Anyone can make perfect pasta. Here are some tips shared by my friend. You see her brother works as a chef in an Italian resto here in the Philippines.
To start off...
Fill a pot with one quart (1 liter) of water per serving of pasta (1/4 pound, 100 g) and set it to boil. Stir to ensure that all pasta is in the water and that the pieces are separated. Cook 7 - 8 minutes for long cuts like spaghetti, 8 - 10 minutes for short cuts like penne.
A minute before the pasta's cooking time is up, fish out a piece of pasta and check for doneness. You want an al dente, or chewy texture- Taste, or break open a piece of pasta to test for doneness. When it's ready, drain the pasta in a colander and serve immediately with your favorite sauce.
Now to make your sauce and pasta blend together try this strascicata technique.
To do this... Warm the sauce in a skillet while the pasta is cooking. Just before the pasta is done, transfer it, while it is still dripping, into the skillet. Turn to high heat and toss the pasta and sauce. This technique helps the pasta to absorb the sauce, imparting a more complex flavor. This is the technique that I usually do and for me it's a magical way of making my pasta dish more yummy.
Mangiamo!
