I have been
searching for a lower-carbohydrate alternative
to traditional pasta. Traditionally, pasta is
made with
semolina (durum wheat flour)
and so has a fairly high carbohydrate content.
After trying several alternatives to wheat flour
I have settled on red lentils. Of all the lentil
varieties, red lentils have a the best flavor
and make the best pasta, I think.
I start by making lentil
flour. I take a one-pound bag of lentils and
pour about half into a blender, where the
lentils are ground into coarse particles.
The lentil particles are then ground into
flour using a
Mockmill,
a wonderful, reasonably-priced grain mill
which attaches to any KitchenAid stand
mixer. The Mockmill grinds the lentil
particles into a flour suitable for pasta.
Making the pasta dough is simple. Crack a large
egg (Italian:
uovo, pronounced WAH-vo)
into a large mixing bowl. Mix the egg white and
yolk with a fork. Add lentil flour little by
little until you have a very dry, stiff dough.
The next step is to form the noodles. My
preference is to use an inexpensive handheld
pasta extruder such as
this.