How to Make Gluten-Free Pasta with Truffle Butter Sauce

A few weeks ago I attended a cooking course on how to make gluten-free pasta and gnocchi.  Gabriele Taddeucci who is Italian and a coeliac and the head-chef of Balla, ran the course and has allowed me to share his recipes.

The dry mix packed like a mountain on the bench

The dry mix stacked like a mountain on the bench

Gabriele has two different recipes for making pasta by either hand or machine.  I decided to make fettuccini by hand.

The pasta dough all kneaded

The pasta dough all kneaded

Now, when I dined at Balla and enjoyed the menu from the Umbria region, my entree was an incredible pasta with a truffle butter sauce.  Can you believe that a few days ago a friend of Arabella’s, Chelsea, dropped in with a gift for me of two black truffles.  She has a friend with a truffle farm down near Goulburn and they thought I would like to cook with their truffles.  I immediately wanted to replicate the pasta I enjoyed at Balla with the truffle-butter sauce.

The rolled out pasta dough (it should be thinner than this for fettucini)

The rolled out pasta dough (it should be thinner than this for fettucini)

Only I didn’t have a recipe.  But I had a few attempts and I believe this is a very yummy interpretation of what I enjoyed at Balla.  If you are gluten-free or who have friends who are intolerant of gluten, I highly recommend this pasta recipe.  The pasta stays together well, has great texture and is full of flavour.  Try it!

Gluten-Free Pasta – By Hand

Serves:  6

Degree of Difficulty:  2/5

Cost:  Incredibly inexpensive

  • 250g white rice flour
  • 100g buckwheat flour
  • 50g cornmeal
  • 7g (1 1/2 tsp) xanthan gum
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 10g (2 tspns) salt
Home-made fettucini (but it's too thick!)

Home-made fettucini (but it’s too thick!)

Combine the dry ingredients together and form a mountain on the table.

In a bowl beat the eggs and salt together and pour it slowly into the middle of the flour.  With one hand holding the bowl, start mixing the ingredients until they are well combined.  Using both hands, knead the dough and stretch the pasta for a few minutes.  This will help the dough to become more elastic.

Allow the dough to rest for a couple of hours at room temperature covered by a wet cloth.

Start rolling the dough by using a rolling pin, just like nonna used to do and then cut it into the desired shape.

Fresh pasta can be stored in a flat container in the fridge for a maximum of 3-4 days, otherwise it can be frozen and cooked directly in boiling water without being defrosted first.

This pasta will cook in about 3-4 minutes depending on the size and the thickness.  Cook in boiling salted water.

Making truffle butter

Making truffle butter

Truffle Butter Pasta Sauce

Serves:  6

Degree of Difficulty:  1/5

Cost:  Hmmm,  what can I say?  Truffles are very expensive!

  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 50g black truffle finely grated
  • 1 cup cream
  • freshly grated black pepper
  • 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped
  • handful of grated parmesan plus extra to serve
  • 25g black truffle grated
Gluten-free pasta

Gluten-free pasta

In a small bowl beat together butter and truffle.

In a medium-sized saucepan bring the cream to a simmer.  Add truffle butter and mix until butter has melted and is totally incorporated into the cream.  Add pepper.  Simmer and add chives and parmesan.

When pasta is cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon and add it to the pasta sauce.  Add some of the pasta water to create a sauce of desired thickness.

Twirl pasta onto heated plates.  Garnish with parmesan and chives and lastly, grated truffles.

All plated

All plated

This was a wonderful pasta dish that was enjoyed by the uni students and their drop-ins.  My only regret is that I didn’t roll the pasta dough thin enough – the perils of being a novice!  It was a little thick to be fettuccini but we all still raved about the beautiful flavours of this meal.  The pasta held together well and had wonderful texture and it would be difficult to detect that this was a gluten-free pasta and not a ‘genuine’ pasta.  One thing to note is that you need to buy a fine polenta.  It has been my experience that this is not as easy as it sounds.  Gabriele buys Coles home-brand polenta as he finds this to be very fine but I found fine polenta in Scoop Whole Foods.

