Pasta with Avocado Cream Sauce and Toasted Popchips "Breadcrumbs"

          Last week Blog and Tweet Boston headed to a fun event at Worbar Cambridge, where three Kitchen Surfing Chefs faced off Iron Chef Style and competed to come up with the tastiest, most creative dish using Popchips.

          Chef Jen Rogers created a Popchips Chicken & Waffle with honey-hot BBQ sauce, maple-cider slaw and a Bloody Mary shot on the side.

          Chefs Mark O'Leary and Justin Hackett created a Vietnamese Popchip Bahn Mi; a Classic Bahn Mi with BBQ Pop Chip Cured Pork, Salt & Vinegar Pop Chip Mayo, and Katy Perry's Supernatural Pop Chip Pâté on an Original Pop Chip Vietnamese Style Baguette.

          Chef Jitti Chaithiraphant created a Corn & Cheddar Popchips Soup topped with crushed BBQ Popchips.

 

 

          Although all three were delicious and so creative, the soup was definitely my favorite. Jess and I even went back up for seconds!

 

          The event didn't stop that night - it was actually an inspiration and kick-off for a blogger cooking contest. We were all encouraged to come up with our own recipes incorporating Popchips, and the winner gets a Kitchen Surfing Gift Card, and other amazing prizes from Popchips!

          I decided to incorporate Popchips into a recipe I was already planning to try: Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce and Toasted Popchips "Breadcrumbs."Although I'm not gluten free or vegan, I have been trying to eat healthy and have been experimenting with gluten free, dairy free recipes. This dish is a healthy version of pasta alfredo, one of my favorite comfort classics. I learned recently that cheese is a major part of some Italian dishes depending on the region, but others not so much because historically cheese was considered a luxury and less wealthy regions couldn't afford it. These regions often topped their pasta with toasted breadcrumbs in place of cheese, so I decided to try this with toasted Popchips to keep the recipe entirely gluten free (and because Popchips taste great on anything)!

 

 Ingredients:

1 avocado (cut into small pieces)

3-5 cloves of garlic

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup almond milk

1 bag original Popchips

Brown rice (or your favorite gluten free pasta)

 

 

1. Fill a large saucepan with water according to pasta directions and bring to a boil

 

2. While water is heating, sautee garlic in a saucepan with olive oil until brown

 

3. Add avocado to the oil and garlic, and mix with a fork until creamy

 

4. Stir in almond milk, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and simmer for five minutes

 

 

 

5. Toss one bag of crumbled Popchips in a small frying pan with one tablespoon of olive oil and cook until lightly browned. 

 

 

6. Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and toss with avocado sauce

 

7. Top with Popchips breadcrumbs and enjoy

 

If you like my recipe, be sure to vote for it on the Blog and Tweet Boston site starting 3/19/14!