Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.
Here's a shopping guide for whole-grain pastas, organized by grain, and the classic sauces and toppings that suit them best. So opt for a warm pasta dinner -- an al dente delight that keeps family and friends coming back for more while filling them with healthful benefits.
Whole Wheat
Thicker, whole-wheat pasta shapes can have a "grassy" flavor and a gritty texture. If you want to enjoy 100-percent whole-wheat pasta without overpowering the flavor of the sauce, try angel hair or spaghetti, and sample a few brands to find the one you like best. Overall a thinner, more delicate shape allows more sauce to coat, and the strands of pasta are softer when cooked, without being mushy. Enjoy it with strongly flavored sauces like puttanesca, arrabiata, or caramelized onions and prosciutto.
Brown Rice
Brown-rice pasta has a soft, tender texture -- and most people won't even know that it's not "white" pasta. Safe for people with celiac, it's also a great way to segue kids from the white stuff to something that is whole grain. It works best for mac and cheese, butter and Parmesan, or just a basic tomato-and-basil sauce.
Quinoa Pasta
It may look like white pasta, but it's made from the super-nutritious quinoa grain. Cook 1 minute less than the package indicates since it is a more delicate pasta similar to the soft egg noodles that most people add to their chicken noodle soup. Quinoa pasta, a must for a gluten-free diet, is good for any dish, but it's perfect for Italian wedding soup.
Kamut Buckwheat Mix
Ready for an exotic twist? The darker rigatoni shape is made with kamut, which is a relative of the ancient durum wheat. You might already have tasted ground buckwheat in breakfast pancakes and blini. This pasta looks dark, but has a really surprisingly soft texture that would make an excellent base with chunky sauces like tomato with turkey pepperoni and fresh cubes of mozzarella or sage with sautéed zucchini and walnuts.
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11-27-2009 @3:10PM Jan said... I like to make my own noodles from scratch, Wood love some recipes using exotic flour. Any ideas?
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11-27-2009 @8:05PM Samme said... As much as I love whole-grain breads and other things whole-grain I am usually not a fan of whole-wheat pastas. They have always had that grainy texture and off-flavor (grassy?) that no sauce seems able to overcome.
I have almost entirely cut out white-flour products and nearly stopped eating pasta because the wheat was so terrible. Thank you for the list of alternatives, I will have to look for the rice pasta, it sounds like it would work a lot better for me.
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11-27-2009 @8:44PM ben nguyen said... The best whole four I've found for pasta or baking in general is the one from King Arthur. You can't taste the difference!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flours/white-whole-wheat-flour.html
But frankly, I get enough fiber in my cereal, so I'd like to see (in the States) more pasta made with Veggies.
This one from Chile contains carrots and legumes:
http://www.nutri2.cl/
These also contain vegetables, but good luck finding at any store!
http://www.catelli.com/product_line/specialty_pasta_bistro_colour.htm
( Only 3 urls are allowed, but if interested also google Barillaus Plus )
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11-28-2009 @12:54AM RobynT said... i like barilla too. it's a little grainy but i kind of like the texture i guess.
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11-28-2009 @7:05AM Rob O. said... Dreamfields pasta is a fantastic alternative that's high in fiber and protein, yet doesn't have the odd texture and density that many whole grain pastas do. It's virtually indistinguishable from the traditional stuff.
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11-28-2009 @2:05PM Lear said... I would recommend picking up the cookbook "Ratio" by Micheal Ruhlman. It's simple concepts of how pastas work by ratio (and other recipes as well) allowed me to start with the base an tweak it my creative hearts content. Last night I made whole-wheat spinach lasagna noodles for example.
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11-29-2009 @7:48PM monique said... Try Al Dente Whole Wheat Pastas--cooks in just 3 minutes and has wonderful texture because the dough is rolled out, not extruded.Available in some stores,and also www.aldentepasta.com Includes flax and has 6 grams of fiber.
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