How to Cook Gluten-Free Pasta

Pasta is a go-to for so many meals. It's easy and quick to make. Practically foolproof. Until you try your first batch of gluten-free pasta. And it becomes a mushy mess or turns hard and chewy. And you wonder what you've done wrong. Gluten-free pasta is sensitive in ways that wheat pasta is not. With a little practice and these tips you will have perfect GF pasta every time.



How to Cook Gluten Free Rice Pasta

1. Fill a pot with cold water and bring to a boil. (Why cold water? Hot tap water can pick up lead from the pipes, that's why you should only consume tap water that started out cold.) Add pasta and turn down heat to medium to prevent it from boiling over.

2. Boil for about 7 minutes depending on the size of the pasta. Test for doneness. You want the pasta to be soft enough to bit but not too soft. (You will learn this right point the more you cook GF pasta.) The pasta should squeeze easily in between your fingers but not be mushy. Continue to boil up to 10 minutes if necessary.

3. When the pasta is cooked to the right doneness, turn off the heat immediately and drain the pasta. (Tip: Run cold water in your sink while pouring out the hot water from the pot. It will reduce the steam and protect your pipes.)

4. Return the pasta to the pot and coat in olive oil or oil of your choice. This is key! The oil will keep the pasta from absorbing more water and over cooking. You don't need a lot of oil, just a tablespoon or two.

5. Eat the pasta right away or save for a couple of days. The olive oil will also keep the pasta from drying out. Reheat leftovers in the microwave with a little moisture and it will soften it up again.

Key things to remember when cooking GF pasta:

1. Don't overcook

2. Drain all water right away to prevent

3. Coat in oil to prevent drying

I've been eating and cooking gluten-free for a long time now and when I finally figured out these key steps for cooking GF pasta it felt like a light bulb turned on. I've tried a lot of different kinds and my favorite is the Trader Joe's Brown Rice pasta. It's very affordable and doesn't tend to fall apart like some of the quinoa/corn varieties I've tried. Do you have any tips for gluten-free pasta? What are your favorite brands?

Corn Radish Salad

I love fresh vegetables. And I love easy, quick cooking. Voila – Corn Radish Salad with Queso Fresco. Corn season is just starting and I can't wait! So to get started here's a quick and easy salad you can throw together in no time flat. Sweet, fresh, crunchy and a little spicy this salad is great for warm weather.

Corn Radish Salad with Queso Fresco

Ingredients:
1 ear corn
4 small radishes
2 T. chopped sweet onion
2 T chopped cilantro
lime juice
salt and pepper
hot sauce (optional)
corn tortillas
queso fresco

Directions:
Mix ingredients together and season to taste. Serve with warm corn tortillas and queso fresco.

Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake

I used this recipe for the cake and the recipe for the frosting from the package of German's chocolate. The only change I made to the cake was I used a mix of GF flours, rather than just rice flour. The cake was delicious! The cake moist and the frosting so rich. Very yummy!

Unexpectedly, Unintentionally Gluten Free - Apr 3

Some Easter ready dessert recipes:

From Martha Stewart:
Ricotta Cake
Almond-Coconut Macaroons
Coconut Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Vanilla Custard

Coconut Macaroons from Eagle Brand
Chocolate Coconut Macaroons from Cooks.com

From EverydayFood:
Almond Torte
Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Cups
Poached Pears with Vanilla Cream

From Epicurious' Passover guide:
Mock Chestnut Torte

Unexpectedly, Unintentionally Gluten Free - Nov 8

Some mouth-watering unintentionally gluten free recipes from the web:

From Canelle et Vanille:
Macarons
Brioche and Poached Egg Salad
I must try this bread! Poached eggs on toast are my #1 childhood comfort food. The soft, mushy eggs just aren't as good without crunchy, scratchy toast to soak up the juices.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Sage from Recipe Girl

Lentils and Potatoes with Curry from Boots in the Oven

From Bitten: Mark Bittman on Food:
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Figs
Polenta

Patatas Bravas from One Perfect Bite

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad from The Bitten Word

Meatloaf with Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onions

Inspired by the Father's Office hamburger, a delicious creation topped with blue cheese and caramelized onions, I created this meatloaf.

