Pasta recipes for beginners (or how to cook pasta properly)
Posted on Apr 14, 2009 05:08:12 PM
Before publishing more pasta recipes, few, well known rules about how to cook pasta properly won’t do any harm. Before starting, consider that different types of pasta will cook in different ways. Ribbed pasta (like rigatoni) will attract the dressing better, but a non-ribbed pasta on the other hand will cook more evenly.
Pasta goes into boiling water, everybody knows that. But not many know that pasta likes space so there has to be plenty of water. Every 100g of pasta require one liter of water. 300g means 3 liters.
What about salt? There’s a rule or two for that too. Salt has to be added after water has reached boiling temperature, or boiling will be delayed. If you have one liter of water add 10g of salt, for 2 liters add 20g and so on.
A general opinion about cooking pasta is that you have to add oil to the water in order to keep the noodles separated. This is useless, and a waste too. Use good quality pasta in enough water and it won’t stick.
Wait for 30 seconds for the salt to dissolve and pour the pasta. If you’re using spaghetti, use your hands to push them down instead of breaking them. Make sure you don’t touch the boiling water.
When you add the pasta, the water will stop boiling, so try to make it boil back as quick as possible by turning up the flame and covering the pan. When it’s boiling again, turn down the heat a little bit and uncover the pan. In general, the level of heat should be the highest you can get without making the water boil out of the pan.
With a wooden spoon move the pasta every now and then, this is a great substitute for oil in order not to make it stick. If you’re not sure for how long to cook it, follow the instructions on the packet, which should be for pasta al dente (dente = tooth). It means not so hard to be raw but not so cooked that it won’t fall to the floor if you throw it at the wall.
Al dente is how pasta should be in the end. Don’t overdo, for at least three reasons: pasta won’t stop cooking until it’s cold, and long before you’ve finished eating it, it will be like chewing gum; if it’s too cooked your stomach will take longer to process it. And finally: this is the way the do it in Italy. Once you become an al dente expert, you can taste it to know when it’s time to drain it, using the packet as general guide.
When it’s time, have the colander ready in the sink, and drain the pasta. Get rid of all the water (in some cases you might still need a little bit of it). Add the pasta to the sauce, if it’s in another pan, and let it go for 2-3 minutes, until everything is well mixed.
Pasta should be eaten immediately, but if you’re going to eat it at work the next day, or if you’re preparing a cold pasta salad, put it under cold water after draining it. This will stop the cooking.
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