Pasta: Pasta basics

A refresher course on how to get it perfect every time

Pasta may appear to be the easiest thing in the world to cook, the answer to a ‘what-on-earth-can-we-eat-tonight’ panic. But if you don’t follow a few basic rules, it won’t live up to your expectations. Here are some suggestions:

Use plenty of water (about 1 litre per 100g) to boil the pasta

Once the water has come to the boil and not before, add salt. In traditional Italian cooking 1 ½ tbsp is added for every 450g pasta. You may want to use less, especially if you don’t own a very big pan and have to use less than the recommended amount of water

You do not need to add oil to the water. Just give the pasta a brisk stir to separate it once it has softened

Add the pasta all at once when the water has come to a rolling boil. If you add it little by little, it won’t cook evenly. Do not break dried pasta in two to make it fit into the pot. Prod it down into the water with a wooden spoon as it softens. Cover the pot to speed up the return to the boil, removing the lid once it does, and cook until al dente – ‘to the tooth’, meaning it still retains some chewiness. Fresh pasta should be ready by the time it returns to the boil

Cooking times given on the box are generally too long. Draw a strand out with a fork 2 minutes before the printed recommendation and test it between your teeth to see if it is firm to the bite. It will continue to cook a little when you have drained it and again when you add it to a serving dish or sauce in the pan, so it’s better to have it a little underdone. By the time you serve it, it will be perfect

Before you drain the pasta, reserve a mug of its cooking water. Sometimes a sauce will need a little loosening

Drain immediately to stop the cooking process, giving the colander a good sideways nudge or two. Pour it at once into the serving bowl or into the sauce, according to the recipe

Next page: shapes and sauces