Pasta

We had ravioli for dinner tonight so I will post on pasta. Pasta is one of the items that gets the most debate on the local celiac list that I am on. Some love corn pasta and hate rice pasta, others hate corn pasta and love rice pasta. We fall in the group that prefers rice pasta. We have tried a variety of the gluten free pastas available in the grocery store and our favorite is Tinkyada pasta. It is a rice pasta and comes in a wide variety of shapes, from spaghetti to elbow macaroni. Our whole family likes it and except for the occassional box of individual servings of macaroni and cheese (we use Annie's) for Jacob or Alex, we only buy and eat gluten free pasta. It has a good texture and is not mushy. Trader Joe's carries a store brand pasta that is the same as Tinkyada if you are looking for something a bit cheaper. I will buy that if I am near a Trader Joes.

In addition to the regular mac&cheese. Annies makes a yummy Rice and Cheddar cheese mac and cheese that is gluten free. For those used to Kraft, it might be a bit of an adjustment, but we have eaten Annie's so long, due to our Feingold diet, that that is what we were used to and the switch to gluten free wasn't hard at all. I really can't tell much difference between this and the stuff in the "blue box".

Mrs. Leeper's makes some hamburger helper type products made with a corn based pasta that we use occassionally for those days when we just want to make a quick meal. Though we didn't like the straight corn pasta, we can't really tell the difference when it is mixed with the meat and sauces. The nice thing about Mrs. Leeper's is that, not only is it GF, it is also Feingold safe. I would never buy a regular hamburger helper meal, even if we weren't gf.


Tinkyada makes a lasagna noodle, and I used to buy that. Then, I discovered DeBoles lasagna noodles. It is a no boil noodle and makes lasagna building a whole lot easier!
One thing that we had had no luck finding until recently was gluten free ravioli. Or gf toasted ravioli. Back in December, I was pleasantly surprised to find a bag of frozen Conte's gf ravioli at Hy Vee in Columbia. With that we could have boiled ravioli or bread it and make our own toasted ravioli. I have yet to find it in St. Louis, but it was recently added to our food co-op's catalog and I brought home a case today.



For sauce, I usually buy Newman's sauces. They are Feingold and Gluten free safe and cheaper than the Amy's that we used to buy. Also easier to find than the organic sauces. Prego is gluten free, but I prefer Newman's.

As for eating out, Pasta House Co. offers gluten free pasta. They used to serve rice pasta but then switched to corn, making the corn pasta lovers happy and us less satisfied. It takes longer for them to prepare the gluten free pasta as they have to start a new pot for it. So, when we eat there, we usually call ahead and a) make sure the have it in stock and b) ask them to go ahead an get it started so we don't have to wait as long our meals. We try to pack along a couple of rolls from Andrea's Fine Foods for Jess to eat since she can't have the rolls they serve. Pasta house has several GF options on their menu but they are very pricey. We don't eat there often.

The Old Spagetti Factory also offers a Gluten Free, corn based pasta. Noodles and Company also offers a gluten free dish. Since the closest locations are in Chesterfield, these are rare treats.

There are several more upscale restaraunts around St. Louis that serve gluten free pastas and some even carry Andrea's rolls. Since we have not personally eat at them, I can't review them. Maggiano's even occassionally hosts a gluten free evening offering a multi course gluten free meal.

Olive Garden claims to offer a gluten free menu, but most people who have tried it have been very dissapointed with the quality and safety of the gluten free food there. We have not taken a chance with them yet based on a multitude of bad reviews.

John attempted to make some Gluten Free pasta from scratch recently. Unfortunately, using our pasta machine was less than successful as the dough just fell apart.. Rolling it out by hand was a little more successful.