Asbell - Gluten-Free Pasta

GLUTEN-FREE PASTA

Copyright 2014 by Robin Asbell

Photography 2014 by Jason Varney

Published by Running Press,

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013943525

E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-5178-4

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Cover and interior design by Joshua McDonnell

Edited by Kristen Green Wiewora

Typography: Avenir and Kabel

Food styling by Carrie Purcell

Prop styling by Paige Hicks

Running Press Book Publishers

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Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371

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Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mother, Marilyn Calhoun, whose food allergies had the unexpected benefit of motivating me to investigate cooking for special diets many years ago. Of course, the support of my family and my sweetheart, Stanley, carries me through all my projects and endeavors, and I thank them.

TOC

Pasta. Noodles. They are comfort on a plate. In infinite variations, pasta and noodles feed the world and cross all cultural divides. If you are broke, you can fill up with instant ramen at four packs for a dollar. If you are flush, you can pay top dollar for a plate of handmade artisanal pasta gilded with truffles and lobster. Hole-in-the-wall noodle stands, authentic soba shops, and Italian pasta palaces inspire cult-like devotion. Rich or poor, people the world over crave the soft, slippery noodle and the toothsome bite of a good pasta.

Pasta is so beloved that it is one of the most grieved foods that a gluten-free (GF) diet takes off the plate. Pasta and noodles have a big place on our menus and in our hearts, so it is tough realizing that Grandmas lasagna will never be okay for us again. The deep emotional pull that we have toward our comfort foods is tough to resist. Its this passion for pasta that fuels us in the search for great alternatives, and Ive been on the case for some time now. You can stop grieving. You will eat pasta again.

The old debate over who invented the noodle is a good illustration of the ubiquity of the food. Did the Chinese invent the noodle, only to have Marco Polo take the idea to the Italians? It turns out that ancient remnants found in China show that a noodle was made there 4,000 years ago. That earliest noodle was made with millet flour, from the staple grain of the day, which by the way, is gluten-free. Historians tell us that ancient Romans made their first lasagna with wheat-based noodles that were baked before layering in the pan, as early as the first century, long before Marco Polos journey. The Arabs are credited with inventing dried pasta and revolutionizing portable foods, which they spread to Italy.

So you see, pasta and noodles had to be invented, tweaked, and perfected over a couple of thousand years. And now, because you cant eat gluten anymore, its time to reinvent them again. The world of gluten-free pastas has gotten so much better so quickly, and you may not have tried the latest, best one. Your local Asian market is a treasure trove of gluten-free noodles, and there is no rule that says you can only use them in pad thai or pho. Pasta and noodles have always been easy to prepare, and they can still be your fast, flavorful, fallback foods for busy nights.

Fresh, handmade pasta may seem like just a dream now that you are gluten-free, but it doesnt have to be. With my recipes, you can make your own pastas and roll them out to make thick, homey noodles or thin, sophisticated sheets for lasagna, ravioli, and all your Italian favorites. Missing the dumplings you used to get at dim sum? You can make those too, and they are really good without gluten.

Conceptual Noodles

Its time to push the concept of pasta to include not just brown rice spaghetti, but also silky zucchini strand spaghetti and curly sweet potato noodles. With an open mind, you might find that the spicy sesame noodles you loved as takeout can actually be replaced by slivers of leafy greens, tenderized by the tangy sauce that was the main event all along. If you take a playful approach, just about anything cut in long strips can stand in for spaghetti.

If you are avoiding carbs, you can make my low-carb Egg Crpe Noodles (), or even use shirataki noodles in these recipes. The vegetable noodle options are also a great way to go low carb. If you want to follow a Paleo diet, these recipes can work for you.

In fact, most of these dishes have a different balance between pasta, sauce, and vegetables than you may be used to. Its my philosophy that vegetables should take up more room on the plate, so I pump up the plant presence in relation to the pasta. You can still get your pasta cravings met, but with more veggies and fewer carbs.

Its time to explore the concept of what pasta is and what it can be. You found this book because you are gluten-free, but consider yourself lucky. You are going to take a journey with pasta and noodles, and you will never look at them the same way again.

Reasons for Going Gluten-Free

Going gluten-free is all the rage these days. If you have been avoiding gluten for over five or ten years, then you have seen a sea change in the availability of gluten-free products due to the growing numbers of customers who want to buy them. Back in the eighties and early nineties, when I first started baking wheat-free items for my customers, all I could get was gritty brown rice flour, some starches, and one brand of frozen bread that resembled a sponge. Now, even a small grocery store might well have a few gluten-free cookies, crackers, breads, and pastas tucked in next to the soymilk.

How has this happened? The growth in numbers of gluten-avoiding people has come from several sources, and it will probably continue to rise. There are lots of theories and speculation about this growth, and it will probably be a long time before its all settled. So, lets look at the main reasons for getting off the gluten.