Cook Your Pasta The Right Way With These Basic Tips

Cooking pasta is one of the more easier things to do in the kitchen. It requires minimal effort and ingredients to create an absolute masterpiece in a bowl. Although pasta is a simple dish to prepare, there are some who need specific guidance to boil the water which is required to cook that delicious pasta. 

So, here are a few basic tips which you can use in the kitchen to create that glorious and delicious bowl of pasta. 

Boiling Water

Believe it or not, the process of cooking your pasta to perfection starts with your ability to boil the water properly. Cooking pasta in a large pan helps in giving the pasta enough breathing room to move around in the pan and prevents the pasta from sticking together. Salting the water with a generous amount will also help in adding flavour to your pasta. Go ahead, add some more salt. 

Cooking Pasta

Include the term “al-dente” in your list of kitchen terminologies. It literally means “to the tooth” in Italian. Make sure to cook your pasta until it reaches the al-dente stage, which is to say almost cooked. Take the pasta out before it is fully cooked and add it to your sauce, making sure it completes its cooking process in the sauce. It helps the pasta in the absorption of sauce. 

There Is No Right Answer

There are many ways to cook that delicious pasta dish. Making pasta differs from region to region and you can experiment with many methods to find the right balance in your pasta-making adventure. For instance, in the British version, the pasta is fully cooked and is topped with the sauce. In the authentic Italian version, the pasta and the sauce is cooked in the same pan to make sure it is well cooked and coated with the sauce. Like we said, there is no right answer. 

Pasta And Sauce Pairings

Now, here is the most important step of all, pairing your pasta with the right kind of sauce. It is crucial in determining the right kind of sauce for the specific pasta you have chosen. Although some would say it doesn’t matter which sauce you add to your pasta, but we beg to differ. 

1. Thin Long Noodles (Spaghetti) – It is best to pair the thinner variety of noodles with a light sauce like cream-based or the ever so simple garlic and olive oil. It helps in coating the pasta strands properly and won’t get bogged down by the thickness of the sauce. 

2. Long Ribbons (Fettuccine) – Due to the smooth and flat surface area of the pasta, it goes well with rich meaty sauces. Make sure to cook pastas like fettuccine with a nice minced meat tomato sauce.

3. Tubes (Penne) – Since tube pastas can capture more sauce in a bite, make sure to pair them up with a hearty vegetable sauces or cheese sauces. You can also use penne pasta in most of your baked pasta dishes. 

4. Filled Pasta (Ravioli) – Since the pasta already contains meat, cheese or vegetable filling, it is best to cook pastas like Ravioli and Tortellini with a light butter or oil sauce, so as to not overpower the flavours coming from the pasta itself. 

Reading about pasta for this long should have made you eager to travel the path towards great pasta. It is time to get off the computer and cook yourself a hearty and tasty bowl of pasta.