Notes on what I made:
Start by caramelizing the onions. Chop 2 medium onions, to make long strips. Heat 3-4 T canola oil in a pan. Cook onions, covered, over medium heat stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until onions are brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1.5 T brown sugar and 3 T balsamic vinegar to the pan. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes while covered, stirring occasionally to loosen the onions and sauce. Remove onions from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine 1 lb. ground beef, salt, pepper, 1 egg, dry parsley, 2 cloves crushed garlic and 2 T caramelized onions. Gently stir in 2 T crumbled gorgonzola. Put beef mixture in a loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. (At this point I poured off the liquid fat. I wonder if adding GF bread crumbs would absorb the fat and make for a juicier meatloaf). Top the meatloaf with 1/3 C crumbled gorgonzola cheese and the caramelized onions. Bake for another 15 minutes.Serve with greens and roasted potatoes. Yum!

This turned out quite well but a little over cooked and not quite sweet enough. I think next time, I'll cook it for less time, use more cheese and more sugar with the onions.

Here are some recipes for inspiration:
BBQ Blue Cheese Meatloaf
Easy Does It Meatloaf (GF and very simple)
Buffalo Steak and Onion Confit

Unexpectedly, Unintentionally Gluten Free - Oct 18

Cooler weather always makes me want to cook more and eat more. Here's some inspiration:

Roasted Apples with Almond and Muscovado Crumble and Marizpan Ice Cream at canelle et vanille Not only does this post have gorgeous photography but the crumble is made with rice flour.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies at The Bitten Word

Lebanese-style stuffed eggplant at Smitten Kitchen

Spinach and Lentil Salad at love & olive oil

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Sweet Potatoes at What We're Eating

Tomato, Bacon, Corn Pasta

The only really perishable part of this recipe is the bacon. Everything else came from the pantry or freezer. I think this would also be tasty with white beans or garbanzos beans added in. Also, if available, fresh vegetables and basil would be delicious.

Tomato, Bacon, Corn Pasta

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen green beans
4 slices bacon
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can chopped, stewed tomatoes
1 crushed clove garlic
1 cup rice pasta, uncooked
sharp white cheddar or parmesan (optional)

Directions:
Thaw corn and green beans. Meanwhile, cook pasta being careful not to overcook.
Cook bacon in a large pan. Drain bacon on a paper towel. Reserve bacon fat. In the pan in which the bacon was cooked, saute onion and vegetables with a some bacon fat, if needed. Add tomatoes and garlic. Cook until thoroughly heated. Season to taste. Stir cooked pasta into sauce and remove from heat. Garnish with bacon and cheese (if desired).

with cheese

Unexpectedly, Unintentionally Gluten Free - Sept 12

Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin and
Cannellini Salad with Goat Cheese and Mint both on The Kitchn

Cuban Black Bean Stew with Rice on Martha Stewart

Interesting article on substituting eggs with flax seed

Spicy Sauteed Fish with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes on Love and Olive Oil

Easy Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce on The Bitten Word

Pommes Frites with two dipping sauces on Coconut & Lime

Matcha and Peach Pate de Fruits Macaron on Tartelette

Substitution required:
Granola Bars on Smitten Kitchen
These look so tasty! They do call for oats so do what you will there. I think the wheat germ could be substituted with ground flax seed.

Garlic Cheese Creamed Corn

I bought some ears of corn over the weekend and had tired of eating them off the cob. So with two ears remaining, I decided to do something with garlic. Inspired by this article about creamed corn, I used this recipe as a guide to make a cheesy garlicky creamed corn.

Disclaimer: This is an approximate recipe that I made up as I went along. All measurements are approximate.

Garlic Cheese Creamed Corn

Ingredients:
2 ears of corn
2-3 T butter
1 1/2 t frozen minced garlic
about 1 cup half & half
2 T GF flour mix
salt
pepper
1/3 C grated sharp cheddar

Directions:
Peel back the husk of the corn and remove the silk. Rewrap the cob in the husk and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Cut corn off the cob. In a pan, melt butter with half & half and garlic over medium heat. Add corn, salt and pepper. Add flour and stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Top with additional cheese and cayenne pepper.

Corn on the Cob

This is a really easy, delicious way to make corn on the cob.

Peel back the husk and remove the silk. Replace the husk around the corn cob and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Peel back the husk and remove it or tie it in a bundle with a piece of husk. Watch your fingers! It will be very hot! Rub the corn with butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper, chile or cayenne pepper and grated cheese. The butter and cheese will melt on their own.

Unexpectedly, Unintentionally Gluten Free - Sept 7

Lobster with Chevre Grits from What We're Eating
This looks impossibly delicious. I never think it eat grits, probably because the texture bothered me as a kid.

Zabaglione from Martha Stewart
looks like a creamy, soft pudding. Pudding has become one of my favorite foods, especially tapioca with nutmeg or cinnamon.

Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese and Honey from Epicurious
I know I posted a fig recipe last week but they still look sooo yummy!

Italian Parsley and Beet Salad from Epicurious

El Torito Sweet Corn Cake from The Secret Recipe Blog
I never would have expected this sweet little cake to be gluten free. Of course, I don't know if the cake served in the restaurant is actually GF, but now you can make your own at home!

Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese from Nook & Pantry
This is looks so delicious!

An interesting article on cooking Asian food with cornstarch on Serious Eats.

Unexpectedly, Unintentially GF

Oftentimes I think the best GF food is naturally that way, not trying to simulate something that is best done with gluten. Eating gluten free, it's hard enough just walking among the cookie-bagel-pizza munchers of the world without reading all the amazing food blogs full of food one can not enjoy. Check out these recipes from blogs not dedicated to being gluten free.

Veggie Quiche with Potato Crust by For the love of cooking
GF quiche! Instead of a standard crust, this one has a layer of sliced potatoes to line the bottom of the pan.

Proscuitto and Cheese Wrapped Figs by Chaos in the Kitchen

Arepas with cheese and corn from The New York Times (video)

Steamed Potatoes with Salsa Verde by Orangette
parsley, lemon juice, potatoes

Chirashi from Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn
beautiful Japanese meal composed of rice, vegetables and fish

Bacon-Chipotle Twice Grilled Potatoes by Coconut & Lime
my mouth is watering...

Requires a substitution:
Arancini by Cream Puffs in Venice
Fried balls of arborio rice stuffed with mozarella. They look sooo good that I can't resist posting a link. I think these will work equally well made with GF bread crumbs or cracker crumbs or cornmeal.

Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese by Mark Bittman
So simple, yummy and perfect for the season. Skip the sprinkling of soy sauce or substitute with a GF variety.

Lemon Coconut Muffins

I whipped up these Lemon Coconut muffins last weekend using a recipe from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts. The recipe (page 22) uses a brown rice flour mix. Coconut and lemon zest are used for flavoring. The texture of the muffin is very good although a little crumbly. I would have liked the flavoring to be more forward. Next time, I'll try using lemon or vanilla extract. I'm excited to try more recipes from this book. Most of them use brown rice flour, which I had not used before. Now that I have the mixture made up and the weather has cooled down, I'll likely do more baking.

Ranger Cookies

My great-aunt gave me this recipe for Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies. She calls them Ranger Cookies and adapted a standard wheat flour recipe to make this one GF. I whipped up a batch this weekend and it turned out just like the ones I sampled at her house. I believe they can be frozen with no ill consequences. If you don't eat oatmeal, perhaps you could substitute quinoa flakes.

Ranger Cookies

Ingredients:
1 C shortening (I used half butter, half shortening)
3/4 C white sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1+1/2 C rice flour
1/2 C cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 t xantham gum
2 C GF oats
3/4 C chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped nuts
1/2 C dried fruit (if desired)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugars.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Combine dry ingredients and mix into sugar and shortening mixture.
4. Stir in oats, chip and nuts.
5. Drop spoonfuls of dough on greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until light golden.Cookies are crunchy and very tasty. Just right for my lunch box.

Gluten-Free Menu Swap - May 5 Potatoes

Gluten-Free Menu - Potatoes

Monday

Salad Nicoise
(Boil extra potatoes for Tuesday night's salad)

Tuesday
BBQ
Family Secret Potato Salad

Wednesday
Potato & Caramelized Onion Tortilla
(courtesy of Meet Me at Mike's)

Thursday
Roasted Vegetables
Lentil Salad

Friday
Potato Tacos

Recipes
These recipes are general outlines and can be adjusted to suit taste and quantity.

Monday
Salad Nicoise is a beautiful composed salad with tuna, potatoes, boiled eggs, green beans, capers and green beans. Add and subtract ingredients to suit your taste. Save some time at the stove and boil extra potatoes to use in the potato salad Tuesday night.

Tuesday

Family Secret Potato Salad
The family secret part of this recipe is the sweet pickle juice. My family loves sweet pickles and including it in potato salad tastes just right to me. Use the potatoes you boiled for the Salad Nicoise for this recipe.

Ingredients:
Boiled Potatoes, chopped
Boiled Eggs, chopped
Boiled Eggs, sliced for decoration
Sweet Pickles
Sweet Pickle juice (the liquid from the jar)
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Salt & Pepper
Paprika

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and stir gently, seasoning to taste.

