Proper Pasta

The Focus

Level: Intermediate

Objective: To expose the class to the fundamentals of working with pasta

Reading Time: 12 Minutes

Chapter 1 | Proper Pasta

In your best Italian accent, say it with me… PASTA! These incredible carbs are what college students live on, and during my time at university I was no different. In this lesson, we will focus on long Italian noodles only. Spaghetti, tagliatelle, rigatoni — that family. We will be learning, best practices, why the phrase Al Dente is important, and a little bit more. At the end of the class you will have the opportunity to put your new skills to the test. One of my favorite recipes on this site has a beautiful brown butter pasta, and it’s just waiting to be made by you! What do ya say… you ready?

How is Pasta Made | Fresh vs. Store Bought

Before we go any other direction, we should start with the actual ingredient at hand. Many home cooks I speak with don’t actually know what pasta is made out of -- I can’t really blame them either. Most of us simply cop the cheapest box on the grocery shelf, boil for 10 minutes, slather some sauce on top, and call it a day. But pasta is an old Italian labor of love. Fresh pasta of the highest quality is made from semolina flour; a type of flour that develops more color and gluten than All-purpose flour. It is then mixed with eggs yolks, salt, olive oil, and sometimes a splash of milk. Yep, it’s really that simple! That dough is then kneaded thoroughly, rested to develop tenderness, and then rolled out and cut into its desired shape.

In case you are curious, fresh pasta is often available in your grocery store near the cheesemonger/dairy section. It’s a little more expensive, but I encourage you to take the leap and taste the difference soon.

Taste vs. Flavor

It’s so funny. The last few years I’ve been seeing an opinion on social media that people say as a joke but… it’s actually true! Pasta lovers online stand strongly by the notion that “the shape of pasta changes the flavor of the dish.” Hmm… Dev, are you saying that if I take the exact same sauce and the exact same pasta dough, but change the shape of noodle, the flavor of the dish would be different?

Yes… that’s exactly what I’m saying! Taste and flavor are two different things. Sure, they are closely related, but they are still two separate qualitative measurables.

Flavor has to do with the overall impression that food gives the diner. It takes into account the temperature of the food, the smells and aromas, and even the texture! This is what makes something as small as pasta shape stand out. A mindful chef wouldn’t pair a thin noodle like angel hair with a thick creamy sauce. Doing so would result in forkfuls of over coated, sauce laden noodles. Instead, that chef would choose a noodle that was wide and perhaps hollow to allow the sauce to noodle ratio to be more balanced. Bigger noodles also retain heat better! Perfect for a dish that has lots of meats or veggies, like lasagna. Smaller noodles easily glide through thinner, oil based sauces. There’s a simple Italian dish named spaghetti aglio e olio that depicts this notion perfectly; and shells are perfect for capturing smooth velvety sauces! Mac & cheese is the perfect example.

So do you see? The tastes and ingredients can remain consistent, but depending on the shape of the noodle, the overall eating experience becomes altered. Recognize this, and you will be able to change your pasta for the better!

My Favorite Noodle Shapes

There’s dozens of Italian pasta noodles out there, but for this lesson I want to share my Top 3, and how to best utilize them.

Spaghetti

The classic. When someone says they’re eating pasta your brain most likely thinks of a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce first:Tomato based sauces such as marinara, or oily sauces such as brown butter with parmesan cheese.

Tagliatelle/Fettuccini

These noodles are flat but still fairly narrow. Cream based sauces such as Alfredo really get along with this pasta shape.

Rigatoni

Rigatoni is round, hollow, and short. It stays fairly sturdy once cooked, and it also is common for rigatoni to have ridges that provide the perfect vehicle for meat sauces such as bolognese. Rigatoni also bakes well too.

Chapter 2 | 5 Keys to Great Pasta

The Pasta Water

Pasta absorbs whatever liquid it is cooked in. So naturally, the first thing you want to get right is the liquid your noodles are going to be cooking in. The only things you will need are water and salt! It is common knowledge to salt your cooking water until it tastes of the ocean, but if you want measurables, I’d say to add 2 Tablespoons for every gallon of boiling water. It is also important to wait until your water is boiling to add the salt. Boiling water evaporates, but salt doesn’t -- adding the salt to soon will result in extremely salty water. 

Drop and Stir

Do your noodles ever stick together when cooking? Adding oil to the water is not the remedy to this issue. The simple fix is to immediately have motion the moment your noodles hit the water. This trick is less important with long noodles like spaghetti, but is extremely important for smaller noodles like macaroni.  

Under cook the pasta by 2 minutes

I’m sure you’ve heard the term Al Dente. It is an old Italian term that expresses pasta that is slightly firm in the center. To achieve this with boxed pasta, look at the directions and see how long it tells you to boil your pasta. If it says 10 minutes, go 8. If it says 12, go for 10. Time is good, but the best test is a quick taste. Carefully pull a noodle from the water and take a bite. If there is a thin white dot in the middle of your noodle, that means you have achieved the perfect Al Dente!

Save the pasta water

This tip is simple, but makes a huge difference. Before you drain your pasta, scoop a cup of the cloudy pasta water and save it. This water is full of flavor, but the most important element it contains is starch! Have you ever had pasta sauce that is a bit watery and underwhelming? Adding a bit of pasta water to the sauce and cooking it together is a great way to add body to your sauce, and also help it stick to the noodles.

Finish in a sauté pan

Lastly, for the love of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, do not just serve the pasta on a plate and dump the sauce on top! The way to finish your pasta is to throw a scoop of your desired sauce into a sauté pan over medium heat, add a bit of pasta water, a serving of noodles, and aggressively stir to coat the noodles in sauce. Do this until the water evaporates, and the sauce is the consistency you desire.

Chapter 3 | Recipe of the Week

To practice your new knowledge, first you will need my homemade tomato sauce! This comes together in about an hour and will last you for a week or 2 depending on usage. This sauce is sooooo much better to work with than store bought tomato sauces, and actually costs a similar price if you have some of the staples from Class #1 in your pantry!