Perfect homemade pasta dough recipe

Pasta in this day and age

Where do you begin when it comes to homemade pasta dough? Sheer pleasure; the most recognisable symbol of la dolce vita, the sweetest life, the good life. Pasta absorbs all irritations, stresses, annoyances, and anxieties, whether great or niggling; it’s elegant enough for a celebratory meal, comforting and quick enough for a soothing one. A good homemade gluten-free pasta dough recipe has been a mainstay of our menus for quite some time now. Once you master this, you can see a clearer way towards a healthy way of eating that is deeply satisfying and doesn’t deprive you of what you love the best. An indulgent bowl of pasta in front of a good movie still happens. We still like dry store-bought whole grain or non wheat-based pasta, which is more compatible with tomato and olive oil-based sauces. For richer sauces though,  homemade is the way to go.And yes, you can find good vegan alternatives for creamy sauces, some of which we tell you about later. Once you get the knack of homemade pasta, it becomes second nature and the difference it makes to your meal is striking. Meal preparation becomes that much more sensual and ritualistic too.   

Making it Erbology

With this recipe, we’ve taken things just a bit further and used an Organic Aronia Shot to infuse a pleasantly astringent, cleansing flavour, as well as all the incredibly health-giving qualities of this wonder berry. Depending on the season, your mood, and the dish you intend to use the pasta in, you could try no end of variations. Any of our cold-pressed oils could stand in for the olive oil, or you could substitute our other juice shots for the aronia.

What to eat it with...

If you haven’t yet attempted it, making your own nut parmesan would be a logical next step. While there are quite nice pesto recipes that do away with parmesan entirely, we like the creaminess that it brings – and that cashews replicate well. Tofu bolognese is another favourite of ours. Or you could simply use this gluten-free pasta to make more traditional dairy-based or meat-based pasta sauce recipes a bit lighter and easier on your stomach. Unlike dry pastas, this pasta only keeps in the fridge for a day or two, so before you make some, make a dream list of pasta recipes to try! If you’re going vegan, might we suggest starting with our Wild garlic and broccoli with nut parmesan recipe? Then, for good balance, maybe you could move on to an one-pot vegan version of fettuccine alfredo. Make with cauliflowers, nutritional yeast, your favourite plant-based milk, garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs. As cashews aren’t called upon for creaminess here, take it as even more reason to save some of that nut parmesan included in our ramsons recipe to finish up with. Steamed kale or spinach with fresh lemon squeezed over and a bit of sea salt would be a perfect accompaniment, along with a glass of organic red wine.      Sophia Loren once famously said, “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti”. And she knew exactly what she was talking about, having authored two Italian cookbooks in between all her other exhilarating accomplishments. Keep that earthy, gratifying sensibility in your life, even as the times change.