Wednesday

I saw the recipe for Potato & Caramelized Onion Tortilla on the blog Meet Me at Mike's. In this case, a tortilla is a crust-less quiche, perfect for a gluten-free menu. I had a similar tortilla when I was in England earlier this year and I'm really excited to try it.

Thursday

Roasted Vegetables
Chop potatoes, carrots, sweet onions and combine in a shallow baking dish with garlic cloves, sage, rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake at 475 degrees (F) until tender.

Lentil Salad
Combine cooked lentils and fresh herbs.

Friday

Potato Tacos

Ingredients:
Potatoes, sliced thinly
Onion, sliced thinly
Bell Pepper, sliced (optional)
Chile Powder
Cumin
Salt
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream (optional)
Salsa
Corn Tortillas, warmed

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan. Cook potatoes and onion until half way done. Add bell peppers and spices. Cook until tender and heated through. Fill corn tortillas with potato mixture and top with cheese, sour cream and salsa.

See all the menus at Cooking, Illustrated.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix Review

Trader Joe's has been introducing more and more gluten-free products recently. Just a month or two ago they introduced a brownie mix (click here for my review) and now they have a pancake and waffle mix. I'm very pleased that they are becoming more aware of the need for GF products.

The pancake and waffle mix costs $2.99 for an 18 ounce bag. The mix contains: sweet brown rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, rice milk powder, cream of tartar, xantham gum, baking soda, sea salt, ground vanilla bean. It makes about 12 pancakes or waffles. The package includes a recipe for Cinnamon Coffee Cake on the side. I didn't try the recipe but it looks tasty.

The biggest drawback of this mix for me is that the recipe requires using the entire package rather than say one cup. With only myself to feed, I prefer making fewer than 12 servings at a time. If I make a whole package I have to eat waffles for the next two days!

I chose to make waffles with the mix. I followed the directions, adding 3 eggs, 3 T oil and 1.5 cups water. The mix was pretty runny. I had problems a couple of times with the batter running over the sides of the waffle iron. It cleaned up really easily but getting the right amount of batter on the iron was tough.

The waffles cooked up to a beautiful golden brown. The texture and flavor were good, although a little eggy. I would buy this mix again (particularly to try the pancakes and coffee cake). If I use for waffles again, I'll use less water or one less egg.

Super Simple Onion Soup

Driving home tonight, I decided I want something for dinner that was rich and oniony. I quickly came up with this Onion Soup. My Dad makes a similar soup, in the French Onion Soup style, with crusty bread and Parmesan cheese on top. Skip the bread and it's totally GF.

Super Simple Onion Soup

Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
olive oil and/or butter
dried thyme
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
Gluten Free broth or boullion (I used Trader Joe's liquid concentrate broth.)
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Directions

Step 1:
Heat oil and/or butter in a saucepan. Saute chopped onion and thyme until they start to soften. Add garlic and continue to cook over medium low heat until onion is softened and a little brown.

Step 2:
Add broth and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to desired temperature.

Step 3:
Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Brownie Baking Mix Review

Trader Joe's seems to have a new Gluten-free product every week. (Yea TJs! Thank you!) The latest one I tried is the GF Brownie Baking Mix.

The ingredients of the mix are:
Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (Sugar)
Sweet brown rice flour
Cocoa
Tapioca flour
Arrowroot flour
sea salt and xantham gum

To make the brownies, you combine the mix with one egg, 1/2 C vegetable oil and 3/4 C water. The package also suggests adding chocolate chips, dried fruit or nuts, if desired. The mix was easy to combine by hand.


I did not add anything to the mix but did put a few walnuts on the top for a sort of decorative effect. I baked mine about 20 minutes, 5 minutes longer than recommended (I was on the phone). The texture came out just perfect though, not too fudgy, not overdone.

So, texture was perfect, just like the "real" thing. To me, the flavor was not perfect. I detected a flavor not found in normal brownies. I couldn't pinpoint it but I think it's maybe the brown rice flour or the arrowroot. Bites of brownie with walnut covered up the mystery flavor. So, adding extras is recommended. I must say that other people did not detect the mystery flavor. My Aunt M, who has celiac disease, also made brownies from the TJ's mix. Her brownies had the same flavor (to me) and unlike mine the top of the brownie had a distinctly crunchy layer. My friend E (also wheat free) raved about the brownies she made (with walnuts). She took them to a party where they were the most popular of three different brownies and no one knew they were wheat free.

I'd give these brownies a 3 out 5. In summary, the flavor is a little weird to me but not to any of the people I polled. One out of three attempts had a crunchy top layer. When frozen and then thawed, the brownies retained the same texture and flavor as before freezing.