Pasta Tips and Tricks

Sometimes only garlic-y, briney, spicy goodness will do. Tonight was one of those times.

I’ve written before about puttanesca sauce being the best pantry sauce (check HERE for the past post with recipe).  Tonight, since I had beautiful Tuscan kale lying around (how often can you say THAT?!), I decided to throw it in.

My go-to sauce is puttanesca, but no matter what sauce you like with your pasta, it’s imperative to have well-cooked pasta.  People think, “how hard can making pasta be?” but there are actually some pointers that make it a lot easier, quicker, and more delicious.

1. Use a very large pot and fill it with as much water as you can. I use THIS.  A lot of water helps prevent clumping and gumming of pasta for a number of reasons.  One, you want to minimize the time that the water stops boiling when the pasta is added. And two, lots of water means lots of space for the pasta to move around while it cooks.
2. Fill the pot with COLD water. There can be mineral build-up in hot water pipes, and it is safer to use cold water.  Plus, starting with warm water will not save you time.
3. Add plenty of salt to the water. This will raise the boiling temperature of the water, and make the pasta cook faster and more evenly. Don’t be stingy with the salt, the water should “taste of the sea”.
4. Adding olive oil to the water doesn’t make the pasta stick less. Using more water and adding salt to the water makes pasta stick less.
5. Use a timer. Set a timer for the lower number of the cooking range printed on the pasta box. When the timer goes off, drain (but don’t rinse) the pasta. Toss immediately with sauce.

How do you go about making perfectly cooked pasta?

Similar Posts:

• Pantry Pasta Puttanesca
• Comfort Food (And Carb Loading)
• Tasty Fennel Pantry Pasta
• A Midseason Night’s Pasta
• Mushroom Barley Soup