Mistakes to avoid when cooking pasta!

March 25, 2019

mistakes to avoid when cooking pasta by chef's satchel

It's a very basic understanding at the least that pasta has to be cooked in boiling water for it to achieve that perfect 'Al Dante' texture. The basic understanding behind this is when pasta is slightly undercooked, the residual heat keeps cooking the pasta with an addition to it being added to a pasta sauce or as we call it a base. 

cooking pasta the right way for best results

Selecting the right sized pot for cooking the appropriate amount of pasta - When boiling pasta, it is highly recommended for someone to use a pot which is of the right size. Dry or fresh pasta when cooked soaks in a considerable amount of water and expands depending on the kind of pasta being used. A small pot with a large amount of pasta will result in it being cooked unevenly. 

Salt the water till it tastes like the ocean - We may be skeptical/unsure of how much salt to add to the pasta water. When getting the water ready for boiling the pasta, we tend to shy away from adding enough salt to the water. This may result in the pasta itself being underseasoned when biting into it. The best way to determine the quantity of salt to add to the pasta water is by tasting it and adjusting the salt until it resembles the ocean water. Trust me, it may sound like an overkill, but you will reap the benefits. 
Save some of the liquid gold - Once the pasta is boiled, we tend to discard the water. Don't! The reason being that when we boil the pasta, as it cooks, it tends to release the starchiness. The starchiness is perfect to use towards the pasta sauce for thickening it along with an added bonus of it being pre-salted. 
Drizzle some oil on the pasta - Once the pasta is cooked and drained, we tend to leave the pasta in the pot (unless if mixed into the sauce right away). This makes the pasta stick together as it cools creating lumps. The easiest and quick tip for keeping the pasta separate is to drizzle some oil and toss the pasta. This will help keep it separate and save you the trouble of struggling to separate each of them. 
handmade pasta recipes by chef's satchel