EASY HOMEMADE AVOCADO PASTA

Now, we know it sounds a bit weird to combine fruit and hot pasta. At first, we weren't convinced either. Has the world just gone completely avocado-crazy?! But, then we tried it...

Imagine the soft, creamy texture of a perfectly ripe avocado combined with the warm embrace and comfort of a bowl of fresh pasta. It's a match made in heaven! This could totally become your new favourite weeknight meal or dinner party staple.

Impress guests with your new pasta making skills, or use store bought gluten-free tagliatelle. Either way, everyone's in for a treat.

Ingredients

1½ cups brown rice flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup tapioca starch
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
Small bowl of water

To serve:

2 small courgettes
1 ripe, soft avocado, halved
Handful of fresh basil leaves
½ cup caper berries
¼ cup pine nuts, lightly pan roasted
½ fresh lemon
Pure South Press Avocado Oil or Macadamia oil, to finish.

Method

1. In large bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, tapioca starch, salt and xanthan gum. Add eggs. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir until a dough forms. Generously dust your counter with brown rice flour. Turn dough out onto counter and knead a few times until fairly smooth. Let the dough rest on a covered bowl for a few minutes whilst preparing the filling.

2. In a medium bowl, finely mash cooked pumpkin using a fork or potato masher. Add the chopped sage leaves and salt and pepper to taste, mixing thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Work with 1 piece at a time, keeping the rest covered. Press the dough down with your palms to flatten it slightly. Using a pasta machine, set at the widest setting, run the dough through twice. Continue rolling dough through successively narrower settings until you reach the second-to-last setting.

4. Cut dough sheet in half horizontally and pass each through the tagliatelle or fettuccine cutter. (The spaghetti setting is too thin for this gluten-free pasta.) Dust pasta with brown rice flour and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. 

   **If you don't have a pasta machine, you can still use make sheets by rolling out the dough on a flat surface using a rolling pin, folding the rolled out dough over on itself 2-3 times and rolling out again to form a thin sheet. Then simply cut thin strips in the pasta sheet using a sharp knife. It's a bit more work, but still works just fine.

5. Dust pasta with brown rice flour and place on non-stick baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.