I’ve posted on this essential point more than few times. But it keeps coming up online in help for-ums, foodie blogs and brand-sponsored advice. The truth is, perfect pasta is really just a matter of keeping it simple…
Spaghetti Bolognaise: An undisputed classic. And one of my fave ‘easy Italian’ dishes.
We’ve all heard of the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid. And it’s never applied more compel-lingly in the culinary sphere than it does in the case of one core competency: cooking pasta.
Ill-advised notions
There’s a lot of bad advice going around about ‘the right way to cook pasta’. And it comes from many directions, none of which point to Italy. But the truth is, it’s easy to prepare perfect pasta – if you forget all the nonsense and stick to the simple, original method.
How long?
BBC Good Food offers the following general guideline about how long to cook your pasta. “Most dried [long pastas] such as linguine, spaghetti and tagliatelle take between 8-10 mins. Shorter, thicker pasta shapes like bows or penne take 10-12 mins. and fresh pasta such as ravioli and tortellini will be done between 3-5 mins.”
But don’t forget the fine tuning. Learn what ‘al dente’ means, and test repeatedly for that degree of ‘bite’ as the pasta nears the ‘done’ point.
DOs and DON’Ts
DO use a big pot of water – so the pasta can dance around and not stick to itself.
DON’T add oil to the water. This will just cause the sauce to slip off at the table.
DO add 1 to 2 tsp. / 5 – 10 ml of salt to the water. This is the only chance you’ll get to infuse salt into the pasta, where it will really boost the flavour.
DON’T overcook the pasta. Learn what ‘al dente’ means, and test repeatedly for that degree of ‘bite’ as the pasta reaches the ‘done’ point.
DO add the cooked pasta to the sauce to reheat it and marry the two. Toss gently, so the sauce kisses every piece of pasta.
DON’T throw out the cooking water. The starch that comes off the pasta during cooking makes just the right silky, creamy difference to any sauce you whip up. Add just a dash, a splash or however much you find appropriate. But be careful not to add too much!
My take
It’s not hard to cook perfect pasta. Every time. Just follow the time-tested, traditional method, and don’t sweat it!
~Maggie J.