| Hey reader reader,
I'm Richa, the face behind My Food Story. Welcome to this series where I send you an email exclusive tip/recipe every Wednesday! Here's today's Tip/Kitchen Hack: Pasta is a family favourite! Yes, it's tasty of course! But what I love most about it is how quickly it comes together 🙈🙈 And it's so versatile. You can make a quick aglio olio with basically pasta, garlic and a few herbs, or you can go all the way and make it with a beautiful sauce. Either way, it's delicious! But believe it or not, the most complicated part for most people when it comes to this dish is actually cooking the pasta perfectly! My email today will help you figure this out in just a few simple steps.
Choose a pot that's big enough: You have to make sure the pot is big enough to hold all the pasta once it's cooked as well. The rule of thumb is to use a tall or high-sided pot for long pastas such as spaghetti, fettucini etc., This will ensure that the pasta remains submerged under water throughout the cooking process. Use enough water: The amount of water you use also impacts the cooking of the pasta. Water should be sufficient enough to submerge the pasta. Use boiling water: Remember that dry pasta is always added into boiling water, never ever add pasta to cold or room temperature water. You will end up with overcooked pasta. Salt the water: This step is imperative, skip this and you will end up with a bland dish - even if your sauce is perfect! Cooking time: All pasta packets have cooking instructions and time on them, that's a good place to start. If the package says to cook for 8 minutes in boiling water, I check it at 7 minutes, just to be on the safe side. All you need to do is fish a piece of pasta out and taste it. It should have a slight bite to it. Another option is to cut it. When cut, the center should be slightly opaque and darker, and the pasta should be firm and hold its shape. However, it should not taste raw or doughy. Pay attention to the Sauce: Remember, if you are tossing the pasta in a sauce such as bechamel or bolognese, you will end up simmering the pasta in the sauce for 2-3 minutes before serving. If that's the case, then ensure your pasta is cooked exactly to 'al dente' so it doesn't overcook and become mushy before serving. Save the pasta water: The next step is to drain the pasta from the water. In this step, I like to save a cup or two of the pasta water for later. This water has a lot of the starch content from the pasta and can be used in the sauce or while tossing it together with other ingredients like when you make an aglio olio pasta. The starch will help with binding the ingredients and act as thickener.
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