Gluten-Free Pasta

April 21, 2014
Gluten-free eaters mourn the loss of many favorite foods, but this instructive cookbook aims to reassure diners that they never truly have to go without noodles. Running the gamut from naturally wheat-free Asian rice vermicelli and "conceptual" noodles of raw or lightly cooked veggies to homemade cut and shaped pasta to the boxed brands found in most markets, Asbell (The New Whole Grains Cookbook, Big Vegan) covers the wide array of options available to cooks of all levels. The guide aspect of the book includes principles for making pasta without wheat flour, a pantry of essentials (such as texture-providing starches and gums), lists of store brands and serving sizes and equivalents. Recipes start with basic fresh pasta made from rice and millet flours and build out to spaetzel, gnocchi, and filled shapes. A few handy sauces are followed by more intensive, internationally (and sometimes intra-nationally) inflected recipes, such as Curry Noodle and Paneer Cakes with Mango Raita, Cabbage Soba with Carrots and Truffled Pecorino and Corn Chowder with Smoked Salmon over Macaroni. The flavors are rarely subtle and sometimes a bit random, but Asbell's emphasis on other dietary concerns such as dairy avoidance and her appreciation for pasta's versatility make this an asset for the sensitive diner with a sense of adventure. Photos.

Starred review from March 15, 2014

Many single-subject cookbooks about gluten-free bread and pastry exist, but few about pasta. Freelance writer Asbell (Big Vegan) fills a niche with this title, which uses fresh and store-bought pastas and vegetable "noodles" (e.g., spaghetti squash strands, spiralized zucchini, sliced egg crepes) in international recipes like Korean kimchi noodle salad with tofu, Delhi-style greens and pasta, and sausage and spicy red sauce lasagna. Asbell's suggested gluten-free pantry contains a manageable list of flours and binders (atypical for this genre), and her recipes contain mostly fresh ingredients, with a few premade condiments. VERDICT Essential for gluten-free collections.

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