How To Cook Perfect Pasta?

Thursday, October 25, 2012, 11:01 [IST]

If want to know how to cook pasta then you need not go to a five star chef. All you need is a basic idea of cooking Italian food. It is hardly fair to call the instant pastas we turn out at home, gourmet food. Lets face it, for us perfect pasta is something that is not too squishy and tastes good. To know how to cook pasta that fits these parameters you need to understand the basic ingredient, that is pasta, and have a working conception of Italian spices (what goes with what).

The answer to the question of how to cook pasta well is definitely not 'rocket science' and you can make an attempt at cooking Italian food at home with these detailed tips.

How to Cook Pasta At Home?

1. Your first job is to choose the type of pasta you want to cook. Different pastas has different cooking times.

2. You have to boil pasta separately before cooking it in sauce. For this you need to bring the water to boil first. For 250 grams of pasta you need to use at least 2 litres of water. If you don't want to get that specific then take a pot full water for an average pack of pasta.

3. When the water starts bubbling you need to add 1 teaspoon of sea salt to it. It will foam and turn a dirty white.

4. This is the time to put in the pasta. As soon as you pour it, give it a good stir to separate the pieces. For cooking Italian food you need to remember that it is quality of the pasta not the sauce that makes a dish a perfect pasta.

5. You need to keep attending to the pasta as long as it cooks. Give it a stir every 30 seconds. If your pasta pack does not specify cooking time then you will have to go with the approximation that it will take you 4 to 8 minutes to cook pasta.

6. At the end of 4 minutes you should do your first test. Pick a piece of pasta and break it. If you can see solid white granules in the middle then your pasta still needs cooking.

7. You must remove your pasta from the boiling water when it is just a fraction away from being completely boiled. This is because you will toss it on flame with sauce again and then it stands the chance of becoming squishy.

8. When your pasta is done, you need to strain it in a big enough strainer so that is doesn't topple out from the sides. Toss it with some olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking together.

9. Typical Italian spices like oregano, thyme, rosemary and pepper are used to cook the sauce for tossing pasta with.

Use these cooking tips to know how to cook pasta with any recipe.