Tips for Making Pasta
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Cooking pasta is definitely not difficult, but there are a small collection of tips that will elevate your pasta game.
Here are some equipment and ingredients that might come in handy: - large pot (8 quarts, for example) - pasta (about a pound) - cold water (4-6 quarts) - salt (a few tablespoons) - long wooden spoon for stirring - colander Add water to your pot and wait for it to come to a boil. Add your salt and any other seasonings to the boiling water before you add any pasta. If you don't add salt and seasoning at this stage your pasta can turn out bland. Also, let the water get to a full, rolling boil before you add the pasta since you want to keep the temperature fairly high (and adding the pasta will reduce the overall temperature). Of course, add the pasta carefully. |
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If you are using a short type of pasta, you can go ahead and stir it right away. If you are cooking with spaghetti, however, give it a minute to cook and soften. Now let the pasta cook without covering it.
Keep cooking the pasta at a quick boil. You want to cook it until it still has some firmness when you bite into it, but is also tender from cooking. If you are cooking the pasta for something else like lasagna you can remove it a little sooner. If you are adding pasta sauce, keep a cup or two of the hot cooking water. It will help with adding the sauce to the pasta.
Now you want to use your colander and drain the pasta. You have to be careful with rinsing the pasta. Use whatever routine the recipe calls for. If you are cooking the pasta for lasagna or pasta salad, you can rinse with cold water. If not, you are ready to add sauce (and add the cooking water if you want to thin the sauce) or otherwise season the pasta and serve it warm.
By the way, the reason it's good to taste your pasta to check for doneness is that the optimal cooking time can vary so much depending on the pasta shape and size, not to mention whether the pasta is freshly made or dry. Dry pasta could cook around 10 minutes, while fresh pasta could take somewhere around 3 minutes. Larger pasta will generally take longer to cook. Lasagna noodles can take up to 15 minutes to cook. If you are working with dry pasta, check it starting at about 5 minutes. Again, any pasta that is getting cooked more (like ziti) can be a little undercooked at this stage since it will cook more in the oven. If, instead, you are working with fresh pasta, you'll need to start checking it at 1 or 2 minutes.
If you need, or want, to cook pasta by microwave, here is how to do it. Have your microwave-safe bowl and fill it with the amount of pasta you want. Cover with water and cook in the microwave on high around 5 minutes. Stir and do a taste test at this point. Cook for about 5 more minutes, doing a taste test (for firmness) every few minutes from this point on. Drain, add sauce or toppings, and you have your pasta.
Keep cooking the pasta at a quick boil. You want to cook it until it still has some firmness when you bite into it, but is also tender from cooking. If you are cooking the pasta for something else like lasagna you can remove it a little sooner. If you are adding pasta sauce, keep a cup or two of the hot cooking water. It will help with adding the sauce to the pasta.
Now you want to use your colander and drain the pasta. You have to be careful with rinsing the pasta. Use whatever routine the recipe calls for. If you are cooking the pasta for lasagna or pasta salad, you can rinse with cold water. If not, you are ready to add sauce (and add the cooking water if you want to thin the sauce) or otherwise season the pasta and serve it warm.
By the way, the reason it's good to taste your pasta to check for doneness is that the optimal cooking time can vary so much depending on the pasta shape and size, not to mention whether the pasta is freshly made or dry. Dry pasta could cook around 10 minutes, while fresh pasta could take somewhere around 3 minutes. Larger pasta will generally take longer to cook. Lasagna noodles can take up to 15 minutes to cook. If you are working with dry pasta, check it starting at about 5 minutes. Again, any pasta that is getting cooked more (like ziti) can be a little undercooked at this stage since it will cook more in the oven. If, instead, you are working with fresh pasta, you'll need to start checking it at 1 or 2 minutes.
If you need, or want, to cook pasta by microwave, here is how to do it. Have your microwave-safe bowl and fill it with the amount of pasta you want. Cover with water and cook in the microwave on high around 5 minutes. Stir and do a taste test at this point. Cook for about 5 more minutes, doing a taste test (for firmness) every few minutes from this point on. Drain, add sauce or toppings, and you have your pasta.