Video LoadingVideo UnavailableClick to playTap to playThe video will auto-play soon8CancelPlay nowGet daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeThere are not many people who don’t love pasta; it’s a versatile food dish loved by many and can even be made from scratch with just flour and eggs or if you’re lazy, it can be easily store bought. It’s a staple meal in many households whether it’s spaghetti dripping in homemade tomato sauce or a creamy, rich seafood linguine –the options are endless. And while the formula for cooking pasta seems straightforward – add water and boil. Unfortunately, according to pasta expert and Italian cook Guido Pedrelli, we’re cooking it all wrong.
Pasta is a versatile dish loved by many but people make silly mistakes when it comes to whipping up a dish
Sometimes the simplest of recipes can be the hardest to master perfectly, but pasta lovers are making simple mistakes because they’re not paying attention to the details. However Guido, who is the founder of Nonna’s Box, which is a pasta subscription delivery service, is at hand to share the tips and tricks to make pasta right every time. After spending his childhood in his grandmother’s kitchen, Guido moved from Italy but carried on cooking pasta according to a family book of recipes, stories, and cooking secrets passed down to him from his Nonna.
Read More
Related Articles
How to clean a burnt pan using Coca-cola, baking soda or salt
Read More
Related Articles
Easter gets X-rated as limited edition adult eggs with sex toy surprise hidden inside go on sale
So when pasta gets stuck together, too hard in the centre or too mushy the sauce doesn’t stick correctly, there are ways to avoid the common mistakes. Whilst some people would add salt to their water, others do a cold-water rinse at the end – so which method should you be following? Guido reveals all: 1 – Fill your pot properly When you fill up your pot, ensure you use cold water as hot water dissolves pollutants more quickly than cold. Use enough cold water to fill your pot so that when it begins to cook and expand there will still be enough room for the pasta to freely move. You need enough water to balance the heat once the pasta is added. The rule is at least three litres of water to every 250g of pasta. 2 – Salt the water Now, do you add salt or oil to the water? The answer is always salt, this is to add a flavour! The salt should be added just as the water is coming to a boil, so while the pasta is cooking it absorbs the salt which adds an extra wow to your finished meal. The water needs to ‘taste like the sea’ for the ultimate flavour. To get the perfect saltiness, use around one tbsp of salt per quarter of water.
Pasta is made using just eggs and flour
3 – Avoid the oil Olive oil is added by many to prevent the pot from over boiling and avoid the pasta sticking together, but this does more harm than good! Oil can prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta and as it’s less dense than water, it creates a layer across the top of the water. When it comes to draining the pasta, it is poured through the layer which results in a fresh coat of oil on your pasta. 4 – Wait for the boil If you’re making your dinner with a hungry stomach, it can be easy to be impatient and throw the pasta in before the water has been boiled. But waiting that extra few minutes until the water is boiling with big bubbles can be the difference of al dente or mushy pasta. The moment you put your pasta in the water affects the texture of the final dish and waiting for the boil will help to time your pasta perfectly. As soon as your drop in your pasta, stir well and throughout the cooking process.
When cooking pasta you should always add salt to the water
5 – Taste test You can follow the timing of your pasta via the instructions on the box, but the best indication is by taste. Start tasting the pasta at 15-20 second intervals from a minute or two before you think the pasta might be ready. If you are adding sauce to your pasta, you should drain the pasta at around four minutes before you think it is ready, add it into the sauce and then let it finish it cooking until al dente. This should be used only if you have the perfect amount of sauce to pasta. 6 – Save some pasta water Pasta water is a great bonus to your sauce. Add around ½ cup full of water to your sauce before adding it to the pasta. The starchy water adds flavour but also helps to stick the pasta and sauce together, providing extra thickness. The process of draining can affect your texture too, if cooking pasta like spaghetti or linguini use tongs to transfer the pasta from the water to the sauce for it to stick together quickly. With shorter pasta such as penne, use a colander in the sink. Be quick with this as you don’t want your pasta to sit and dry off, the starches will firm up and your pasta will stick together.
Food News 2020
Marks & Spencer launch food box serv…
Aldi’s much-loved 85p bunny crumpets…
Stacey Solomon shares great activiti…
How you can recreate Big Mac recipe …
7 – Don’t rinse Rinsing your cooked pasta can throw all your hard work away, as much like adding oil, it can prevent the sauce and pasta from mixing perfectly. The starch on the surface contributes to the flavour and helps the sauce to form, if you rinse your cooked pasta then you rinse away the starch. 8 – Half cooked If the pasta is going to cooked again, such as in a baked dish like macaroni cheese, then give it half the usual cooking time. This allows time for it to cook in the oven, so it won’t be overcooked and hard.
Guido says you should never rinse your pasta and always add it to sauce and not the other way around
(Image: Nonna’s Box)
9 – Pasta is healthy The way that pasta is cooked affects its healthiness and for the healthiest and tastiest way you should cook the pasta al dente, this means ‘to the tooth’ or ‘to the bite’. If your pasta is overcooked then the GI index will rise, so the al dente pasta is digested and absorbed slower than mushy pasta which has been overcooked. 10 – Add pasta to the sauce Always have your sauce prepared before you cook off your pasta, as the pasta cooking should be your last step. Keep your sauce warm in a large, wide saucepan which is big enough to add your pasta to and add immediately after its been cooked and drained.Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnFoodLife Hacks
