~Amanda~
Two years ago, my mom, Jackie, and I took the best trip of our lives to Europe. We went to Paris, Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast. While we loved touring and seeing all the great landmarks and museums, you can easily imagine that the best part of the trip was all the amazing food that we got to try. From the refined and decadent cuisine in Paris, to the Italian gelato and fresh seafood, it was all incredible. And the most surprising part for me was the availability of gluten-free pastas in Italy! Not only did they just have gluten-free pasta, but they had amazing, homemade gluten-free pasta. I don’t think that I’ve ever tasted something so good. Ever since that trip it has been a goal of mine to make my very own homemade gluten-free pasta.
That’s us on the beach of Positano, Italy…and the Gluten Free section at the Italian outdoor market!
The first part of achieving my pasta goal was obviously to get a pasta maker (kind of an important part in making my own pasta)! And that finally happened this Christmas; my parents got me a KitchenAid stand mixer, Conor got me the pasta attachment for it, and I was finally prepared to make my own pasta. Yahoo! The next step, finding the right recipe; I have tested a few and this one from Jamie Oliver is the best one I’ve found. The main ingredients are rice flour, potato starch, corn meal, and xanthan gum (all of these ingredients can be found at most grocery stores these days in the specialty foods/organic section). I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make pasta identical to what we had in Italy, but this one is pretty darn close!
I have watched my favorite chefs make pasta on tv before, so I went into it with the general idea of technique and it went surprisingly well! The first step is to make the dough and it’s so simple; all you have to do is throw all the ingredients in your food processor and combine. You then knead the dough for a bit, and divide into four sections. One section at a time, you roll out the dough until it’s thin enough to fit through the pasta roller and then you roll it through the different settings. Because the dough is gluten-free, it’s definitely not as elastic as regular pasta dough so I find it’s best to just use the first three settings of your pasta roller, after that it begins to tear. After rolling out the pasta, I use a sharp knife to cut the dough into my desired pasta width. You can use this dough to make tagliatelle (a thicker pasta), or a thinner pasta noodle, or even lasagna noodles. In these pictures I made tagliatelle to use in this amazing recipe for Tagliatelle with Ricotta, Peas, and Tarragon, definitely try that recipe out, even if you don’t make your own pasta, it’s very tasty!
- 2/3 cup rice flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and combine to form a rough dough. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth. Cut the dough into four portions.
- Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough out into a rectangle until it's thin enough to fit through your pasta roller.
- Start with the widest setting and roll the pasta through the machine (dusting with flour if it sticks). The start clicking the settings down, rolling the dough through each setting twice. Gluten-free pasta isn't as elastic as regular pasta, so I usually only go through the first three settings or else it starts to tear.
- Once the pasta is rolled out, place on a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel to keep from getting to dry. Repeat these steps for the remaining pieces of dough.
- Now you can choose what type of pasta you would like to make with your dough. If you have the attachments, you can roll your dough through your desired width on your roller. If you don’t (like me), you can cut the dough by hand using a sharp knife. You can make wider tagliatelle noodles, thinner pasta noodles, or leave it large for lasagna noodles.
- To cook: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add some olive oil and then drop your pasta in the water. Cook for about 3 minutes (or until al dente) depending on the thickness of your pasta. Enjoy in your favorite dishes!
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