New Ingredient: Alternative Pasta

Looking for something to do with the other cup of evaporated milk after the egg tarts, I saw the suggestion to use it in pasta sauce.  I had most of the ingredients I needed for Mac and Cheese, and only needed some pasta.  I decided to go with something different.

Thanks to the gluten-free craze, there are several kinds of wheat-free pastas on store shelves.  Asian-style noodles have used rice and buckwheat flour for ages, but bringing that technology to Italian-style dried pasta took a while.

The penne I bought had one ingredient, pulverized black beans.  There were also pastas made of green lentil, red lentil, and quite a variety from chickpeas.  One pricier brand sneaked in several other veggies as well.  It sounded good, but would not have worked in mac and cheese.  Some other time.

These pastas cook the same way as dried wheat pasta.  Being gluten-free, they will start to dissolve if you overcook them.  Got close to that with my box.  Like black beans, they turn the water black as they cook, which would have been easier to see if I hadn't been using a black pot.

The real question is how do they taste.  The texture is the same as wheat pasta, at least for the black bean variety that I got.  I forgot to taste some before drowning it in cheese sauce, but I couldn't taste the difference.  The color is kind of weird for pasta, but there are black pastas out there, generally colored with squid ink.  It isn't completely unheard-of, just surprising.

It does cost at least twice what I'm used to paying for dried pasta.  $2.50 at club price for a 4-serving box.  Wheat pasta is usually sold in 8-serving packages.  However, I didn't have to buy veggies.  The nutritional value of the pasta is the same as the beans it is made from, and the brand I got had zero salt added.  Tons of fiber, protein, and iron, making it easy to have a balanced, meatless meal disguised as something the kids like.  Ok, I tossed in some kielbasa, but I made that decision before the one to use bean pasta.

So if you're looking for a good cheat swap, I'd go with something made of bean, lentil, or quinoa pasta.  Backing it up with portion control will keep you on a healthy plan, while feeling like you had a cheat day.