Happy Monday and ¡feliz cinco de mayo! If you are celebrating the holiday and need last minute recipe ideas make sure to check out lasts Friday’s roundup.
Today I want to share with you my favourite new pastas. I have my husband to thank for this wonderful discovery, as he came across it while readying about low-glycemic index food options for me. (Some of you may remember me talking about the changes I’ve had to make to my diet.) Luckily and thanks to this type of pasta I haven’t had to completely give up noodles.
Have you heard of 100% corn pasta? We have been eating it for a year and absolutely love it. Compared to wheat, corn pasta is much more fragile and flavourful too. You can prepare it in just about any way that wheat pasta can be. The only thing is that corn pasta cooks faster (a good thing) and it can easily be overcooked and fall apart. You have to be more attentive to it, but it’s totally worth it.
The corn pasta I like to buy only has two ingredients: corn and water. That’s right, there are no eggs, no starch flours, no soy, no xanthan gum or any other strange ingredient that so many other high glycemic and wheat-free pastas have. This pasta is naturally gluten-free, a low-glycemic food, non-GMO product, Kosher, and it’s also cholesterol free. Really what’s not to love! At the beginning we tried several brands (as represented in the pictures here), but we long ago settled on a favourite brand that I would now like to recommend to you. The brand is Sam Mills Pasta D’Oro. I am not affiliated with them in any way, I just love their product. I have been able to purchase their pasta both in Europe and now in Mexico. You can find them at organic, health food, or regular stores. They are also available on Amazon. If you can’t find this brand I suggest taste testing the ones you have available in your area — just make sure you read the ingredients list!
One of our favourite pasta meals is homemade macaroni and cheese. The regular wheat noodles have been replaced by the corn pasta but my recipe is pretty much the same. If you’d like to cook the wheat mac and cheese version you can print out my recipe here. Below is how I now make macaroni and cheese.
- 1 bag (454g or 1 lb) 100% corn macaroni noodles*
- 160 gm or 5.6oz Farm Style Gouda, shredded (or cheese of choice)**
- 1¼ cup or 300 ml whole fat milk
- 40g or 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- pinch of salt, extra if desired
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp fine yellow corn flour (not cornstarch)***
- Cook the macaroni noodles according to package instructions. Corn pasta cooks very fast, so give your full attention to it. To make the sauce: In a large pot melt the butter, once melted saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add the corn flour and stir until it forms a roux (thick paste). Pour half a cup of milk into the pot and stir until well combined. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the ground black pepper into the pot, stir well. Add the shredded cheese and a little more of the milk. Continue stirring as the cheese begins to melt. Pour the rest of the milk and continue stirring until the cheese completely melts and the cheese sauce forms. Taste again and adjust salt if necessary.
- Mix the cooked and drained macaroni into the pot, be careful not to overspill. Continue mixing until all the noodles are well coated with the sauce. Serve right away and sprinkle with paprika, chile or cayenne powder .
**Gouda is a great cheese for mac and cheese, but feel free to use your favourite melting cheese.
***Instead of yellow corn flour you can replace it with oat flour -- if you're Celiac make sure it's gluten-free.
I love the slight corn taste that the mac and cheese has, paired with the gouda and paprika it makes a fantastic dish. We like to eat our macaroni and cheese with a big green salad or on the side of meat. It works great as a main or side dish.
These noodles above are also 100% corn pasta. I love to boil them then toss them with a lot some butter and serve them as a side dish.
100% corn pasta ia also delicious when it is tossed with olive oil and sautéed garlic. Add a green salad and a protein for a complete meal — hubby loves that dinner plate above.
I hope you too will give corn pasta a taste and love it as much as we do. Enjoy!!
Lovelyx pasta and scrumptious mac & cheese!
Cheers,
Rosa
I have never seen these noodles at the market. I will look for them. Mac and cheese is a classic that is timeless and delicious and something that the imagination is the only limit and variations. Blessings, Catherine
Hi Nancy
Corn pasta is delicious, I agree. At work we are working om importing some amazing Italian corn pasta into Sydney. This one is a bit more hardy , although pure corn. Sounds like a wonderful dish to nake with it when it arrives.
Ooo I need to look for this! I try to stay away from pasta as much as I can. I normally go towards quinoa pasta, but I will give this a go!
I’ve never had corn pasta, but I like the idea of it. It’d be perfect for mac ‘n cheese! What a great dish. And it looks so wonderful in your pictures. Thanks.
Nancy, thank you for this post about the corn pasta…I have seen it at Trader Joes, and I must confess that I was a little skeptical…after reading your post I feel that I should give this corn pasta a try…like that you made mac and cheese…and yes as a side with lots of butter…
Hope you are having a fabulous week :D
Have never heard of corn pasta, so thanks SO much for introduces us to us. Definitely will be checking it out. And then once I get it, this macaroni and cheese is a must make! Very curious as to the texture of the pasta in this dish and others. Thanks again Nancy!