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How to cook pasta: a recipe for beginners. Video
Pasta has long been a part of traditional cuisine not only in Italy, but also in Eastern countries. Today, this product is ubiquitous, served as an independent dish, seasoned with sauces, or is an ingredient. And the main secret of deliciously cooked pasta is the correct cooking of the product.
Some useful information about pasta
True pasta is created exclusively from two ingredients: water and durum wheat flour. On Greek and Italian pasta, such products are usually marked with the inscriptions pasta di semola di grano duro or durum. Russian producers write that pasta is made from durum wheat.
Everything else is usually called pasta. They are usually made from soft wheat and contain eggs or other ingredients. Such products swell in the soup, boil over, stick together and spoil the whole dish. And they also contribute to the appearance of extra pounds at the waist.
Durum wheat pasta, created in compliance with all technologies, does not boil over during cooking. In addition, such products do not get fat, since they consist of complex carbohydrates. And the starch in them during heat treatment is not destroyed, unlike pasta from soft varieties, but turns into protein.
The variety of forms of pasta allows you to prepare a variety of dishes from them. Large products are usually stuffed; pasta in the form of shells, spirals or horns is usually used as a side dish or used to make pasta and cheese. Miniature bows look nice in salads, and spaghetti is served with sauce. For casseroles, it is better to use pasta in the form of short tubes.
Durum wheat pasta has a smooth, even surface and is creamy or golden in color. The break of such products is somewhat reminiscent of the break of glass. In a pack of high-quality pasta, as a rule, there are no crumbs and flour residues. Soft wheat pasta has a rough surface and an unnatural white or yellow color. Traces of unmixed flour and various inclusions may be visible on them.
A few tips for making pasta
To cook delicious pasta, use a simple formula invented by Italian chefs: 1000/100/10. It means that for 1 liter of water there are 100 g of pasta and 10 g of salt.
The pasta should be thrown into the already boiling salted water. And to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot, it is important to stir until the water boils again. If you skip this moment, you can ruin the dish.
Follow the cooking times indicated on the packaging. Usually it is 10 minutes, but it can vary depending on the type of flour from which the pasta is made. But the surest way to find out the degree of readiness is to try. The pasta should be firm, but not firm.
If the pasta is boiled for use in a dish that will be cooked further, such as a casserole, it should be slightly undercooked. Otherwise, in the end, their taste will be spoiled.
It is not necessary to rinse the pasta with cold water after folding it into a colander – then all the taste will be washed off. It’s best to just leave them on for a couple of minutes to let the water drip and then stir with a spoon.
If pasta is used as a side dish, it is customary to put a little butter in it. The dish will turn out to be tastier if the butter is first melted in a saucepan and only then mixed with the pasta.
Cooking pasta technology for making pasta
Ingredients:
- durum wheat pasta – 200 g
- water – 2 liters
- salt – 1 tbsp. a spoon
Boil water in a heavy-walled saucepan. Season with salt and pasta. Stir constantly until the water boils again.
To cook the spaghetti, dip one end of the pasta in water, wait a couple of seconds, and slowly lower it whole. They will quickly soften and go completely into the pan.
Time your pasta to cook. It must be indicated on the packaging. Take a sample a couple of minutes before the end.
Throw the finished pasta in a colander and let the water drain. Combine them with melted butter or pre-cooked sauce.
How to boil pasta “nests”
Today, bird’s nest-shaped pasta is quite popular. Such products can be stuffed with a wide variety of fillings – from vegetables to meat. During cooking, it is very important not only to keep them in boiling water for the required amount of time, but also to keep their shape.
Place the nests in a wide-bottomed saucepan or deep skillet. They should not fit snugly against each other and at the same time, there should be room for turning on their side.
Fill them with water in such a way that it covers the “nests” by only a couple of centimeters. Bring to a boil, add salt and cook for as many minutes as indicated on the package. Just carefully remove the finished pasta with a slotted spoon and put on a plate.
To prevent them from sticking to the bottom, you can gently move them with a fork during cooking or put a little butter in the water.
Al Dente (al dente), if translated from Italian, means “by the tooth”. This term describes the state of pasta when it is no longer hard, but has not yet had time to boil. During the test of pasta in this state, the teeth should bite through them, but somewhere in the middle they should feel some hardness.
Italians believe that only such pasta is cooked correctly. Of course, not everyone succeeds the first time. The main rule is a constant sample of the product during cooking, because seconds count.