Fettucine Marinara copy

Pasta as it’s meant to be, in all it’s unadorned deliciousness…

but gluten-free

I’m not a celiac so I don’t have to eat gluten-free, but I feel so much better when I do. It has so many benefits including a better looking belly. But what’s a pasta loving Italian gal to do when she can’t find a pasta that doesn’t end up tasting like cardboard?

She makes her own.

But that’s far easier said than done. I’ve tried for years with little success to come up with a flour mixture for fresh pasta that is as good (if possible) as the pasta I’ve been making and eating all my life.

I have yet to find a store bought pasta that was worth pairing with my wonderful sauces. Most gluten free pasta in supermarkets is made with brown rice as the first ingredient. I am not a fan. It tastes a bit (more than a bit) like chewing on cardboard. Pasta made with corn flour as the first ingredient is better, but…well, a bit corny – not to mention, GMO’s.

I tried to make my own flour mix a few years ago but my pasta was still disappointing and not worth the effort. I left this project alone for awhile, choosing rather to cool down my love affair with my native pasta and indulge, sparingly, only when I could enjoy the real thing. This wasn’t so easy either.

With a renewed sense of determination, I set out once again to try my luck with coming up with the perfect flour mixture for fresh pasta. Finnally, after trying various mixes (my own and commercially available ones) and days of kneading, cutting and eating pasta – which wasn’t as great as it sounds…

 

I did it!

And now you can too.

 

But first, make your sauce so it’s ready when the pasta is.

Click here for my so easy and perfect marinara sauce.

Click here for some to die for bolognese sauce.

 

Recipe For the Pasta

 

½ cup sweet white rice flour

½ cup all purpose flour (Bob’s is a perfect mix of garbanzo bean, potato starch, tapioca, white sorpham and fava bean)

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

4 tablespoons water

1 egg

¼ tsp salt

 

Preparation

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and then make a well for the water and the egg.

Add water and egg into the well and beat them with a fork.

Now take your fork and go around the flour, forking the flour into the well until it’s all mixed. This is fun right?

Place your sticky dough onto a lightly floured board and knead. Kneading is a smooth motion of rolling the dough forward, starting where your wrist meets the palm of your hand and moving forward to reach your fingers. I know this sounds like yoga instructions which are hard to follow if you’re not watching someone do it so if that’s what you need to knead (lol)…here’s a link that will help. Yes a photo is worth a thousand words and a video a zillion. This guy knows his stuff. But note that he does everything on a board and that’s a great way of doing it but if this is new to you, a bowl is better for the mixing of the flour and eggs which is shown too (yeah, I know he uses 3 and I use one but I didn’t want egg noodles…just pasta dough) and his instructions are wonderfully easy to follow.

After you’ve kneaded your dough, as you’ll see in the video it’s time for it and you to rest. So wrap the dough in plastic, yourself in a “blanky” with a cup of tea (if you’re in an air-conditioned room) for about 20 minutes or so until it’s time to cut the dough into pasta.

If you have a pasta machine here’s another video to show you how to use it. But note…he rolls the dough into a very long sheet and then cuts it so your fettuccine ends up being about 6 feet long! Since most of us don’t eat pasta that long, I suggest cutting the sheets into about one foot pieces and then cutting it.

And if you don’t have a pasta machine…don’t feel you can’t make pasta…you can. It’s just takes a bit more effort….so here’s an easy pictorial article (video’s were not great for this)

 

Cut GF PastaCut Spaghetti & Fettuccine

 

GF pasta in sauce

In a tomato bath

 

Plate, serve and enjoy.

Ahhhhh…pasta as it’s meant to be.

And now I want to hear from you.

What do you think of store bought GF pasta?

Have you found one that tastes good?  And if so do tell.

Have you ever tried to make fresh pasta? If so tell us how it turned out.

Do you make pasta with a machine or simply with a rolling pin?

Do you have any recipes you want to share?

We’re in the kitchen and people talk. Talk to me.

21 Comments
  1. Shana LaFore August 1, 2013 at 1:28 am - Reply

    Great article. Super informative. I’m not gluten free, but I have quite a few friends who are. I’ll definitely be sharing this!

    • chefsilvia August 1, 2013 at 2:23 pm - Reply

      Thanks Shana. And please do share. It’ll make a lot of GF people happy. Thanks again.

