Spaghetti, or pasta, is what made Italian cuisine famous all over the world. However, most people ignore the cooking rules and cook ordinary pasta instead of pasta. Learning how to cook real Italian pasta is not at all as difficult as it seems.
It would seem that there is nothing easier than just boiling spaghetti. However, if your goal is to touch the Italian cuisine, forget about the recipes that your grandmother taught you. This is the only way to avoid the common problem of overcooked and tasteless pasta.
The first rule when making pasta is its quality. Don't skimp on food. Buy durum wheat spaghetti from trusted manufacturers. Cheap pasta will stick together during cooking, as flour is usually not too high-quality. Experienced chefs recommend purchasing only Italian spaghetti brands.
The second rule concerns the amount of water. The pasta will not stick together and boil over if there is a lot of water, so feel free to take a large saucepan for cooking. It is not difficult to calculate the amount of water: for 100 g of dry spaghetti, you need a liter of clean water. During the cooking process, you can add a teaspoon of natural olive oil to the water. This will make the spaghetti more flavorful. Many housewives wash the pasta with cold water after cooking. This should not be done under any circumstances: rinsing will simply ruin the taste and quality of the dish.
The most important point in making spaghetti is to remove the pan from the heat in time. Italians call the correct consistency of pasta al dente. Most housewives would call such pasta undercooked, but in reality, Italian pasta should not be too soft. If the spaghetti has become soft, it means that you have overcooked them, and the taste of the dish will be different. Ignore the cooking times indicated on the packaging. Place the required amount of spaghetti in boiling water, count for 7-8 minutes, and take a sample from time to time towards the end of cooking. Once the consistency is right, turn off the heat.
Italians serve pasta as a first or main course. Regardless of the order of serving, spaghetti is served with sauce. There are a lot of sauces, but any of them must be prepared before boiling spaghetti. The pasta should not cool down while you prepare the sauce or side dish. After cooking, the sauce can be left covered over low heat. The finished pasta is immediately mixed with the sauce in a preheated bowl and immediately served.
How to serve pasta correctly?
Traditionally, spaghetti is served in deep bowls and eaten with a tablespoon and fork. The prepared pasta with sauce is not sprinkled with cheese: grated Parmesan is usually served separately.
