Help A Fat Guy Out

Recently a friend asked me how to cook pasta.  It kind of took me by surprise because at first I thought you boil water, add pasta, drain and eat.  However, after thinking about it I realized that there was  bit more to it and that a fat guy like me had more then a few pasta cooking tips.

1. Choose the right pasta.  Thick pastas need thick sauces, thin pasta work great with thinner sauces and chunky pasta works well with chunky sauces.  They don't call it Angel Hair Alfredo because that would be all gloppy and stuff so that thick Alfredo is served with a thicker fettuccine.  Angel hair is usually saved for brothy sauces.
2. Use 4 - 5 quarts of water per pound of pasta.  Yes it takes a long time to come up to a boil but once it's boiling adding pasta won't cool it down that much and it keeps the pasta from getting sticky.  My wife always tries to cook 1/2 pound of pasta in about a quart of water and it always sticks together.  More water is better.
3. Add salt when the water starts boiling.  A teaspoon to 2 tablespoons depending on your tolerance to salt.  I usually use about a tablespoon but if you're watching your salt this might be a good spot to add less.  Adding the salt before the water boils can put little pock marks in the bottom of your pan because it sits at the bottom before dissolving.   It's just not pretty.
4. Add the pasta when the water is boiling hard and give it a stir to avoid sticking.  Give it another stir one minute after the pasta is submerged.  You can stir more if you want but this should be enough.\
5. Adjust the heat so the water keeps boiling hard but not foaming.  On my electric stove that means 1 notch down from full.
6. Test the pasta by either throwing a piece on the ceiling to see if it sticks or bite into a piece.  Both methods seem to work fine but getting spaghetti off the ceiling isn't all that easy.  Start testing a minute before it's supposed to be done.  It shouldn't be hard and get it out of there before it's all mushy.
7. Save some pasta cooking water by scooping out a cup of water with a coffee mug when the pasta is done cooking.  You're not going to drink it but it's perfect for thinning sauces that have gotten too thick.  If you don't need it then make sure that you pour it out.
8. Drain the pasta into a colander or steaming insert.  Shake the pasta a few times but no need to get it bone dry.  Do not rinse the pasta unless you're going to serve it cold.  The starch on the hot pasta acts like a magnets to hot sauces and if you rinse it off the pasta will taste very bland.  Don't add oil or butter unless that's part of the sauce.
9. Sauce the pasta pretty quickly.  Either put it into the pan with the sauce and stir it around to coat or put the pasta in a bowl, add some sauce and mix it around.  Hot pasta is still ready to absorb flavors and the sauce will keep the pasta from sticking.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment