Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta Using 2 Ingredients!

So I posted that image above of my pasta to a support group in Facebook because I wanted to share a glimmer of hope to all of us celiacs (or gluten intolerant sufferers} to show that it is possible to have a great tasting plate of pasta. I wrote up the post at midnight, went to bed and woke up to over 450 reactions and over 80 comments. Most were looking for the recipe so I thought I’d share it here. Some of the pictures or videos aren’t ‘professional’ as I didn’t expect to be posting them but thought I’d include them anyway for a visual help. Personally I love recipes that feature pictures as I like to know if I am in line with how the recipe should look. Once you’ve nailed the pasta itself, you could look at blogs like http://www.st-ambrose.com/ to get some recipe inspiration for what to put with your latest kitchen success.

So here it is. Super easy. 2 ingredients. Now, I will write a side note regarding the flour. For this recipe I have only tried using the brand Piaceri Mediterranei which I buy locally from an Italian importer. He carries a wide array of gluten-free products. I tried to research where to buy it but had a hard time. Their website has a contact option or you can always contact them through their Facebook page. Having said that, I will try to experiment with more readily available brands such as Bob’s Red Mill (which I think will work just fine), Robin Hood and others.

So without further ado here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
For 2-3 servings (double or triple the recipe depending on number of servings):
– 200 g flour (as mentioned I used Piaceri Mediterranei)
– 3 eggs
(no salt…salt draws moisture away from the dough. The pasta will cook in salted water so not needed here)

White rice flour for dusting.

Directions:
1) In a food processor combine the flour and eggs until the consistency is slightly crumbly but sticky. Please don’t worry if you think it’s too sticky or wet…the next step will take care of that! (should look like this)

2) Dust the work area (either your counter or as I do, a large, thick cutting board) with a nice layer of rice flour (or any gf flour really).

3) Begin kneading the dough into the flour until it forms a well-blended ball of dough. (I use the term kneading to demonstrate what to do, as gluten-free dough does not require kneading for activating the gluten since there isn’t any gluten to activate. This is only for the purpose of rolling the dough up into a nice smooth ball). If you feel it’s still too wet, add more flour until you get a nice smooth ball of dough. A few minutes should do it. This is what it should look like:

4) Cut up into 4 equal parts and wrap in cling wrap to avoid drying up the dough. Every time you use a piece, rewrap the rest in the cling wrap.

5) Take your quarter piece and cut that into 2 pieces (as the whole quarter will be too big to work with…working with smaller pieces is always easier). Flatten the dough and dust it lightly with rice flour. Start passing through the pasta machine starting from 0 through 4 (and depending on how thick you want your spaghetti or fettuccine to be stop at either setting 3 or 4. At 3 the spaghetti or fettuccine will be slightly thicker. At 4 they will be thinner). With each passing, refold and shape it to make it look rectangular so that the following passage through the machine will continue to keep the shape you need (the video shows it at the second passing…trust me it becomes smooth and strong and easy to work with). Here’s hubby demonstrating 😉 lol

6) Now pass the long sheet of flat pasta through the spaghetti or fettuccine side.

7) You can use a pasta stand or you can roll them up on a well-dusted baking sheet to prevent them from sticking together. If using a pasta stand be careful when transferring them from the pasta stand to the boiling water as they may have dried up a little and become stiff causing breakage. Gently slide them off the pasta stand into the boiling water.

8) Bring a well-salted pot to a boil.

9) Gently transfer the pasta into the boiling water and let cook about 3 minutes.

10) Drain and toss with your favorite sauce. I have made this with bolognese sauce, a sauce with sausage (for great flavor) and even with rapini and sausage.

**Please not that I use this recipe to make all of my favorite pasta; spaghetti, fettuccine, orecchiette, lasagna noodles, pappardelle and ravioli.