Cook like Nonna! Rules for Perfect Pasta
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a home cook, mastering the essentials can elevate your pasta from ordinary to extraordinary. From selecting the right pot for cooking to pairing it with the ideal sauce, each step plays a crucial role in achieving a dish that’s full of flavour.
- Use a large pot with plenty of water. This helps prevent the noodles from sticking to one another. The rule of thumb is at least three litres of water to every 250g of pasta.
- Salt the water. This gives your pasta its flavour. The ideal ratio is about 2 tablespoons of salt for every 3 litres of water.
- Do not put oil in the water. It creates a film on the pasta that stops sauces from clinging properly.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil before adding pasta. Cook pasta over a high heat with rapidly boiling water. If not, it will be soggy.
- Slightly undercook your pasta. It will continue to cook in the pan when you add it to the sauce. So for perfectly al dente pasta, drain when it’s very slightly underdone.
- Never rinse your pasta. This washes away the starch that helps the sauce stick to the pasta.
- Save the cooking water. It is full of starches. Adding a cup or so to the sauce will allow it to adhere better to the pasta.
- Combine the pasta and sauce before serving. Don’t just spoon the sauce on top. Add the pasta to the sauce while the sauce is in the saucepan, then toss them together to coat the pasta.
