Cooking Tips for Einkorn Pasta

We absolutely love the sweet, nutty flavor of einkorn pasta! We also appreciate the fact that einkorn has 15% less carbohydrates, 30% more protein, and lots more b Vitamins than modern wheat pasta. We used to feel bloated and drowsy after a pasta meal, but now with einkorn, we feel energized and sustained. Pasta is meant to be a quick and easy meal to prepare, and it’s complete when prepared with vegetables, healthy fats and protein. We know why Italians embrace pasta in their daily diet- you can create a delicious dish in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta, and the possibilities are endless. Pasta is a beautiful food, with a lower glycemic index than bread, that we can enjoy even more when it’s made with einkorn.

When our founders, Carla and Rodolfo, dreamed of bringing einkorn to the market, they had to verify if it could even be used in manufacturing. The first trial they did was pasta because they were friends with a family of pasta artisans that had been making traditional pasta for a century. They believed that if these experts couldn’t work with einkorn, then it would just not work in manufacturing. The first trials were with penne and the results were very good. Little did anyone know at that time, that long cuts like spaghetti and linguine would prove to be more difficult to manufacture. In fact, you may have noticed at times, the long cuts can break into shorter strands during cooking. This is something we have been working to fix with each production, and we are still working on finding a remedy to this challenge after five years of production. Einkorn is just different.

The most important thing that we’ve learned about einkorn is that its supposed flaws are actually its strengths. Einkorn has very weak gluten and this is why it’s hard to work with. In fact, pasta factories strive to find durum wheats with the strongest gluten for making the best pasta. Laboratories perform tests that measure the Gluten Index, or the strength of the gluten, of durum wheat flours because the stronger the gluten, the better the pasta. A good pasta has a gluten index of 95, but einkorn has 0 as a gluten index. Consequently, many of us are discovering that the strong gluten in the world’s best durum wheat can also weigh on digestion. Our journey with einkorn is one of learning and respect, so we constantly find ways to work around einkorn’s whims.

EINKORN PASTA COOKING TIP

To cook einkorn pasta, especially more fragile long cuts like spaghetti and linguine, it is important to cook the pasta in a very large stockpot with an abundant amount of boiling water (at least 4 quarts). You should fill the pot up with enough water so the pasta is nearly covered when you drop them in the pot (standing up). It is important for the water to come back to a rolling boil quickly, so you can also cover the pot until the water boils. Once the water boils, you should cook the pasta uncovered. Do not stir the pasta until it has softened, about 1 minute. Use a long spoon to stir the pasta one time, very gently, reaching down to the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. After 5 minutes of cooking, stir the pasta again in the same manner. Do not stir the pasta more than twice, three times at the most. Once the pasta is cooked, drain as you normally would, but always use a gentle touch. You will discover that if you were having problems with breakage before, reducing the stirring will help immensely, and you can enjoy your pasta even more!