📋How To Cook Pasta Like An Italian
How to cook pasta perfectly is very simple, and Italians have mastered it for centuries by eating it daily. Making pasta is, for Italians, an essential skill we learn from a young age, passing our knowledge from generation to generation. Here you find 20 tips and tricks to make any pasta or spaghetti perfect each time.
Servings 4 portions
Cost 2.5
Instructions
Before you start
- Pasta should be boiled in salted water; adding salt to the pasta after doesn't workwater
- Add kosher salt as soon as you put the pan with water on the heat so you don't forgetsalt
- Use 1 tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts – 4 liters of water, which should be enough for 1 pound half a kilo of pasta
- Make sure you use a large pot with enough water. You do not want the water to overflow once you put in the pasta, and you want to pasta to move around freely
- If you don't remember if you added salt to the pasta water, taste the water. It should taste like seawater
- The pasta should be seasoned with its sauce as soon as it is drained. Make sure the sauce is ready by the time the pasta is done
Boiling the water
- Fill the pan with cold water. There is no need to boil the water in a boiler
- If you put the lid on the pan, the water will get to the boiling point faster
- Do not add oil to the water; it is completely unnecessary
- The water should be rolling boil before you put the pasta
How much pasta per person
- For Italians, pasta is a separate course from the main, so we normally cook 3.5 oz- 100 gr per person. This amount is enough if pasta is not the only course served.pasta
- If pasta is the main and sole course, you can increase it to 5 to 7 oz - 150 to 200 gr per person. If you are feeding teenage boys, increase the amount exponentially to their age
Best pasta shapes and brands
- It is important to buy good quality pasta and make sure the pasta is made with durum wheat otherwise, it will a mushy mess and never al dente
- Before you throw away the package, read the suggested cooking time
- Each dry pasta shape is best served with a specific sauce depending on texture and ingredients. You can find out about the best combination on the link below
- Use a good pasta brand. My favorites are (in this order): Rummo, Garofalo, De Cecco. Barilla is my least favorite one but better than any other unknown brands
- Check the pasta cooking time in the pasta packages; for pasta al dente, you should cook one minute less than the recommended cooking time
Cooking spaghetti noodles
- If you are cooking spaghetti, make sure the pot is large enough
- Once the spaghetti are added to the boiling water, stir them immediately until they bend and are completely submerged in the boiling water
Cooking pasta
- When you add the pasta, the water may stop boiling as the pasta lowers the water temperature. Put the lid on the pan until the water starts boiling again. Once the water boils, remove the lid otherwise, the foam will overflow from the pan
- Stir the pasta from time to time with a wooden spoon to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to each other or to the bottom of the pan
- Keep the heat high, so the water boils all the time, but not too high as it could overflow
How to know when pasta is done and al dente
- As a good rule of thumb, always cook the pasta 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time on the package.
- Taste the pasta; it should be soft but chunky and with a firm consistency in the center, not hard but firm
- Fresh homemade pasta only needs to cook for 3 minutes
- Once you turn off the heat and the water stop boiling, drain the pasta immediately
- Keep some of the cooking water aside; this water is full of starch and can thicken the sauce
- You should never leave the pasta floating in hot water if it is not boiling
How to keep noodles from sticking
- Season the drained pasta immediately and stirsauce
- If, for whatever reason, the sauce is not ready, season the pasta with little olive oil and stir
- Once the pasta is ready and seasoned, it has to be served and eaten immediately
Best results and thicker sauces
- To better incorporate your sauce with the pasta, leave the sauce in the pan where it cooks and add the pasta
- Stir the sauce and the pasta on low heat for an extra minute; that is why you should cook the pasta 1 minute less than on the package directions
- To make a thicker sauce without adding any cream, add a couple of spoons of the starchy water you put aside
- Whatever favorite sauce you are serving with your pasta, freshly grated black pepper will always add an extra special touch
The 3 Italian Golden Rules on pasta
- No parmesan cheese or any other cheese in pasta with seafood; its flavor is too strong and will overpower the taste of fresh seafood. You can sprinkle toasted grated breadcrumbs or almonds instead.
- Traditionally, chicken is never served with pasta as it was considered a peasant meal, and the chicken too refined to be served with it
- If you have pasta leftover, store it in the fridge in an airtight container and fry your "pasta a frittata" the next day