This delicious alternative to the traditional egg pasta dough is gluten free and naturally low carb. Almond flour is fibre and protein rich as well as being packed with vitamins and antioxidants and therefore a great option for those following a plant-based diet. The pasta dough itself reveals a silky texture with hint of sweetness to the flavour without being overpowering. This pasta is particularly delicious when paired with our cacio de pepe pasta sauce as the cheesy pepperiness carefully balances the delicate sweetness of the pasta.
Why does this recipe use multiple flours?
The almond flour alone would result in the pasta dough becoming too crumbly and falling apart as soon as you try to roll it out or shape it, so this recipe uses tapioca and sweet rice flour to give the pasta it’s signature bite and chew. Luckily, both these flours are naturally gluten free!
Despite the slightly misleading name, sweet rice flour, also called glutinous rice flour, does not contain gluten but much like the tapioca, is a highly effective binding agent which will ensure your past dough won’t fall apart when working with it and eventually cooking it. We’ve also added a teaspoon of Xanthan gum, can be readily found in most supermarkets, its job is the same as the tapioca and sweet rice flour and is also very handy when making other gluten free recipes! Incredibly, despite the addition of all these ingredients to help bind the pasta dough, you can expect the texture to remain a lot softer and stickier to work with. Don’t be afraid to use the tapioca flour to prevent your dough from sticking!
NOTE*Sweet rice flour and other rice flours are not the same thing – rice flour is made from long or medium-grain rice (like what you’ll usually find in your cupboards) whereas sweet rice flour is formed from short-grain rice and has a much higher starch content.
Serves 4
Calories per serving: 174kcal
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Tools
Whisk
Pasta board
Fork
Pasta machine or rolling pin + large knife
Ingredients
- 240g Almond flour
- 85g Tapioca flour (plus more for surfaces & kneading)
- 45g Sweet rice flour
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 4 Eggs
Method
Make the pasta dough
- In a large bowl, mix together all three flours (almond, tapioca & sweet rice), xanthan gum and salt and ensure all are fully homogenised – a whisk is useful for this.
- Pour your flour mix onto a clean pasta board or work surface. Using your hands, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth.
- Using your fork, begin to incorporate the eggs with the flour until everything is roughly combined. If the dough looks a little dry, add 1-2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- As the dough will be quite sticky, dust your hands with tapioca flour and then begin to knead the dough together with your hands. This dough is slightly softer to touch than traditional pasta dough so be sure to add enough flour to ensure that it isn’t sticky, but it should not be ‘firm’.
- Once properly combined, roll into a smooth ball and dust with tapioca flour. *Chef’s Tip: as there is no gluten in this recipe, you do not have to knead the dough for long. Nor do you need to let it rest before rolling it out!
Rolling out the dough
* Remember to keep dusting with tapioca flour if it feels a bit sticky
Using a pasta machine:
- Dust your work surface with a sprinkling of tapioca flour. Cut your dough into 4 equal parts and loosely form one section it into a ball. (Ensure to cover the rest of the dough with cling film)
- Set the pasta machine to the widest setting and roll the ball of pasta dough through it. Click the machine down a setting and continue to roll the pasta through until it is translucent (around setting 6 or 7).
Using a rolling pin:
- Rolling by hand follows much the same process as the machine, albeit with a little more elbow grease, or olio di gomito,as the Italians would say. Cut your dough into 4 equal parts and loosely form one section it into a ball. (Remember to cover the rest!)
- Lightly flour your rolling pin with tapioca flour and begin rolling the dough as you would with a pastry crust, starting in the centre and rolling away from you to the outer edge. As there is no gluten in this dough, it should be much easier to roll out than traditional egg dough.
- Turn the dough slightly and repeat, working your way around, until the sheet of dough is about the thickness of a 2p coin.
Shaping your pasta
- If using a pasta machine, you can use whichever pasta cutter attachment you have, tagliatelle always works nicely with this dough.
- Alternatively, if you wish to cut your tagliatelle by hand, follow Chef Roberta’s step-by-step video guide below.
Cooking your pasta
- Bring a large, heavily salted pot of water to boil. Drop your strands of pasta into the water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Carefully drain the pasta using a colonder, mix with your desired sauce (remembering to add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce, if required) and serve. Buon appetito!
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