Soldato
Salt is so old fashioned, now we have a spoon that makes your food taste like it has salt!
What type of salt do you use for boiling pasta?
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Just a bit of salt in the water. It reduces the boiling point and also makes the pasta taste better.
The key to pasta for me is to cook it until it's not quite fully cooked. Drain it, rinse and cool it with cold water, then put it in a colander and pour hot water from the kettle over it to reheat before serving (I use a steamer insert so I can put it back over an empty pan to drain). There's a knack to getting it right, but once you do, you'll never go back. You can concentrate on the sauce and then plate up perfectly cooked pasta at just the right moment.
The key to pasta for me is to cook it until it's not quite fully cooked. Drain it, rinse and cool it with cold water, then put it in a colander and pour hot water from the kettle over it to reheat before serving (I use a steamer insert so I can put it back over an empty pan to drain). There's a knack to getting it right, but once you do, you'll never go back. You can concentrate on the sauce and then plate up perfectly cooked pasta at just the right moment.
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What exactly are you getting “right” here?
You’re rinsing out all of the starch which will help emulsify your sauce. If you can’t time 8-10mins for your pasta with the rest of your cooking then I’m worried. Heck, you could just turn 99% of sauces off the heat before you start the pasta and they’d stay warm enough when tossed through with freshly cooked pasta.
I don’t doubt probably some restaurants do the above for means of having everything ready to go but there’s really no need for home cooking. Plus all the extra washing up and faff. Sod that!
What exactly are you getting “right” here?
You’re rinsing out all of the starch which will help emulsify your sauce. If you can’t time 8-10mins for your pasta with the rest of your cooking then I’m worried. Heck, you could just turn 99% of sauces off the heat before you start the pasta and they’d stay warm enough when tossed through with freshly cooked pasta.
I don’t doubt probably some restaurants do the above for means of having everything ready to go but there’s really no need for home cooking. Plus all the extra washing up and faff. Sod that!
Nah, it doesn't rinse out all of the starch at all. If you're using cheap, thin spaghetti maybe, but a normal supermarket linguini for example is fine.
I'm a bit of a sauce nut. I have to get that right and 2 mins either way can be a big difference when using herbs. Those volatiles are, well, volatile... It's much easier to have the pasta ready to go as far as I'm concerned. If you're cooking a jar of dolmio then maybe it's no so important
And the extra washing up is the same colander/steamer I'd use to drain the pasta anyway. ie, there is none.
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So you're saving some of the starchy water?
I've not had a jar of pasta sauce in the house for 15+ years. I don't see the need when at a push you could fry up some garlic, add a tin of tomatoes and simmer away for 20mins (on its most basic form) and get something perfectly good and way better than the sugary mess that is jarred sauces. If you prefer creamy sauces then we always have a pot of creme fraiche in the fridge which serves a very similar purpose.If you're cooking a jar of dolmio then maybe it's no so important
Anyhoo, Serious Eats generally never misses the mark when it comes to breakdowns of cooking process, so I'll just leave this here; https://www.seriouseats.com/does-pasta-water-really-make-difference (the short answer is yes it absolutely does make a difference)