  2. Desiree East August 1, 2013 at 3:00 am - Reply

    This is awesome…aaaaah, the advantages of being a chef!!

    • chefsilvia August 1, 2013 at 2:22 pm - Reply

      True Desiree. But creating a recipe may be a bit more challenging but following one is easy. Try it…you’ll like it. lol

  3. Mandy August 1, 2013 at 8:51 am - Reply

    oh yum, this looks beautiful and well done on explaining how to make this, Silvia.

  4. Aimelie Ronquillo August 1, 2013 at 12:04 pm - Reply

    Oh my gosh, that look so good!!!! Great job on sticking with it to find the perfect recipe!! I’ve never thought about making my own pasta, but this definitely has me wanting to try it out!! Thanks for sharing!!

    • chefsilvia August 1, 2013 at 2:20 pm - Reply

      So glad Almelle. Let me know how it turns out when you do.

  5. Corwyn August 1, 2013 at 3:44 pm - Reply

    Can you freeze quantities of gf pastas?

    • chefsilvia August 1, 2013 at 3:52 pm - Reply

      Great Q Corwyn. And the A is yes you can. Here’s how. First dry the pasta and then package it in ziplock freezer bags. It’s that simple. I’ve done it many times and works great…even GF gnocchi…that recipe coming soon. And of course your can freeze regular fresh pasta this way too.

  6. Allison August 1, 2013 at 5:56 pm - Reply

    What’s the rule of thumb for how long to boil this pasta (I assume in salted boiling water with a bit of olive oil)? And is there any chance we can buy yours in the future?

    • chefsilvia August 1, 2013 at 6:13 pm - Reply

      Great question Allison. Fresh pasta cooks in a fraction of the time it takes to cook dry pasta – about 6 – 7 minutes. Just taste it to judge when it no longer tastes like raw dough. As to the water: yes to salt; no to oil. Adding oil will prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta. It’ll slide right off. And unfortunately I doubt that I’ll be selling pasta (though anything is possible). I really would rather concentrate on writing, teaching and of course cooking. But thank you for asking.

  7. Fiona Rhys August 1, 2013 at 6:00 pm - Reply

    This recipe looks great! Even a non-cook like me can do this. Also check out
    http://www.glutenfreeresourcedirectory.com

  8. Andrea August 6, 2013 at 8:04 pm - Reply

    This looks sooo delicious, Silvia! I could eat pasta every single day! I’m not gluten free, but this recipe might help with the guilt of pasta addiction. :)

    Thanks for doing all the hard work to find a yummy alternative!

    • chefsilvia August 6, 2013 at 11:06 pm - Reply

      I’m right there with you Andrea…pasta every day…but…

      Seriously that’s why I was so determined to make my own GF pasta.

  9. Ann August 7, 2013 at 9:49 pm - Reply

    Silvia, great website. I am still using the red sauce you taught me in college. It was always the hit of the neighborhood. My son always invited his friends over when I made the sauce.
    Ann

    • chefsilvia August 7, 2013 at 9:56 pm - Reply

      That’s great Ann. So glad this easy, delicious sauce had served you well. It’s almost as easy as opening a jar, isn’t it? Check back tomorrow I’ll be posting 5 easy recipes to get dinner on the table fast and many of them start with the tomato sauce. Thanks for commenting.

  10. Sonja Keller August 8, 2013 at 10:17 am - Reply

    Great recipe! I’m Celiac and am always looking for gluten free recipes :)

    • chefsilvia August 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm - Reply

      Oh, I’m so glad Sonja! Please let me know when you tried it how it turns out for you.

  11. Elise Museles August 9, 2013 at 12:59 am - Reply

    This recipe looks so good. Like you, I am not celiac, but I feel much better without gluten…and I have many clients who follow a gluten free diet. Definitely sharing.
    Thank you!

  12. […] When it comes to gluten-free cooking, which I try to embrace as much as possible, creativity has to be cranking or we can end up with dishes that taste like cardboard. And this pasta loving Italian gal has eaten too much cardboardy spaghetti to ever want to again – so I made my own.  Here’s the recipe in case you missed it. […]

  13. […] When it comes to gluten-free cooking, which I try to embrace as much as possible, creativity has to be cranking or we can end up with dishes that taste like cardboard. And this pasta loving Italian gal has eaten too much cardboardy spaghetti to ever want to again – so I made my own.  Here’s the recipe in case you missed it. […]

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