If you think that spinach pasta is the healthiest pasta you can ever have then wait until you hear about quinoa pasta. It’s a family of pasta made from quinoa flour instead of wheat. People who are gluten intolerant or those with celiac disease will benefit from it because it’s gluten-free. This type of pasta comes in various shapes and corn if often added to add flavor and texture.
Quinoa pasta is healthier than traditional wheat pasta and it offers a lot of benefits. Its high protein content is great news not only for vegetarians but for weight watchers as well. It has a great amount of amino acids and it is one of the few grains that can offer complete protein.
To make quinoa pasta you will need:
1/2 cup of stone ground quinoa flour
1/3 cup of tapioca flour
4 tablespoons of potato flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 large egg
2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of water
Flour for kneading (1/4 cup quinoa floor, 2 tablespoon tapioca and 1 teaspoon potato flour)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients together and then form a deep well in the center of the mixture. Crack the egg and add the olive oil and water at the center of the notch. Using a form, combine the wet and dry ingredients together until it gets mealy. Form it to a ball and place it back into the bowl, make sure you cover it with cling wrap. Let it sit for about an hour. After an hour, check the dough if it’s sticky, knead more flour into it if you have to. The dough should be able to hold its shape well and can be sculpted like firm clay.
Use a hand-crank pasta maker and flatten the dough into a rectangle. Moderately thick pasta works the best with this kind of dough. Boil salted water and cook the pasta for about 5 minutes or until you get the texture that you want. Pour it into a colander and then rinse it with running cold water.
