I as most of you have been cooking pasta for years. We learned from our Mamas, Big Mamas, or whoever taught us to cook. We have always used the method we were taught. However has the method we were taught been the correct way to cook pasta ? Lets explore some commonly made mistakes made when cooking pasta.

USING A POT THAT IS TOO SMALL

When cooking pasta especially longer noodles like spaghetti, linguine, and lasagna, its best to use a large pot. The diameter of the pot should be the same length of the noodle. Get out your stock pot.

NOT ADDING ENOUGH SALT TO THE WATER

In order for the pasta to be seasoned while it boils you need a lot of salt. Now is not the time to be skimpy with the salt. Use 3 tbsp. of kosher salt per pound of pasta. Don’t use your Himalayan pink or flaky sea salts, they are expensive and most of your pasta water is going down the drain. As far as ionized salt ? Forget about it !

THE WATER ISN’T REALLY BOILING

In order to cook noodles, especially whole wheat noodles, the water must be vigorously boiling. Bring water to a rolling boil, dump in the pasta, stir and continue to boil.

ADDING OIL TO PASTA WATER

Some people think you need to add oil to help keep the pasta from sticking. You may have seen this on some cooking shows. If your pot is large enough, the water is at a rolling boil and you stirred the noodles once after dumping them in, the pasta will not stick to itself.

OVERCOOKING PASTA

When it comes to cooking pasta most of us follow the directions on the package. You probably don’t want to do this as it will probably be overcooked. Especially if you are adding the pasta to a heated sauce. The pasta should be soft with a slight bite. This is known as al dente’. I f you pull out your pasta three minutes earlier than the package syas, you got it right.

POURING OUT YOUR PASTA WATER

Most of us dump our cooked pasta into a colander letting the pasta water run down the drain. Starchy pasta water is the secret ingredient to pasta sauce. A hefty splash of pasta water will thicken your sauce and encourage it to coat the noodles completely. You can use a slotted spoon, tongs, or a spider to remove your noodles and ad them directly to your sauce. Another way is to preserve a cup of the pasta water prior to dumping it.

RINSING PASTA AFTER COOKING

I have been doing this for years. Its called shocking the pasta. When you rinse the pasta in cold water after cooking, it stops the cooking process. However you are rinsing away all of the delicious starch that helps sauce cling to the noodles. Instead just be ready to add the noodles to your sauce as soon as you remove it from the pot.

STORING LEFTOVERS IMPROPERLY

Poorly stored pasta can make you very sick. After being cooked, let your leftovers cool, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate. Bacteria loves moist foods like pasta, so leftovers should be stored in the fridge. You should fully reheat them before eating. Wait no more than one day.

Try changing your pasta cooking methods and it could make a world of difference to your pasta dishes.

FEATURED RECIPE

CHICKEN PASTA SAUCE

1 c cooked chicken diced

1 jar of sauce ( or use my sauce from scratch recipe ) when I use jarred sauce I always add ginger and garlic

2 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp grated ginger

Kraft Italian five cheese

1 green onion

Sauté the garlic and ginger in small amount of evoo

Add the jar of sauce, mix well, add the chicken and heat thoroughly over low flame. Stirring at intervals

I served it over whole wheat penne pasta. Put some sauce in the bottom of your bowl, top with pasta, then top with additional sauce. Top that with the cheese and green onion.

CHOW DOWN !!!!