Here is Gabriele’s recipe for making pasta using a machine:

  • 250g white rice flour
  • 100g buckwheat flour
  • 50g cornmeal (fine polenta)
  • 5g xanthan gum
  • 4 whole eggs, beaten
  • 10g (1 1/2 tspn) salt

Combine the dry ingredients together and form a mountain on the table.

In a bowl beat the eggs and the salt together and pour it slowly into the middle of the flour.  With one hand hold the bowl and with the other start mixing the ingredients until well combined.  Use both hands to knead the dough and stretch the pasta for a few minutes; this will help your dough become more elastic.

Fettuccini with truffle butter sauce

Fettuccini with truffle butter sauce

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Comments

  1. Two truffles, Charlie! What treasure! Very generous gift from Arabella’s friend.. 🙂

  2. Danielle says:

    Wow, this looks impressive and delicious. You’ve inspired me to make my own pasta, something I have never attempted before because it seemed relatively difficult.

  3. It was very yummy and not too thick at all!

  4. What kind of person has someone drop by with two black truffles? Obviously I run in the wrong circle of friends.

    This pasta is so pretty and Carl said it was yummy. 🙂

  5. What a truly wonderful gift to receive Charlie and I think you’re the perfect recipient given your recent class! 😀

  6. This sounds delicious! It’s very hard to roll pasta thin enough…i finally got a pasta maker and it’s crazy how thin it can get the dough. Maybe ask for one for a present? 😉

  7. Even if it WAS too thick, it looks delicious and having the opportunity to use fresh black truffles sounds amazing. What a generous friend to gift them to you … not that everyone is able to appreciate their earthiness. 🙂

    I’d like to use some of my very fine semolina flour to try to make the pasta.

    • PS: I bit the bullet and made pasta today by hand. Making the pasta was a breeze but the rolling and cutting were a definite challenge. I don’t know how you got your noodles so even. I don’t think 2 of mine were the same width. No fresh truffles so I had to resort to black truffle oil. At least they tasted good. 🙂

      http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/146930.html

  8. Looks lke a perfect pasta dish! I’ve experimented with GF recipes a bit, but never made pasta! I need to give this one try!

  9. WOW, Charlie, I am impressed! And it’s not too thick, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Your dough looks just like a gluten dough, very impressive. I can’t wait to try this. Tony heads out of town next week, maybe I’ll dedicate a couple of days to experimenting with GF bread and pastas. You’ve inspired me! 🙂

  10. Bookmarked! This recipe sounds divine! And, you had me at the truffle butter sauce!

  11. This looks so yummy.

  12. That looks amazing. I will have to try this recipe out. Thank you!

  13. That looks amazing. I will have to try this recipe out. Ive never made my own pasta either Thank you!

  14. Yay! Guess what I’m making this weekend now Charlie? Thanks also for including both recipes as well.
    What a wonderful and generous gift for you! I’m glad you could replicate the recipe you wanted, and I’m glad you weren’t stingy with the amount you added or you wouldn’t get the same hit of deliciousness. I showed my friend some truffle products this week and she thought they smelt terrible- I don’t know what’s wrong with her…. Maybe we can’t be friends now? … 🙁 xox

  15. Wow you have been taking on quite the endeavors lately! First with the gnocchi, and now this! I totally admire you!! I still have to try the gnocchi recipe one of these days when I get more time, but this will be next on my list 🙂

  16. Well done Charlie! WISH I could come through the screen and try some now, true!
    What it also demonstrates is re any lifestyle food challenge, one can always figure out a recipe to do and love the truffles! Wow…wish I had friends like you! 🙂
    Cheers! Joanne

  17. Mmh, this home made fetuccinis look superb and the truffle butter is such an elegant addition.
    I had no idea about the existence of truffle farms, ups 🙂
    I have always seen how people in France and Italy go with their dogs in search of wild truffles, which is quite complicated but for sure worthwhile.
    Cheers.

