Posts Tagged ‘pasta to perfection’

How to Cook Pasta to Perfection Picture Book Directions

Pasta Cooked Al DentePasta: loved by most, goes with just about anything, and is incredibly easy to make.

First, what is “perfectly cooked” pasta? It’s pasta that’s cooked “al dente”, which is Italian for “to the teeth” and means that the pasta still has a little uncooked whiteness at the core of the cooked pasta piece, as (almost) shown below, which makes the pasta slightly firm, not mushy, to chew.

Here are the keys to cooking pasta to perfection:

  • Knowing how to measure pasta serving sizes 
  • Heating water to a rapid boil before adding pasta
  • Using the correct amount of water and knowing how long to cook the pasta

Serving sizePlan to use 1 ounce of dry pasta per person as a side dish and 2 ounces of dry pasta per person as a main dish. To get a visual idea of what 1 or 2 ounces of dry pasta looks like in your hands as well as how much 1 ounce of dry pasta makes when cooked, see the photos directly below. 

Here’s how rapidly boiling water should look before adding pasta: The photo on the left shows how real rapidly boiling water should look before putting pasta in the pot to ensure that the cooking time you use will give you the result you want. The photo on the right shows what I call a “soda fizz bubble” that is a clear sign the water is not yet hot enough to cook pasta.

Amount of water needed to cook pasta and pasta cooking time: I use about half the water recommended in the chart below – and have gotten the thumbs up for that from Italian cooks. I also subtract 1 minute from the pasta package recommended cooking time, even if the package cooking instructions, like the one below, specify an “al dente” cooking time, to ensure my pasta still has a “to the teeth” slightly chewy texture. 

Click this link or any picture on this page for How to Cook Pasta to Perfection picture book directions.How to Cook Pasta to Perfection Picture Book Recipe

 

Microwave Cooked Pasta: Fast, Easy and All in Pictures

Fresh microwave oven cooked pastaCooking pasta in the microwave oven is incredibly fast and easy – and works best for only 1-2 servings and for those pastas that require 6 minutes or less cooking time.

Here’s all you need to make microwave cooked pasta.

Needed to Make Microwave Cooked PastaTip: a wetted paper works great to minimize splatter while the pasta cooks at a constant high heat in the microwave oven.
Covering pasta bowl with wetted paper towel before cooking in the microwave oven

Click any picture on this page for a complete easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

Microwave Cooked Pasta Step-By-Step Picture Book Recipe pagesNext posts: easy to make microwave cooked one bowl pasta meals.

 

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