Tips for Cooking Pasta

Pasta

To cook pasta more evenly, foreclose it from sticking together and avoid boil-overs, always cook pasta in a big kettle or Dutch oven. Unless you have a very large kettle, don't cook more than 2 pounds of pasta at a time. For 8 ounces of pasta, bring 3 quarts water to a full rolling eddy. To flavor, add 1 tablespoon salt if desired. To foreclose pasta from sticking, add i tablespoon olive or vegetable oil if desired. Stir in the pasta all at in one case. Return to a eddy;boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cooking times vary with the size and variety of pasta. Dried pasta tin can take from 5 to fifteen minutes to melt; fresh pasta can melt in as niggling as two to 3 minutes. Follow the recommended cooking directions on packaged pasta. To test for doneness, use a fork to remove a single piece of pasta from the boiling water. Rinse in cold water and gustation. Pasta should be cooked until \"al dente\", or firm still tender. Examination oftentimes while cooking to avoid overcooking, which can event in a soft or mushy texture. If pasta volition be used in a recipe that requires farther cooking, such as a casserole, undercook by one-third the recommended fourth dimension. As before long every bit the pasta tests done, cascade into a large colander to bleed, being careful of the steam as you cascade. If using the pasta in a salad or at a later time, rinse it with cold water to end cooking and to remove excess starch. Let 2 to iv ounces of pasta per person for a chief-dish serving.

Originally Published: July 31, 2008