- Use the right size pot
and the right amount of
water. When you don’t use
enough water or don’t use a
pot that is large enough for
the amount of pasta that
you’re making, when you add
the pasta, the pasta will lower
the temperature of the water
too much. This increases
the cook time and makes the
pasta both gummy and
especially starchy. Use a
large pot with anywhere
from four to six quarts of
water to ensure the pasta
cooks evenly.
- Salt the water. Plain pasta
can be rather bland, but
seasoning the water itself will
make a huge difference with
the finished dish. You want
your pasta water salty for two
reasons: First, it helps season
both the pasta and the actual
water, which we’ll get to later;
and second, the salt actually
helps prevent the pasta from
getting slimy or overly
starchy. Make sure to add at
least one tablespoon of salt
to every pot of pasta water
just as it begins to boil; it’s
the most important step in
cooking pasta.
- Don’t wash off cooked
pasta. Once you’ve cooked
your pasta to a perfect al
dente and drained it in a
colander (remember, don’t
throw away that pasta water),
do not wash off the pasta
under the faucet. When you
do this, you wash off any
5 Steps to
Perfect Pasta
remaining starch, which will
help with your sauce, and
much of the salt that the
pasta absorbed from the
cooking process. Washing off
pasta essentially returns it to
a zero on the flavor scale.
- Save your pasta water.
Many of us will simply drain
our pasta into a colander and
let the pasta water filter down
into the drain of the kitchen
sink. Please, don’t do this.
Instead, place the colander
over another pot so that the
cooking liquid is saved. You
can also simply use your
tongs to remove your pasta
from the cooking water as
well. This pasta water is well-
seasoned and full of starch,
two things that make it super
useful in finishing your sauce
for the pasta.
- Finish cooking the pasta
in the sauce. The reason
every pasta recipe instructs
you to cook the pasta al dente
is so that you finish cooking
the pasta in the sauce itself.
This allows the pasta to
absorb some of the sauce
without overcooking the
pasta. Every pasta sauce is
designed to mix with the
pasta itself rather than just
acting as a topping. Bring
your pasta and sauce
together with a hit of pasta
water, and you’ll never return
to your old, “I’m just going to
assemble my pasta once
everything is done cooking
separately” ways again.
Whether it’s overcooking, undercooking, or not
seasoning it correctly, even the best cooks err
occasionally in their pursuit of perfect pasta. Here are
five tips for making sure you get it right every time.
50 THE ITALIAN TABLE