  18. You’re your own worst critic, Charlie. Your pasta looks fantastic and I bet everyone loved it — and that’s without even mentioning that wonderful truffle butter you used to dress it. That was some meal you prepared. The fact that it was GF is incredible. Well done!

  19. Charlie! This is very impressive. What a great result – you’re rivaling the pros already.

  20. This is really so impressive, Charlie! It’s gorgeous…I’d be happy with the leftovers, if there were any! I love truffles, but only have evidence of them in a dish if I’m eating out. I’m afraid of not handling them correctly, and they are so expensive, of course. Your pasta is beautiful and I can’t believe how well you’ve taken to the GF learning curve!

  21. Oh my goodness!

    This looks fantastic, Charlie! I know truffles are expensive but I’m going to take advantage of this season’s Aussie black truffles and make this truffle butter sauce before they disappear.

  22. Oh my!!
    I don’t think I have ever seen so much truffle piled on top of a dish before!!
    WOW!! I love truffle and this would have been sublime!!

  23. Can’t quite imagine what that would taste like, will have to give this a go one day! Looks very decadent 🙂

  24. Who has a friend of a friend with a truffle farm? Seriously, I need to find some new friends. The uni students and their friends must have been delighted with their supper – I hope they did the washing up as a thank you.

  25. What a lovely gift–two truffles! Your dish looks lovely and I can imagine that divine truffle flavor. You make the home-made pasta look so easy as well.

  26. I love the sauce!

  27. Your GF pasta with truffle butter sauce is looking decadent. The flavor must be amazing with all the truffle on top. Fit for a 5 star restaurant.

  28. Holy smokes. 75g of truffle… what a dream. I’m still in “buy whatever cereal is on sale or maybe just raw homebrand oats” mode most of the time 😉

  29. Oh I wish I had a friend with a truffle farm, how wonderful!

  30. Oh, what an elegant, decadent sauce! And your homemade pasta looks wonderful! I made some ravioli years ago that was so thick….it was awful. Your fettuccine appears near perfect to me!

  31. What a gloriously indulgent dish – and two truffles! Lucky, lucky you, Charlie.

  32. How lucky to have a friend with a truffle farm!

  33. Would you mind if I posted the pasta recipe on my blog Charlie? I’d love to share it with the rest of the InTolerants out there! X

  34. I am going to have a little sulky moment – I have yet to eat a truffle! Reckon they would cost and arm, leg and a back tooth and a second bon on the house here.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  35. Oh wow. What an amazing gift, especially to a foodie. Perfect way to enjoy them too – as the focal point of the dish, and not just an add-on. Gorgeous!

  36. d e c a d e n t.
    lush
    I want, need, desire! Xx

  37. Two truffles?! How wonderful! This pasta looks terrific, and I think the thickness is OK. Rolling pasta by hand takes a lot of practice – I always use a machine because it’s so much easier (for me, at least). Good stuff – thanks.

  38. It really is unbelievable what the difference is between home made pasta and store bought. I’ve made pasta a couple of times and if we had all the time in the world, I would only eat home made pasta!

  39. wow gifting truffles! i need a few friends like that!

  40. How I would love a friend with a truffle farm!!! How lucky is that to have received two black truffles. I would be in heaven. This pasta is divine. I doubt I’ll be able to get my hands on any truffles, but I could probably add a little truffle oil or salt. It wouldn’t quite be the same…I’m loving this one Charlie!

  41. In love with truffles!! They’re so versatile, adding them to anything instantly makes the dish delicious! Yumm… but I have to agree that they’re really expensive 🙁

  42. Oh My Lord – Truffles. I need to find some truffle oil – do you know by chance the best place to get it? This meal looks divine xx

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