This months, gluten-free ratio rally post is hosted by Jenn of Jenn Cusine, and just so happens to be on one of my favorite foods: PASTA!

As soon as I read the assignment I knew I wanted to make a pasta with a Vodka cream sauce… and smoked salmon. My uncle is a master smoker, and has been bringing us homemade smoked salmon by the truckload.

We’ve been devouring it on crackers, on rice, and sometimes, just straight out the package. Lately I’ve been craving it with pasta, so I knew this would be the perfect challenge.

Shortly after meeting Patrick and learning about gluten-free cooking, I realized he couldn’t have any pasta. Good pasta anyway. Sure there are some store bought pastas that are adequate, but nothing compares to real homemade pasta. Later in our dating life, I found myself determined to find a recipe that would satisfy us both. It took a lot of tinkering in the kitchen, but I found that the basic process for making pasta was the same. The only trick I could see is that there is a delicate balance between the wet and dry ingredients.

Gluten-free ratios to the rescue!

In general, I’ve found that you want a ratio of 5 parts wet ingredients to 9 parts dry. I’ve also found that a binder such as xanthan gum or guar gum does help the dough to stick together. And for some reason the dough was much easier to work with in cooler weather so I recommend making the pasta earlier in the day if you live in warm weather climates, and then freezing it until ready to use. I also recommend using a Cuisinart to bring the dough together. It is not necessary to work the dough in the same manner as a regular pasta dough since there are no gluten bonds to break. Having said that, don’t overwork it. Stop the Cuisinart as soon as the dough comes together.

sun-dried tomato linguine

makes about 4 servings

• 162 g flour blend of your choosing, plus extra for dusting (we used brown rice, potato, and tapioca)
• 6 g xanthan gum
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, pureed
• Water

directions

Mix dry ingredients in a Cusinart (or bowl). Add eggs, and sun dried tomatoes. Pulse and begin adding water in 1 tbsp increments until dough comes together. You don’t want your dough to be sticky, otherwise you will need to work more flour into it.

Let dough rest for at least 30 minutes. This lets the binding ingredients do their thang.

If you have a pasta roller, set the machine at the widest opening. Flour both sides of the dough. Pass the pieces of dough through the machine, folding them in thirds after each pass and dusting them lightly with flour to keep them from getting sticky. Continue passing each piece through the machine until it is smooth. If you don’t have a pasta roller, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough, then fold into thirds and reroll.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, decrease the width between the rollers one notch and pass the dough through them again. After each pass, turn the rollers one notch narrower, dust the dough with flour, and pass it through again. Continue until the dough is as thin as desired. For the linguine, I went down 3 levels from the largest setting.

Line a pan with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

If you have a linguine cutter, feed the pasta sheets through and gently support the ends as they come through. If you do not have a linguini cutter, simply lay the pasta sheets on a cutting board and cut in long strips using a knife. Gently transfer the cut linguine to the parchment lined pan. Place linguine in the freezer until ready to use.

Now would be a good time to make some SAUCE! Once the sauce is reducing, bring a hot pot of HEAVILY salted water to a boil. Patrick said “it should taste like seawater.” I also asked my uncle who is from Sardinia, and he said the secret to good pasta is salt. So… Salt away.

Cook the pasta directly from the freezer in the boiling water for 4 minutes. Gently strain and cook for an additional two minutes in the sauce.

vodka sauce with smoked salmon and capers

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup diced smoked salmon
• 1/4 cup flaked smoked salmon (the salmon breaks down a bit in the sauce so this will go on top as a garnish)
• 4 ounces vodka
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp capers
• ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
• ¾ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped, if desired

directions

In a large saucepan saute butter and onion with ¼ cup of smoked salmon.

Once the pan begins to lightly smoke, pull saucepan away from heat source and add the Vodka. Once the Vodka has burned off, return the sauce to heat, and mix in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, heavy cream, and capers. Season sauce with pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper.

Reduce sauce to desired consistency. Dress pasta and garnish with remaining ¼ cup smoked salmon and parsley.

 Make girly squeals of delight and devour.

Curious what pasta dishes other ratio rallyers made? Check em out!

• Brooke from B & the Boy! made Ravioli w/strawberry filling and chocolate berry sauce
• Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free made Multi-grain fettuccine
• Erin from The Sensitive Epicure made Ravioli w/ shrimp, spinach, mushrooms, & cheese filling in browned butter
  Gretchen from Kumquat made Vegetable lasagna
• Jenn from Jenn Cuisine made Tagliatelle with smoked salmon, peas and parmesan
• Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen made Lokshen kugel
• Karen from Cooking Gluten Free made Homemade gluten free pasta
• Mary Fran from Frannycakes made Pasta with pink vodka sauce
• Meaghan from The Wicked Good Vegan made Vegan gluten-free homemade pasta, in creamy artichoke tagliatelle
• Meg from Gluten-Free Boulangerie made Fettuccine with sun-dried tomatoes
• Pete and Kelli from No Gluten, No Problem made Tortellini
• Rachel from The Crispy Cook made Smoked paprika noodles with garlic scapes and herbs
• Shauna of Gluten Free Girl made Gluten free fresh pasta
• Silvana from Silvana’s Kitchen made Lemon-poppy pasta with tomato, corn and basil
• Tara from A Baking Life made Fazzoletti with wild mushrooms and spring onions
• TR from No One Likes Crumbley Cookies made Tomato basil pork raviolis

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