The Ultimate Protein Pasta: Life Changing and Gluten Free!
This is the most exciting recipe. EVER! The Ultimate Protein Pasta is going to blow your mind. It's going to change your world, seriously.
At least, it's definitely changed mine.
I'm a huge lover of Italian food. Unfortunately, pasta (probably the most associated dish to Italian cuisine), is loaded in carbs. Even when I'm following a high-carb diet and eating a bowl of brown rice pasta, the amount of one, small serving would take up at least a third of my allotted carbs for the day. Not to mention that I wouldn't even be full after eating it. Plus, it doesn't even have that much protein. That means I would have to eat even more, and up my calorie intake substantially. That's why I am so excited about this protein pasta. It's honestly re-opened a world of possibilities and recipes that were closed to me due to dietary restrictions.
Okay, let me clarify some things...
When I go online and look for 'protein pasta' I find a lot of results with recipes and articles about using high protein flours to create gluten-free pasta. For example, you may have heard of using:
Teff
Lentil
Quinoa
ChickPea
Now, don't get me wrong, I have made pastas with lots of different high protein flours to accommodate different diet lifestyles. The trouble with some of these, however, is that due to the nature of the flour, the dough can become extremely delicate, and a huge pain to roll out. This means you may have to add other types of flours to help keep its form. And, they are still super high in carbs. But you see, these types of flours, while healthy in their own right, are high protein flour pastas. My ultimate protein pasta, the life changing, gluten free, amazing pasta is made out of... wait for it...
PROTEIN!
Yup, I literally took my protein powder and used it as the flour. So now you know the difference between a high protein pasta, and the ULTIMATE protein pasta.
Truth be told
This could have turned into an entire disaster, but it worked so well that I am going to be building off of this recipe for a while. You're going to find, if you haven't already, that I cook with a protein a lot. In fact, most of my baked goods or dough are going to either be entirely protein based, or partially protein based. You see, protein powder is used really well as a partial substitute for some recipes. It gets a bit tricky when the majority of the dish comes from the protein. That's why I was a bit concerned about how this would come out. In reality, the consistency and texture of this pasta came out very nice. It was smooth, not too wet, and easy to roll. The only issue I had with it is that it dries faster than other pastas. This means you need to cut it into the desired style or shape more quickly than usual. Additionally, it will cook aldente no matter how long you keep it in the boiling water.
But there has to be more to something I call life-changing, right?
The Ultimate Protein Pasta: Life Changing and Gluten Free!
Yup! Here's the deal. This is a high protein creation. It is extremely low carb, and extremely low fat. And, each serving is only 20 grams of protein. This means that it can transform into a meal that can fit into any lifestyle. If you top it with tomato sauce and veggies, it suddenly works for a higher carb diet. Or, if you top it with a carbonara sauce, or put it in a lasagna with cheese, suddenly it is perfect for a low carb, high fat diet. Pretty cool and transformative, right? :) Plus, with only 20 grams of protein per serving, there is room for more protein to come from other sources in the dish you're having.
And this is super important
We often forget that if we serve up a big piece of meat and then have sides, the 25 grams of protein from that big steak suddenly becomes 35 or 40 grams will all the other food we eat in a meal. And our body doesn't need all the extra calories or protein, so it will just turn it to fat. Okay, Clearly, I am psyched about this Ultimate Protein Pasta creation, for all of the reasons listed above. So, tell me what you think!
Prep Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time: 3 mins
Additional Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 48 mins
Ingredients
2 Large Eggs
2 Large Egg Yolks
1.5 tsp salt
1 - 1/2 tsp water
2 TBSP Organic Gluten Free Tapioca Flour
Instructions
Dough Creation
Add eggs to a electric mixer or bowl (if doing by hand).
Add salt.
Add Tapioca Flour.
Slowly add about half of the Protein Powder as you are mixing.
When it becomes slightly difficult to mix, or if some of the dough gets stuck on the bowl or won't mix, add a little bit of the water.
Continue pouring in the Protein.
Mix until you get a smooth, even consistency. It should not be dry, but also not too sticky.
Once completely mixed, let the dough rest, in a ball on the counter or wax paper, covered, for 15-30 minutes.
Rolling:
Cut dough into small pieces.
Using your hands or a rolling pin, thin out the dough enough so that it can roll through the widest setting of a pasta machine (see notes if you are doing this all by hand).
Roll the pasta through the widest setting (it is normally setting one, however my machine is backwards, and setting six is the widest).
Fold over the pasta, and roll through again.
Fold once more if needed to get an even rectangular piece of pasta.
Roll once through the next setting.
Continue to roll once through each setting until you get to the setting before the thinnest one (two or five, depending on your machine).
Cut into desired style (fettuccini, lasagna, spaghetti, etc).
Continue this for all of the pieces of pasta until you complete rolling. It is best to lay pasta flat once rolled.
Cook and Serve
Throw into a pot of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes. Do not place into the pot while the water is coming to a boil. Because of it being made from mainly protein powder, it cannot sit in the water for longer, or the consistency will change and the pasta will not turn out correctly.
Will come out aldente.
Serve with sauce, meats, and veggies of choice.
Enjoy!
Notes
Dough Creation
When I made this, I used the water and the additional egg yolks to keep the consistency of the dough smooth. Use the water as needed. Note, that you need very very little. The dough should be smooth to the touch, but soft. Not too sticky
If you don't have an electric mixer, like a kitchen aid, you can knead this dough with your hands, following the same directions. I would recommend starting in a bowl and then moving to a cutting board or counter, since the flour doesn't get added all at once
Rolling
If the pasta is too sticky to roll through machine, or gets stuck on rolling pin, pat it down with some additional protein or tapioca flour
If the pasta is too dry, wet your fingers and rub it onto the pasta, to help it soften just a little
If you are doing this all with a rolling pin, you want to roll down to a mm or 2mm thick. See the photos for reference
Protein
You must use the exact protein listed, as any other type of protein that has been tried has not yet worked, and turns into a mess.
Instructions
In order to create this pasta successfully, you must follow the directions exactly, and use the exact type of protein listed.
