom of the pan. But it didn’t need to be fussed with that much. Which was good because I had asparagus to steam, sauce to warm, cheese to shred, and a gluten-free biscuit to reheat. Whew.
Even without having to babysit the pasta, when I drained it, nothing flaked or fell apart. It was at that perfect al dente you need to have pasta at. Still firm, but not hard…and definitely not turning into mush. I tossed the drained, steaming hot pasta into a large bowl, added the asparagus, poured over the sauce and gave it a good toss to incorporate it all together. Then…I served it up in bowls to my roommate and myself with one gluten-free (and homemade) biscuit on the side.
One bite and I could see why Jovial was besting the gluten-free pasta category time after time in gluten-free food awards. (Yes…I do pay attention to those because I am a gluten-free foodie and I like to know what is tops!). The pasta cooked perfectly. It held up to all additions. And it has that perfect pasta texture and taste. No joke. If you just served this to someone who didn’t have to eat gluten-free…they wouldn’t even know the difference. This was something my roommate’s aunt pointed out when I cooked up a pasta dinner for the three of us. She’s absolutely correct.
I recommend Jovial even if you don’t have to eat gluten-free. Cutting out chemicals and preservatives didn’t do any sort of damage to the texture and flavor of this brown rice pasta. It’s delicious organic pasta that has now made my ‘must buy’ list. You could just take my word for it…or you could rush out to your grocery store and try it yourself.
Come on. Make tonight a gluten-free pasta night. You deserve it.
The Celiathlete 
Jovial has a 4th generation Italian pasta maker that knows what good pasta should taste like!