GLUTEN-FREE QUINOA PASTA
Growing up in an Italian-American household, pasta was a staple on our dinner table. We didn’t often have fresh pasta, but when we did, it was a special treat. It was like the whole dish was transformed from something average to something spectacular.
I have always adored fresh pasta, but when I removed gluten from my diet over five years ago, that quickly became a distant memory. Luckily for many of us with gluten intolerances, there is great packaged pasta options on the market, but truth be told it’s never quite as good as the real thing.
Since it’s been over five years since I’ve had my last bowl of fresh pasta, I decided that it was high time to try making fresh gluten-free pasta at home!
Today I’m going to take you step-by-step through the process of making gluten-free pasta in your own kitchen using the KitchenAid® Pasta Roller & Cutter Set and your KitchenAid® Stand Mixer.
To start, whisk together your flours, xanthan gum and salt in the bowl of your KitchenAid® Stand Mixer. I used the flat beater attachment here but you could also use the whisk.
Next add your eggs and begin to mix on speed 2 until the dough begins to come together.
Once the dough has reached a crumbly stage, with the Stand Mixer running, add the water. Turn up to medium-high speed and mix until the dough comes together.
Dump the dough onto a gluten-free floured surface and knead with the heal of your hands, until the dough is smooth. Use as much flour as you need here so that the dough doesn’t stick to your surface or hands.
Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour.
Once the dough has rested, cut it into quarters. Take one quarter of the dough and shape it into an oval disk, about 1/4 of an inch thick.
Attach the KitchenAid® Pasta Roller attachment to your Stand Mixer and put it onto setting 1. Turn the mixer onto speed 2 and feed the disk-shaped dough through the top of the roller. Once the dough has gone through once, fold it into thirds and run it through two more times (again on setting 1).
Turn the dial on the Pasta Roller attachment to setting 2 and feed the dough through again. Repeat this process for setting 3 and setting 4. You don’t want to go much higher than 4 with gluten-free pasta dough because it’s a bit more fragile.
Once you have your sheet of pasta, set it aside and repeat the whole rolling process with the other three quarters of the dough.
With the pasta sheets rolled out, remove the roller attachment and replace it with the fettuccine cutter attachment.
Just as you did with the roller attachment, run one sheet of rolled pasta through the cutter attachment to form your noodles. Set the cut noodles aside on a floured surface and repeat this process with each of your pasta sheets.
The noodles will be the shape of fettuccine.
If you’re not cooking the pasta immediately, place them an in airtight container and let sit at room temp for no more than a few hours. If you’re not cooking them within that time range, you can freeze them.
When you’re ready to cook the pasta, bring 10 cups of water to a rolling boil on the stove. Place the pasta in the water and cook for 2-3 minutes, until al dente.
The pasta will immediately drop to the bottom, so give it a gentle stir. As it cooks, it will rise to the top of the water. Taste one noodle to test the doneness.
To remove the noodles from the water, lift them out with a fork. They are a little fragile so dumping them into a colander may cause them to break.
To prepare the caprese pasta dish, transfer your hot noodles to a large bowl. Drizzle with some olive oil and toss to coat. Add your shredded mozzarella, chopped tomatoes and basil and stir to combine.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
GLUTEN-FREE QUINOA PASTA
Makes 4 servingsINGREDIENTS
3/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
Pinch salt
1 large egg
4 large egg yolks
2-3 tablespoons cold water
DIRECTIONS
Add flours, xanthan gum and salt in the bowl of your KitchenAid Stand Mixer and whisk together.
Add eggs and mix on speed 2 until the dough reaches a crumbly consistency.
With the mixer running, add the water one tablespoon at time, starting with only 2. Turn up to medium-high speed and mix until the dough comes together. If it’s still dry, add another tablespoon of water.
Transfer the dough onto a gluten-free floured surface and knead with the heal of your hands, until the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for at least 60 minutes.
Once rested, cut the dough into quarters. Take one of the quarters and shape it into an oval disk, about 1/4 of an inch thick.
Attach the KitchenAid® Pasta Roller attachment to your stand mixer and put it on setting 1. Turn the mixer onto speed 2 and feed the disk-shaped dough through the top of the roller. Once the dough has gone through once, fold it into thirds and run it through two more times (still on setting 1).
Turn the dial on the Pasta Roller attachment to setting 2 and feed the dough through again. Repeat this process for setting 3 and setting 4.
Set this sheet aside and repeat the whole rolling process with the other three quarters of the dough.
Once all the dough has been rolled out, replace the roller attachment with fettuccine cutter attachment.
One sheet at a time, run the pasta through the cutter to form your noodles. Set the cut noodles aside on a floured surface and repeat this process with each of your pasta sheets.
Cook immediately or store in an airtight container at room temp for up to two hours. If not cooking within the two hour period, simply place the bunches of pasta on a baking sheet and freeze.
GLUTEN-FREE QUINOA PASTA
Makes 4 servingsINGREDIENTS
1 batch of fresh gluten-free pasta (recipe above)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup finely diced fresh basil
Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Bring 10 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 2-3 minutes (5-6 for frozen), or until al dente.
Remove pasta from water with a large fork and transfer to a mixing bowl. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
Add cheese, tomato and basil and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
