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Cooking perfect pasta, perfezionare la pasta, Italian, means cook pasta until al dente, firm to the bite.
There are several main steps needed to be done to make perfect pasta.
Method of cooking pasta
Pasta must be cooked in a large saucepan in plenty of water. Use 1 liter of water and 1 tablespoon of salt for every 100g of pasta.
Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the pasta and bring to the boil. Add salt and 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil. Do not add salt and oil until the water is boiling.
Olive oil in the water will prevent fresh pasta and lasagna sheets from sticking together. The oil is not critical with other types of pasta however it might be added if you wish.
Once the pasta has been added to the boiling water, cover the saucepan with a lid for a moment until the water will start boiling back on. Stir pasta briefly with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking. Continue to cook it in the rapidly boiling water without the lid.
Start timing the pasta after the water returns to a rapid boil. Follow the timing directions on the pasta package for the best results. Cooking times vary according to the type, size and shape of the pasta. As a general rule, dried pasta needs 12 minutes and fresh pasta can be done during 2-3 minutes only.
Check the pasta a couple of minutes before the end of the recommended cooking time to see if it is al dente. ‘Al dente’ is translated ‘to the tooth‘ in Italian or actually firm to the bite. The pasta should be soft on the outside but still firm inside.
Lift and drain the pasta in a sieve. Drain but do not rinse the pasta unless it is to be used in a cold salad reserving a small amount of the pasta cooking liquid. Pasta should not be rinsed in cold water as this would wash out the flavour and nutrients.
Toss the pasta immediately with oil, butter or sauce. In case of the sauce appears too thick add some of the reserved cooking liquid a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.
A number of dishes are served with the pasta on a plate and the sauce just added on top without tossing. If the pasta will be used in a cold salad drain, rinse with cold water and immediately drain again. Then proceed to prepare your dish.
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Great post, I never actually thought there are sme many steps when cooking pasta. I have recently made pasta and wrote how to make pasta you can be proud of at http://www.worldvoyager.wordpress.com. please feel free to comment my blog. ciao, the voyager