How to cook pasta properly
Here is some advice for pasta that's properly cooked and doesn't stick.
860,8663.7/5 for 1182 ratings
Grade this recipe: Last modified on: July 18th 2019
For 300 g, you will need:
- 0
2 litres water - 1
300 g pasta - 2
1 tablespoon coarse salt - Total weight: 2,315 grams
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
| Preparation | Cooking | Start to finish |
|---|---|---|
| 15 min. | 7 min. | 22 min. |
At what time?
- When will I finish if I start the recipe at a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?
Keeping:
Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
Boil a large pan of water.
When boiling, salt with a tablespoon of coarse salt for 2 litres water.
A large quantity of water is needed to prevent pasta from sticking on the bottom of the pan.
If you like precise numbers, here is the 1-10-100 rule: 1 litre water, to 10 g salt, to 100 g pasta.
When boiling, salt with a tablespoon of coarse salt for 2 litres water.
A large quantity of water is needed to prevent pasta from sticking on the bottom of the pan.
If you like precise numbers, here is the 1-10-100 rule: 1 litre water, to 10 g salt, to 100 g pasta.
Stage 2 - 1 min.
When water comes back to the boil, add pasta all at once.
Stage 3
For cooking time, very important, here is a tip: If you use a pasta box or bag where you can read in Italian, cook the exact indicated time (here 6 minutes).
Stage 4
Otherwise, decrease 1 minute from the indicated cooking time (here 12 - 1 = 11 minutes).
So you will be sure to have perfectly cooked pasta, call by the Italians, who are the world masters of pasta since Marco Polo, "al dente"
So you will be sure to have perfectly cooked pasta, call by the Italians, who are the world masters of pasta since Marco Polo, "al dente"
Stage 5 - 7 min.
Stir and leave to cook uncovered for the time indicated on the pasta packet (usually 8-9 minutes, but it depend on type of pasta).
The best way is to taste near end of cooking. It's very important not to overcook pasta, otherwise it becomes too soft and unpleasant.
Italians, pasta masters since Marco Polo, call this ideal texture "al dente".
During cooking, stir once or twice to prevent pasta sticking.
The best way is to taste near end of cooking. It's very important not to overcook pasta, otherwise it becomes too soft and unpleasant.
Italians, pasta masters since Marco Polo, call this ideal texture "al dente".
During cooking, stir once or twice to prevent pasta sticking.
Stage 6 - 2 min.
After this time, taste, and if it's OK, remove pasta from water immediately and transfer to a strainer to drain, or pour the whole panful into a colander or strainer.
Chefs will tell you that it's better to remove pasta from water, instead of pouring everything into a strainer, because this keeps the gluten (released during cooking) in the water instead of on the pasta, and it's this gluten that makes it sticky.
Chefs will tell you that it's better to remove pasta from water, instead of pouring everything into a strainer, because this keeps the gluten (released during cooking) in the water instead of on the pasta, and it's this gluten that makes it sticky.
Stage 7 - 1 min.
When pasta is drained, discard cooking water and put pasta back into the pan.
Stage 8 - 1 min.
If you plan to use pasta right away, it's ready.
If not, add a tablespoon of olive oil, mix well, cover and leave to stand, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Note: because it's kept hot and covered, pasta will continue cooking, so you should not keep it too long.
If not, add a tablespoon of olive oil, mix well, cover and leave to stand, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Note: because it's kept hot and covered, pasta will continue cooking, so you should not keep it too long.
Remarks
It's quite surprising to see how many ways of preparing and serving pasta there are, and at the same time how great a simple pasta dish can be: a pan of spaghetti, a dash of olive oil, some grated Parmesan, what more do we need? hummm, oh yes, a good glass of Italian wine perhaps...
Nutritional information
| Whole recipe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 957 Kcal or 4,007 Kj | 38 gr | 202 gr | 0 gr |
| 48 % | 14 % | 19 % | 0 % |
| Per 100 g | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 41 Kcal or 172 Kj | 2 gr | 9 gr | 0 gr |
| 2 % | 1 % | 1 % | 0 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 300 g : 0.34 €
Note : These prices are only approximate.
Source
Home made.More recipes?
This recipe uses (among others) | Water: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spaghetti Bolognese, Rum babas, Cheese tart, Ciabatta, Pumpkin (or potimarron) soup, ... All |
| Pasta: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Spaghetti with mushrooms, Tagliatelle with cockles, Pasta with mustard-cream sauce, Pasta with green asparagus, Penne with Mushrooms, ... All |
| Coarse salt: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: How to prepare broccoli, How to prepare endives , How to prepare spinach, Stock-pot fish , Potted meat (rillettes), ... All |
Other recipes you may also like
Passion fruit jellies
Usually to make fruit jellies or (fruit "paste"), it's like jam but you need to cook fruit pulp and sugar much longer. Unfortunately, this long cooking is bad for both vitamins and flavour. In this recipe we use a special jam gelling agent, to reduce cooking time as much as possible .88,2804/5 for 8 ratings 2 hours 30 min.
French croissants
In this famous and highly technical recipe from a piece of yeast-based flaky dough we are going to cut and shape ("roll") croissants.107,414 24.9/5 for 7 ratings 2 hours 34 min.
Natural leaven
Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...222,477 284.2/5 for 32 ratings 7 days 15 min.
New leavened bread
This new recipe for leavened bread is simple and delicious, but needs rather long resting times. If you'd like more more information about making your own bread, look at this dedicated page.136,738 34.3/5 for 6 ratings 7 hours
Salmon rillettes
A terrine of two kinds of salmon (cooked and smoked) with butter and lemon.84,7244.3/5 for 15 ratings 2 hours 38 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2021-01-17)
Note: We'll never share your email with anyone else.
Follow this recipe (as 10 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.Note: We'll never share your email with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
Post your comment or question