SEVEN OF THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE PASTAS
While wheat and its protein gluten is a food I can digest - I don’t tolerate it every day (other than when I’m relaxed with good agni and the lunch chapatis are freshly made #India!) let alone multiple times in a day. Since wheat is found in so many convenience foods, ranging from shop-bought meals such as sandwiches to snacks such as biscuits, as well as popular meals out like pasta, pizza, melt-in-the-mouth croissants and a good ‘ol pie, I’m always on the lookout for good alternatives in my own cooking and have become known for creating recipes free from gluten. All of the recipes on my website and in my book East by West are gluten-free. You can find everything from cakes and bread to cookies and pancakes and even my take on pizzas and pies. When it comes to quick-cook meals though nothing beats pasta and I’ve been cooking with gluten-free alternatives to regular wheat pasta for nearly two decades, and let me tell you - gluten-free pasta has come a looooong way. Bye-bye, mushy cardboard corn spaghetti! Below are just some of the pasta alternatives that I’ve discovered and have in my store cupboard ready to go.
Top of the list is my go-to pasta from Doves Farm - you can get everything from penne to spaghetti made from one simple ingredient - brown rice flour. Award-winning and made in Italy, this holds its shape and is the perfect texture for your favourite sauce. Quite honestly guests don’t realise they are eating pasta that isn’t made from wheat. And my Italian friend who has in recent years been diagnosed with coeliac disease feels this is one gluten-free thing she doesn’t have to compromise on when it comes to taste and mouthfeel.
High protein Mac’n’Cheese! This 100% yellow pea macaroni is perfect for those big dishes of zac 'n' cheese perhaps or your more traditional mac’n’cheese. It is easy to see why it is a kitchen staple and one packed with lots of protein. After working with ZENB in 2020 I got an insight into their work and immediately loved their mission of trying to make gluten-free pasta as gourmet as possible. They use yellow peas for their nutritional value as they are high in potassium, protein and iron. What’s even better is that it is all packaged in 100% recyclable and zero-plastic packaging.
Something a little different - red pasta! You may well have seen multi-coloured pasta before - green - with spinach, black - with squid ink, orange and pink - tomato puree and beetroot respectively. Well, this pasta isn’t coloured as such - it’s simply organic red lentils! Made in the traditional way - bronze drawn (meaning that the pasta has gone through a bronze cutter to shape it) and slow-dried like real Italian pasta it feels very artisanal. By following the ancient tradition of slow-drying the dough at low temperatures ensures that once boiled it has that soft and comfort-like texture we all know and love in our pasta.
Chickpea pasta is one that is often overlooked in the gluten-free pasta world - while chickpea pizza bases have become a big hit. Whether eaten hot or cold, this product offers a nourishing and satisfying way to enjoy both chickpeas and pasta - and if you’ve ever eaten chickpea pasta soup you’ll love this flavour and texture in one. I enjoy this sedanini pasta shape (a bit like ribbed penne) best either really soupy or really saucy, and Clearspring also makes a Green Pea and Quinoa Pasta which I’ve yet to try - all produced in a facility with 100% renewable energy - what’s not to love?!
This classic penne offers earthy flavours from the mix of red lentils and brown rice flour. When creating the pasta the family wanted to make a pasta that both kept its shape and remained al dente during the cooking process even through those times when the pasta gets a little overcooked after staying in for too long (anyone else?!). After many rounds of testing, they found their formula which cooks to al dente texture in only 7 minutes - but if you’re anything like me you’ll like your pasta soft and slippery anyway! And better for digestion…
With a nutty flavour, this penne offers the joy of traditional pasta in a gluten-free version. Make sure not to overcook to retain an al dente texture as this one cooks fast. I like to mix this into steamed broccoli florets with chunks of ripe avocado, lightly sauteed leeks and a blue-cheese style dressing or my Simple Tahini Dressing yum. For a buckwheat option that's organic, try Amisa’s Fusilli.
The cutest pasta there is, that’s also gluten-free! This pasta reminds me of the teeny tiny pasta that my Italian flatmate at Uni once made into a chocolate porridge (I think it was Orzo from memory). When I’m cooking up brothy soups and stews that feel like they need a bit more texture I chuck in a handful of these quick-cook pastina shapes for the last few minutes. Kids love this star shape with the word Stelline meaning star in Italian.