Although we aren’t a gluten-free household, I’ve been experimenting with non-wheat pastas — brown rice, quinoa, soba — some of which happen to be gluten free. Much as I like the taste of these nouveau noodles, not to the mention the health benefits of adding variety to my family’s diet, I’ve found cooking gluten-free pasta to be a sticky business. All goes well until the pasta is drained, then things go quickly south as it cools into a clump.
Has this happened to you?
Lucky for both of us, I recently spent a couple of days working with Jeffrey Larsen, a food stylist who is somewhat of a gluten-free guru. I told him of my gluten-free woes and he gave me a few pointers.
Following Jeffrey’s advice for how to cook gluten free pasta, along with a bit of my own trial and error, here’s my GF pasta-cooking “handbook”:
1) Use a large pot and lots of water.
2) After you add the pasta to the water, stir to break up the noodles so they don’t stick together as they cook.
3) Follow the instructions for cooking times listed on the package, but always taste before you drain to be sure pasta is just right.
4) While the noodles cook, fill a large bowl with tap water and plenty of ice. Once the pasta is done, drain through a colander and immediately dump it into the icy water. Let it cool down for a minute or so, and then drain again. If you can’t be bothered with all this water bath business, at the very least, rinse the drained pasta under the tap after cooking. Of course by now your pasta has cooled. Simply rely on your hot pasta sauce to get it warm again, or gently reheat it in your pasta pot (perhaps with a drizzle of oil).
I’ve tried this technique twice now and it works.
Don’t you love that?
For those of you who want to soak up more of Jeffrey’s gluten-free wisdom, he teaches baking classes in San Francisco. You can find out more about that by going here.
For those of you who want a terrific sauce to go with this, you might like my Saucy Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs.
Comments
09.13.2012 at7:49 AM #
Pamela
I do ‘love’ it! I will try this for sure~~~thanks Katie!
09.13.2012 at8:27 AM #
Humaira
We have many extended family members who are gluten free so I have been using gluten free pasta for a while now. Now that my husband is trying gluten free we will be even more immersed in the GF world. My favorite GF pasta it TJ’s corn pasta. I also use their brown rice pasta which is very tasty and filling. I agree that the rice pasta can be a bit sticky even after rinsing with running water. I will give Jeffrey’s ice immersion method.
09.13.2012 at8:27 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks Humaira. I always love getting readers’ product recommendations.
09.14.2012 at3:31 PM #
Heather
I do this and it really helps!
05.16.2013 at7:18 PM #
Amy
Great idea! I just had this dilemma last week with quinoa spaghetti. Thanks for sharing!
09.15.2013 at10:10 AM #
julia
Supposedly the “Italian way” to cook pasta is never to rinse after cooking because it takes off the starch that gives pasta its flavor. Any thoughts?
Also I find that gluten free pasta will not reheat which means cooking the exact amount I need, how does one figure that out?
thanks
09.15.2013 at10:10 AM #
Katie Morford
Hi Julia
You are right. Traditionally pasta is never rinsed. But a traditional Italian would probably never use quinoa, brown rice, or any of the other gluten-free pastas either. This method is specifically for dealing with the stickiness of these types of pastas. It’s not traditional in any way, but makes cooking with gluten free noodles much easier. As for figuring out how much pasta to use, I usually figure about 3 to 4 ounces of pasta per person for a main course, 2 ounces for a younger child. Hope that helps. Good luck!
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11.18.2016 at10:15 PM #
amma52
recently i discovered that barilla makes gluten free pasta that tastes and feels the same as their regular pasta.
i noticed that gluten free pasta needs to be cooked a little more than al dante. if you cook to al dante, the pasta will break up as it cools or taste like cardboard.
here is what i do: bring water to boil. add salt, place the pasta into the pot, stir in and let the water come to a boil. let boil 2 minutes. cover with a tight fitting lid. turn off the heat and let the pasta cook in the hot water for 9 minutes. stir and drain. place back in the pot and mix in some sauce or oilve oil to keep the pasta from sticking.
if you have left over pasta, just refrigerate then reheat it the microwave or by dunking into a pot of boiling water and draining immediately.
11.18.2016 at10:15 PM #
Katie Morford
Great tips! I think these gluten-free pastas just keep getting better and better.
06.22.2017 at10:31 AM #
Ashley
Salt the water right before adding your pasta and as soon as you have a good, rolling, boil going.