Here are my 8 essential tips for when cooking pasta.
Follow these easy and simple tips and, you will have perfectly cooked pasta every time.
DO
use a large pot
When you cook your pasta, you want to have the larger pot that you have.
So that you are sure the pasta has a lot of room to swim around.
DO
season your pasta water
You want your water to taste like the ocean.
And this one is a crucial step when cooking pasta.
You want to have roughly 10 grams of salt per litre.
DO
put the pasta in only when the water is fully boiling
Never before.
DON'T
put olive oil into your pasta water.
All it does floats to the top and, it doesn't prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Just stir it and, your pasta will never stick.
Also, what the olive oil does, when you go and strain the pasta, it will coat your pasta and, the sauce won't stick to it.
DON'T
Break long pasta into smaller pieces.
It will fit in your pot, trust me.
All you have to do is, pop it into the water, wait a few moments to let it soften up and then it will be easy to stir it in.
DO
always taste your pasta before adding it to the sauce. You want that "al dente" texture.
DO
always save some of the pasta water.
You will need some of this water to finish your sauce, so you have a creamy and velvety dish without adding any cream or butter.
And last but not least...
DON'T
rinse your pasta underwater.
You will wash out the stashes. They are essentials for the sauce to be able to stick to your pasta.
Davide