This week I’m visiting family at the shore, so I’m on the hunt for easy, beachy dinners that make great next-day leftovers as well. I resurrected an old recipe of mine and made a few tweaks — as I always seem to do — and it has served us well this week for dinner and for lunches!

The recipe calls for making a roux, which many folks fear when used in the same sentence as “gluten-free.” Luckily, my flour works great in roux as a thickener, so stop quaking in your boots – you’ll have a beautiful gluten-free roux base, no worries!

Hot or cold, I know this recipe will make you and yours happy, too! Feel free to substitute shrimp or fish for the crab, or just use some roasted veggies and make it a vegan favorite. As with any good casserole, feel free to add more or less of the main ingredients (crab, artichokes, pasta, onion, cheese) to suit your taste.

Enjoy!

Crab & Artichoke Casserole

• 12 oz. gluten-free pasta (I used Ancient Harvest® Quinoa Garden Pagodas  for color)
  

  Ancient Harvest Quinoa “Garden Pagodas” Gluten-Free Pasta

• ¼ cup butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
• ¼ – ½ onion, diced (use more or less, depending on how much you like onion)
• ¼ cup Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour
• 8 oz. coconut milk (full fat cans, not coconut milk beverage)
• 8 oz. milk, dairy or non-dairy (Earth Balance® Soy Milk or So Delicious® Coconut Milk Beverage)
• 1/3 cup sherry
• ½ Tbs. paprika
• ½ Tbs. black pepper
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 cups or more, lump crabmeat
• 1 ½ cups artichoke hearts, chopped (drained, if using canned artichokes)
• 1 cup grated cheese, dairy or non-dairy (I used Veggie Shreds® lactose-free Grated Parmesan, Mozzarella & Romano blend) – optional -

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bring a pot of water to boil and follow package directions to cook the dried gluten-free pasta noodles. Drain and set aside while preparing roux.

Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add diced onions. Cook until lightly browned. Add the Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to break up any lumps and keep the mixture from sticking. Cook for two minutes, then add the milks, stirring constantly until thickened. Reduce heat to low and add sherry, paprika, pepper and salt. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pour lemon juice over crabmeat and stir. In a large bowl, combine the crabmeat, artichokes and cooked and drained noodles. Stir the roux into the bowl, stirring well to integrate. Pour mixture into a large oiled casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with cheese, if using.

Bake for 30 minutes. If the cheese begins to brown too much, cover the casserole with foil for the remainder of the bake time.

Serve warm or cold.