If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog you will know that I absolutely LOVE pasta.  Being Italian, the biggest blow when diagnosed was the prospect of a bread and pasta-free existence.  When I was first diagnosed there were few pasta options and the ones that were out there, well, let’s just say they got the job done but offered little in the way of true satisfaction.  Today, there seem to be an infinite number of gluten-free pastas in a range of sizes, shapes, and flours.  Well maybe not quite infinite but it feels that way to me.  Every time I visit my local specialty grocer I see more and more gluten-free options popping-up from around the world – and yes it is my sworn duty as a GF blogger and proud Italian that I try each and every one I can get my hands on.  So the number 9 spot goes to Le Veneziane Gluten-Free Pasta.

On the recommendation of an Italian friend who said this was the best pasta out there I eagerly placed an order of four different shapes.  Ordering was easy enough through Amazon.com which had an online storefront for a company out of Boston who would actually ship the order.  Now I paid for normal shipping and the pasta was literally at my door the next day – well done.I was so eager to give this pasta a try as I love new GF items and I LOVE pasta. 

This is an Italian corn-based pasta that is available in some quite uncommon (for GF pasta) shapes which makes for a nice change from penne and fusilli.  I opted for the gnocchi (dry), spaghetti, pipe rigate, and tubetti rigate.  First on deck, the pipe rigate.I was craving a creamy alfredo sauce so wanted something that would capture the sauce nicely and the pipe rigate more than satisfied this need.  The uncooked pasta really looked like the pasta I remembered in my pre-Celiac days but the question remained…how would it taste?  Well, I am happy to report that my Italian friend did not let me down and it was really quite possibly the best pasta I have had to-date.  It cooked to a perfect al dente and the texture was indistinguishable from the traditional semolina version.You can view the company’s Web site (in English) to view their entire portfolio of products.