{Tips & Tricks} Cooking Pasta

Pasta is one of my all-time favorite foods — spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, Fettuccine Alfredo…the list can go on and on.

I swear, I could probably eat a pasta-based dish every day of the week. And to think I don’t have an ounce of Italian in me — now that is pretty ridiculous.

Cooking pasta is one of the easiest techniques to master in the kitchen. Once you have it down pat, you can whip up a variety of dishes that will definitely “wow” your guests.

By following these simple directions and tips, you will be able to prepare pasta that is cooked to perfection.

Cooking Pasta

Directions:

1. Fill a large stockpot with water.
2. Bring water to a boil and add salt. Do not add the salt before the water boils because it could pit in your pot. I personally like to add extra virgin olive oil to the water for some recipes. Although, for most recipes, only use salt because adding oil coats the noodles with fat and keeps them from absorbing the sauce.
3. Measure the pasta you need (generally a one pound box will serve four as a main entree). Also, keep in mind that pasta often doubles in size when cooked so one cup uncooked will result in two cups of cooked pasta.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water. If you are cooking long pasta, bend the pasta into the water and around the inside of the pot. You should never break the pasta to fit into the pot.
5. Stir the pasta to keep it from sticking together and regulate the heat so that the water doesn’t foam over the sides of the pot.
6. Taste the pasta to make sure that it is done cooking. Pasta boxes usually suggest a cooking time but it’s really up to your taste. When the pasta is done to your liking, drain it in a colander and shake off excess water.
7. Rinse with water only if you are preparing a cold pasta dish like pasta salad. Do not rinse the pasta if you are preparing a warm pasta dish.
8. Toss the sauce into the pasta and serve.

Tips:

• Cover your pot of water to bring it to a boil faster. Do not cover the pot while the pasta is cooking.
• Never mix different types of pasta in one pot because the cook times may vary.
• Carefully watch the cook time — pasta can overcook very quickly and there’s nothing worse than gooey, sticky pasta.
• To keep the pasta from sticking after cooking, toss a little sauce or butter into the pasta to keep it nice and fresh.
• When cooking fresh pasta, use the same technique that you use to cook dried pasta but reduce the cook time by 2-3 minutes because fresh pasta is more delicate.
• When cooking frozen pasta, add it to boiling water, adjust the heat to maintain a rolling boil and remove the pasta when it floats to the top of the water.

What’s your favorite pasta dish?