This is the kind of discovery that I can’t believe that I am still having. Fresh. Pasta. Oh em gee. For realz. Ok, I’ll stop.
For this month’s Ratio Rally, we all made pasta. I don’t want this one to end. I also want to keep this secret formula for myself. It is that good. Each time and with each ratio it was good. So very, very good. I am going to make lasagna with fresh noodles before this post goes live just so that I can bask in the glory of fresh pasta. I am Irish. And British. And German. And Norwegian. I am definitely not Italian. We had a pasta maker in the house growing up, and we made fresh pasta a couple of times, but it wasn’t really our thing. I make a mean potato anything. And some delicious gluten free spaetzle. And desserts, I make the best desserts.
But fresh pasta? Who does that? Apparently, I do. Pasta is so easy to make. Some flour, some eggs and some getting your hands dirty.
The ratio that I used is 3:2, flour:eggs (from Ruhlman), but it wasn’t so simple this month. I tried his ratio. The pasta was a little dry. Water made it pliable, and it was delicious, but it was too finicky to share with you. I tried a different ratio. This one was 8:5 with a splash of olive oil. I also tried a flour combination used by my favorite dry pasta. With brown rice and soy pasta, I was so close that I could taste victory, but I could also taste beans and olive oil. The third time was the charm. Thank you Gluten Free Girl & The Chef cookbook. More yolks, less whites. I replaced an egg with 2 yolks and found the texture I was looking for. If you are interested in how she tackled pasta, check out her cookbook – her’s has olive oil and a different array of flours.
I apologize now for what I am sure will be an excessive amount of pasta recipes. Today, I paired my fresh gluten free pasta with a pink vodka sauce, which despite the cream is actually a fairly light tasting sauce. (Actually, I just needed to use the vodka that I bought for my pie crusts for something else to justify the purchase).
The pasta freezes exceptionally well, so once it has partially dried, put it in individual baggies in the freezer. When you want a quick dinner, boil a pot of water and add the still frozen noodles. They need about 5 minutes to cook, and with some olive oil, oregano and parmesan cheese, you have an almost instant dinner. Now, go make some pasta, you’ll be glad you did.
My recipe is after the list of this month’s participants. The Ratio Rally was hosted this month by Jenn of Jenn Cuisine.
Brooke | B & the boy! – Ravioli w/strawberry filling and chocolate berry sauce
Caneel | Mama Me Gluten Free – Multi-grain Fettuccine
Pete and Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem – Tortellini
tbdgretchen | kumquat – vegetable lasagna
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine – Tagliatelle with Smoked Salmon, Peas and Parmesan
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen – lokshen kugel
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan – vegan gluten-free homemade pasta, in Creamy Artichoke Tagliatelle
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie – Fettuccine with sun-dried tomatoes
Silvana Nardone | Dishtowl Diaries – Lemon-Poppy Pasta with Tomato, Corn and Basil
Tara | A Baking Life – Rag Pasta with Wild Mushrooms and Spring Onions
| Fresh Pasta with Pink Vodka Sauce |
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- 15 grams ground flax
- 60 grams brown rice flour
- 65 grams sweet white sorghum flour
- 40 grams sweet white rice flour
- 30 grams tapioca starch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 yolks
- 1 14oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes (buy the good ones!)
- 1/2 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 dried chili pepper, seeds discarded, minced (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, stems removed
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/4 cup vodka
- salt, to taste
- Whisk together flours and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the middle, and add in eggs and yolks. This really is if you are brave enough to mix it on your counter with out a bowl. I am not that brave, nor do I want to have to clean up the mess it would leave, so I made my pasta dough in a bowl.
- Mix with a wooden spoon until it starts to come together. Knead the flour into the eggs until every thing is combined and the texture is like playdough.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while you make the sauce.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add chili pepper and let it fry in the butter until it starts to become fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Once you start to smell the garlic, add in the can of tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir and return to pasta making.
- This is the fun part: divide your dough into thirds and press into a disc about 1/2 inch thick. If you are rolling it out by hand, flour your table and roll the dough to about 1/16 inch. If you are rolling by pasta maker, roll it through the maker several times on the widest setting, folding it into thirds after each pass. This helps with the texture of the pasta.
- Roll the dough through the maker at each thickness until the dough is thin enough to be cut by the linguine rollers. (Or by hand into lasagna noodles).
- Let pasta dry for 15-20 mins before cooking or putting in the freezer.
- Set a pot of salted water on medium-high heat and bring to a boil (do this after pasta has been drying for 10 mins)
- Once your sauce has been simmering for 30 mins (or you are done rolling & cutting your pasta, whichever is longer), use an immersion blender or pour your sauce into a blender. This will help the texture.
- Return your sauce to low heat and add the fresh herbs, vodka and cream. Cook over low for about 5 minutes more.
- While the sauce is in its last 5 minutes, boil your fresh noodles. They will most likely be done in about 4 minutes.
- Drain and top with sauce.
- Feel super awesome about the fact that you are eating fresh pasta with a delicious sauce.
I have been making pasta almost obsessively over the past 2 weeks. But really, I was getting bored with noodles and sauce. Also, it is summer and most lasagna recipes are too hearty and heavy for the warm months.
