Here are a few suggestions on cooking pasta. This is more of a guideline that we use in cooking the pasta, not a steadfast set of rules. If we are making a baked dish, we'll cook it less. If it's for a chilled dish, we might cook it a touch more.
The water the pasta is cooked in makes an excellent emulsifier and adds some richness to the sauce, save a little and use it if needed.
You'll need:- A pot large enough the hold 1 gallon of water with some room to spare
- 1 gallon of water
- 2 Tbsp of kosher salt (as much as 3-4 Tbsp is ok too)
- A wooden spoon with a long handle to stir the cooking pasta
- A strainer of some sort, like a Colander, mesh sieve or a long handle spider (our favorite choice)
Some steps:
- Bring the water to a boil in a stainless steal pot.
- Add the 2 T of salt, stir and taste. It should taste seasoned at the least or almost like the ocean if you added the full amount.
- Add the pasta, stir immediately and set a timer for the minimum suggested cook time.
- Stir after 30 seconds and again at 2-3 minute intervals.
- Taste a piece about a minute before the timer.
- Remove the pasta from the water when it's al dente.
- Proceed to the next step in your recipe!