Pasta Recipes Archives

How to cook pasta

Some cooking tips for perfect pasta:

• Follow the exact cooking time written on the pasta package to avoid overcooking it. The manufacturer has spent a lot of time testing optimum cooking times for each individual pasta shape.
• Use a large stock pot that can hold about 1 quart of water per 100 grams of pasta. When in doubt, use more water rather than less to cook thoroughly.  Too little water will cause  the pasta to stick. together.
• Add salt (10 grams per quart of water)  when the water starts to boil. Wait until the water comes to a rolling boil before adding the pasta.
• The pasta must be immersed all at once. Immediately stir thoroughly  with a fork or a wooden spoon. Bring the water back to a boil.  Stir regularly to avoid sticking.
• Its important to make sure the water is kept boiling at all times.
• Taste the pasta for al-dente doneness. When you are not quite sure if the pasta is cooked or not (not hard, not soft) it is ready; drain completely, add sauce and serve right away while it’s still piping hot. Generally, I find that following cooking time directions on the package is crucial.
• I have never seen an Italian adding oil to the pasta water. It makes it slippery, which may interfere with the sauce you have prepared. Regular stirring is more than enough to prevent sticking. Another practice to avoid is  rinsing the pasta  in cold water when you drain it.  But why would you want to make a hot dish cold?

Dressing the pasta

Most people think the pasta is just there to absorb the sauce. That depends on what pasta you bought and probably applies to most supermarket pasta. Our opinion is that if you have a really good pasta or a great egg pasta like the Spinosi, then you want to savor the taste of the pasta as well as the sauce. In that case, you want to keep the sauce to a minimum. A great quality pasta is exquisite with some butter and Parmesan cheese (and maybe some grated truffles on top) or with olive oil, garlic and red peppers. Sometimes simplicity is hard to beat, especially if you are looking for the true taste of Italy.

Frittata with leftover pasta

We usually make a Frittata on Fridays with our left-over pasta and whatever else we have in the refrigerator. Its always great and always a surprise. Take your left-over pasta (even if its a couple of different ones - sauce and all), chop it up into fairly tiny pieces. Then chop up whatever other left-overs you have and mix with the pasta. We sometimes have some meatballs, other times some broccoli and spinach, sometimes we have some peas and some left over cold cuts like ham or salami, potatoes, chicken teriyaki,…. Really, whatever you want or need to finish. Put it all together and add some beaten eggs. The number of eggs depends on the amount of chopped up food. But I would go on the liberal side and say about 6 eggs for about 500 gms of food. It all needs to be nicely coated and eggy. I don’t have an exact measurement. Anyway, heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and pour in the egg and pasta mixture. Cook on low-med heat until the Frittata is 80% cooked on the underside. Then use a plate to cover the frying pan and flip the Frittata so that the other side cooks through as well. That’s it. Your Frittata is done. Its a great way to use up your left-overs and its different each time. I sometimes have a slice of the frittata as a sandwich and other times with ketchup. A wedge might show up as a side at dinner. Its a most versatile of dishes.