Pasta I – The Noodles
Because I really love pasta, I’ll post a series of entries about pasta and a variety of sauces you’ll love as much as I do =D
First stop should ofcourse be about the pasta – which is the generic term for different variants of noodles. Aside from the sizes and shapes (approx 3500), pasta is also classified according to how they’re made – fresh (usually prepared by the professionals, watch Iron Chef and surely you’ll see how it’s done) or dried (available at all grocery stores).
Here’s my attempt to answer some of the most common questions regarding pasta:
1. How do I determine which type of pasta to use for a particular sauce?
Answer: The rule of thumb here is: thick and chunky sauces are best served with tubular or spiral pastas; smooth sauces like cream and oil are best for long and thin pastas like spaghetti and fettucine; tiny pastas like stellin are usually used for soups.
2. What tips can you give in cooking pasta?
Answer:
- Always use a large pot with lots of water (about 4 cups of water per 100 grams of pasta)
- You can choose to add salt or meat broth before adding the pasta to the boiling water
- Stir while cooking the pasta to avoid them clumping together
- Do not leave the pasta in the pot of boiling water even after turning off the fire because the heat stays and therefore, the pasta is continuously being cooked
- The same principle as the previous tip applies here: when the pasta is already al dente (literally means “to the tooth”), drain the water using colander and run tap water onto your pasta
3. What is the ideal way of serving the sauce?
Answer: It depends.
If your goal is to ensure that you infuse the flavor to your pasta and to serve your dish immediately, you can opt to mix your pasta with the sauce before serving.
If you are serving pasta to numerous people in a buffet table, you shoud separate your pasta from the sauce to ensure that the sauce is not entirely absorbed by the pasta, leaving it dry looking; and to ensure that the pasta does not become overcooked from constant heat from the container.
If you’re planning to pack your pasta and bring it over to your work place the next day, let the sauce cool down first and then top your pasta with the sauce in a lunch box before refrigirating. Heat using microwave the next day and your pasta will still come out perfect.
Well, good luck to cooking your way to al dente pasta =D
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