chestnut flour and pasta!

[urbangirl]

I am so so pleased! Today I went Christmas shopping and went into a pop-up shop selling different things including food products. There were lots of GF products and I met the chef who was Italian who gave me such a lot of ideas. She told me I could make pasta out of chestnut flour! That is just so wonderful as now I can have lasagne again! Goodness knows what it will taste like if I make it but she assures me it is absolutely lovely and very good with lots of different sauces. And she told me to call her for advice! What a fab lady she is! And her flour free amaretto biscuits were gorgeous and will make a lovely base for trifle!

[Penel]

That sounds really great. I didn't realise you could make pasta out of chestnut flour. Happy cooking!

[urbangirl in reply to Penel]

Neither did I Penel! I have looked it up on the internet and most of the recipes include flour but she said use just chestnut flour and eggs. So I will try this out next week and let you know. But it is so good for those on low carb diets. She did say that it is difficult to have long pasta with this recipe but short pasta is okay.

[Hidden]

if you can eat tapioca, use a small amount of tapioca flour mixed in cold water and boil, stirring constantly, to make a thick gel. Don't worry that it looks like wallpaper paste. Mix this in with your pasta mix (I found my flour mix worked better without eggs) and it will help you get flexible pasta you can cut to shape. It is called pre-gelatinised tapioca as an ingredient, and it is great for anything where you want to get things really thin without breaking. If you have a pasta roller attachment for your food processor or a traditional pasta maker it saves a lot of hard work, just pass through several times to get a smooth thin pasta.

[urbangirl in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Lois for this info. That is really helpful. I don't know if I can eat tapioca flour but will try it first. We do have a pasta maker which I will use.

[winschild in reply to Hidden]

You can buy tapioca flour which is better than using tapioca.

[winschild]

I buy pasta made from rice and there are other gluten free pastas that even people who dont have to be Gluten free find quite acceptable.

[urbangirl in reply to winschild]

Winschild - thank you for your advice. What pasta have you found because I cannot eat the gluten free stuff because it contains products that make me ill. I will definitely use tapioca flour but will eat some tapioca before to see if I can tolerate it.

[winschild in reply to urbangirl]

No I cant eat the gluten free anymore as I'm on a very restricted, anti inflammatory diet but I can get away with the Dove's Farm organic past made from rice with spinach and tomato. I'm not supposed to eat tomato but there is so little in this (I think its just to colour it) that it isn't a problem for me.

[urbangirl in reply to winschild]

thank you! I didn't know you could get that sort of pasta that is very helpful. The good thing for me about chestnut flour is that it is low carb and I try to stick to a low carb diet. But occasionally I relapse and your suggestion would be very welcome!

[fneepette]

Ooo, Winschild are you on low FODMAP? My partner is doing it at the mo, but it's so hard!

[HiveMind in reply to fneepette]

Could someone please explain to me what FODMAP is? Thank you!

[fneepette in reply to HiveMind]

FODMAPs are foods that all bodies find it a bit harder to digest, but people with any kind of tummy problem might find them harder still.

The criteria are a bit complicated - an Australian university, Monash, are doing most of the testing.

We've find it hard to do, but helpful. I wouldn't do it without professional help as important things like fibre, calcium and iron can be tough to get from the restricted foods.

Hope that helps!

[HiveMind in reply to fneepette]

Thank you!

[gizziesmum]

I like the idea of that, now to source some Chestnut flour oh joy!

[dancer58 in reply to gizziesmum]

Hi Gizziesmum

Ive been experimenting with GF flours including Teff amaranth chestnut tapioca potato starch rice peanut sorghum etc etc etc... and have had some amazing results! It sure isnt a cheap hobby but keeps you occupied and has some rather tasty results! I couldnt source many of these exotics locally so found a site and had them delivered;

healthysupplies.co.uk

Saves carrying it all home too! I suggest keeping a record of the concoctions you create and what you think of the results for future reference too.

I also found a helpful alternative GF flour guide at

thedaringkitchen.com/food-talk/playing-alternative-flours

Another word of advice; chestnut flour apparently has a very short shelf life (one month) so it is suggested either keeping it in the freezer or use it real fast. I make delicious shortbread, pastry and cakes with it (in combination) and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Best of luck with the pasta! I use Sainsburys own brand GF spaghetti stuff which seems to suit me, but so rarely its not worth me making my own!

Bon appetite!

[gizziesmum]

Thank you for that, I very much appreciate you taking the time to reply, I can`t take most of the gluten free pasta`s because they have corn in them, but have found a good brown rice one made by Doves Farm which is sold in Sainsbury`s occasionally. I have got Teff and potato starch and a couple of the blends that Pure make ie Innovative solutions is the company, sorry I don't have time at the moment to give you the link.

If you have time i would love to pick your brains regarding links to your shortbread, pastry and cakes.

Off to do some Christmas shopping now, thus the hurried post

Take Care

Audrey