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PERFECT SPAGHETTI
1. Use about 5 quarts of water for a pound of pasta. That sounds like a lot, but a common mistake is to use too little water, which leads to the pasta sticking and clumping together. When planning your mealtime, keep in mind that that much water takes a while to boil, especially because you want to start with cold water (as it absorbs the least amount of impurities from your pipes). 2. Choose a pot that will leave you some room on top, so the water doesn’t boil over. 5 quarts of water in an 8-quart pot works well. If all you’ve got is a 6-quart-er, just keep a close eye on it. 3. Bring water to a rolling boil. Thismeans it’s boiling across the whole surface of the water and you can’t stop the boil by stirring it. Putting a cover on the pot will help it reach this point faster. 4. Once boiling, add two tablespoons of salt. The salt boosts the boiling temperature slightly and adds a little flavor to the pasta. But fear not — it only raises the pasta’s sodium content a tiny bit. 5. Add the pasta, and stir it around immediately to keep it from sticking together, as the strands release their starch as they hit the heat. Stir the pot again every few minutes until pasta is done. 6. Consult the pasta package for relatively accurate cooking time. A minute before the minimum given cooking time on the package is up, fish out a strand with tongs and bite into it. The consistency you’re looking for is “al dente” (Italian for “to the tooth”) – tender, but with a little bite. Keep in mind that the pasta will continue to cook a bit even after you remove it from the heat. 7. As soon as the pasta reaches desired doneness, dump it into a colander. Pick up the colander and give it a few shakes to get the water out. But don’t overstrain it – a little wetness works well with sauce. Don’t rinse the pasta either (unless you’re making a cold pasta salad), as it rinses away the starch that coats each strand, and this starch will help the sauce stick to the pasta. 8. Toss pasta with sauce immediately, if you can. If you can’t, toss the pasta with a little olive oil to keep the strands from sticking to each other. |
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOK TIME: 10 mins Serves: 6 INGREDIENTS
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RECIPE WEBSITES:
(if you can follow a recipe, you can cook ANYTHING!) |
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