Low Carb Pasta (and make it spaghetti) 🍝
two ways: gluten free 'n sourdough discard 😎
Welcome to today’s special edition newsletter of “choose your own adventure” (i.e. pasta), for I present you with two of my current favorite takes: a sourdough discard pasta (whipped up with naturally fermented heirloom grains to yield an impossibly fluffy gnocchi-like take) and a low carb/keto/gluten free little surprise I’ve for my o.g. gang (given that you can make actual long-shaped pasta with it… *that you can boil!!!*)(iyk why this is a BIG deal, yk).
If this newsletter has somehow found its way into your hands (and you’re not yet subscribed), allow me to help you out:
Right. You guessed one of the ingredients: our now starring regular, the purple sweet potato.
And while I know you guys are excited for its prospects in sourdough (thanks for letting me know!), I hope you don’t mind diverting for a sec to get our pasta series started… with a bang: a true low carb pasta that withstands being stretched, shaped and boiled (gulp) without transforming into the now elusive pastina shape (i.e. crumbling to pieces).
(but worry not, not all our food will be purple in this corner of the internet… this simply lends a pathway to a myriad of other ingredients)(you’ll soon see).
So welcome to our:
Pick Your Own Adventure Pasta Series 🔒
where I’ll be sharing with y’all every single recipe I’ve ever developed– yup, including the secret as to why (the now infamous) gnooda was so bomb (and if you’re new here, hi I’m Paola and I developed the recipe for the first gluten free keto pasta on the market a few years back)(and my business partner, oopsie daisies, subsequently went on to steal my idea and market it as her own… in what ended up being a super duper cRaZy story)(but its ok, for I developed quite a few more in what also ended up being a rather fun adventure).
but what do you get from this adventure?
Variety, mainly.
As you’ll be able to pick and choose from a series of pasta recipes (we’ve got 14 now and counting)– including, but not limited to: my experiments in sourdough pasta (from fermentation, to shaping, to mixing with other flours) and my gluten free recipes (ranging from keto, with lupin flour but not limited to, all the way to adding in more traditional legumes and grains)(and yes, purple sweet potato lol).
Like I said, ✨variety✨.
sourdough (discard!) pasta 🍝
The resulting texture is unbelievably fluffy and lightly tangy, which imho makes it the perfect candidate for gnocchi ambassadorship.
bonus: the fermentation process naturally breaks down the gluten bonds a bunch (like I dare you to try and make spaghetti with it)(i.e. don’t), and it also breaks down the carbs substantially (by at least 30% compared to traditional wheat pasta, given that that’s the amount of discard we’re adding… but more likely closer to 40-50% once we’re done with the full fermentation process).
i.e. it’s simply easier on your digestion– try it!
serves 2 (relatively hungry) humans
for the pasta
250g bread flour (or an heirloom pasta flour like this is ace too)
2 large eggs, at room temp
100g sourdough discard
to make
vip note: know that you can just add all the ingredients to your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, and run it until it clumps together. A good pasta dough should be very firm, so bring it over to the counter and give it a kneed (or two) so it becomes nice and pliable. Discard pasta doesn’t end up smooth on the surface though (it’s a tad shaggy), but wrap it in cling film and allow to rest for at least an hour before shaping. You’ll know it’s ready once it’s fluffy!
Or give it a go by hand (less cleanup and you’ll learn a new skill 😎): add your flour to your counter and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and sourdough discard and begin lightly whisking them together with a fork, incorporating a little flour as you go along. Once the dough begins to come together, switch to a bench scrapper (or just use your hands to knead it, but you’ll have some residue stuck to your counter). Depending on what flour you use, you may need to add a teaspoon (or two) of water– go easy as, like we’ve said, you want your pasta to be extra firm.
to ferment
My research in general on fermentation (say how to yield fluffy af pasta as opposed to a spent one)(yes, the image above) and our first take at our low carb purple sweet potato long form pasta are for the eyes of our magical gang only.
(as we also don’t wanna make things that easy for She Who Must Not Be Named to steal any more of my ideas)(though remember, it’s what we know about ourselves that counts)(and if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about here… hi newbies! that’s ok– nothing to see here 👀🪄).
