Easy, Fresh Gluten-free Pasta Recipe

It's summer, and everyone is trying to think of ways to keep their kitchen cool but still make decent meals.  The best thing about fresh pasta is you only need to cook it for 2-4 minutes.  Easy!  Top it with cilantro pesto if you don't want to cook a sauce.

 I've made fresh pasta with my amazingly versatile Deluxe Pastry Flour several times and thought I'd share the recipe.  This pasta is strong enough to make ravioli with, or any flat pasta shape, rolling out or in a machine.  I prefer to roll it out - I think it's easier and faster.

I've heard it's a saying that "If you want to taste butter, eat a croissant.  If you want to taste grain, eat pasta." Well, this recipe puts my Deluxe Pastry Flour to the test.  You can really taste the blend of flours.  And it tastes beautiful.

I decided to make a tagliatelle style hand-cut pasta with extra-wide noodles.  I love wide noodles!  Next time, I won't go quite so wide, though.

Fresh Pasta Recipe 

serves 2-3.  Double or triple as needed.

Whisk together in a medium bowl:

200 g Deluxe Pastry Flour
1/2 tsp salt

Make a well in the flour and add:

2 eggs
1 tsp olive oil

Blend the wet and dry ingredients together briefly.  Add:

water

in small increments until the dough starts to come together - about 1/4 cup.  Knead the dough for a few minutes until it starts to smooth out a bit.  The dough should be a little sticky but not unmanageable.  It should form a nice cohesive ball.  If the dough seems crumbly, add more water.

Let the dough rest at least five minutes.

Once the dough is rested, separate it into 2-4 roughly equal pieces.  Take one ball and knead it in your hand until it becomes smooth.  Not smooth?  Add water or more flour as needed.  On a large piece of wax paper or parchment paper, dust:

liberal amounts of potato starch

Flatten the ball of pasta dough and flour that with potato starch as well.  Roll the dough ball out until it starts to resist you.  Flip it over and flour both sides liberally again with potato starch and keep rolling the dough out until it is very thin.  Get it as thin as you think you can get away with.  Remember, it will swell up during cooking.  With a sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut long strips of pasta.  I decided to make an extra-wide tagliatelle, but I think I over-did the width.  Don't cut the pasta this wide!  Go for about 1/2-3/4 inch wide.  Use a straight edge if you prefer.

Don't cut the pasta this wide!

Once the pasta is cut, flip it over onto another piece of parchment paper to rest.  Peel the paper off carefully if it sticks, and use more flour for the next batch if needed.

Repeat until all the pasta is cut.  Let the pasta rest as long as you can stand it.  Supposedly an hour is great for pasta to rest, but I wouldn't know because I don't have that much patience.

Put a pot of salted water to boil.  Once boiling, gently place the pasta in the water.  Stir a little to prevent it sticking together.  Cook for 2-4 minutes, or until done.  Immediately drain the pasta and serve.