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Home » Italian Recipes » How to Cook Pasta al Dente, Like an Italian

How to Cook Pasta al Dente, Like an Italian

July 13, 2018 by Angela Roberts 6 Comments

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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How to cook pasta like an Italian. What pasta to use and 9 tips for properly cooking al dente. Which pasta to choose for what sauce. Make perfect pasta every time. #spinachtiger #cookpasta #pasta #howtocookpasta via @angelarobertsHow to cook pasta like an Italian. What pasta to use and 9 tips for properly cooking al dente. Which pasta to choose for what sauce. Make perfect pasta every time. #spinachtiger #cookpasta #pasta #howtocookpasta via @angelaroberts

Cooking pasta al dente is as simple as tying shoes. Tie your laces wrong and you can fall.

I am Italian American, but my grandparents were Italian immigrants. Pasta was a constant in our home. However, when I went ot Italy and ate several different pasta dishes, I was surprised by the texture, and understood what al dente meant.

How to Cook Spaghetti Like an Italian

Pasta al dente has a bite to it

When pasta is cooked al dente, it means it has a tooth to it or a bite to it. It resists slightly.  This takes longer to digest and avoids a spike in blood sugar.

The first time I ever ate a pasta cooked correctly was a Pasta Carbonara dish in Rome. It was so delicious and satisfying and it felt almost as if the center wasn’t cooked. I learned that we Americans are doing it all wrong!

We tend to overcook pasta to a mushy, gummy mess, doing stupid things like adding in olive oil and then rinsing in cold water. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Trust me on this.

First of all there is a difference in cooking times and sauce preferences between homemade and factory made dried pasta. If you buy a quality dried pasta, and it is cooked properly, it’s often better than pasta made from scratch at home.

While homemade pasta is wonderful, factory pasta is suited more to most Italian dishes.  For example, spaghetti, rigatoni, penne pasta, and bucatini are factory pastas we all adore. These pastas are made from water and semolina flour, a golden yellow hard wheat flour, which gives the pasta its structure. There are no eggs used, and the pasta is very firm.

Factory pasta is best suited to olive oil sauces and can be used with butter sauces.  This zucchini basil  pasta dish is so delicious and a wonderful summer dish.

Cook Pasta like an Italian

No matter whether the pasta is homemade or store-bought,  the rules for how to cook pasta are the same.

Spaghetti is the most overcooked pasta on earth. It should resist and have a bite to it. It’s easier to digest that way too!

You don’t always need to have a ton of pasta to make a wonderful dish. This is simply olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper with broccoli.

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian, Al Dente from Spinach Tiger

How Much Pasta Per Person

However, if pasta is the main course (spaghetti and meatballs), make sure you cook enough for a crowd. You will want to cook 4 ounces per person to be on the safe side, even though two ounces is a portion. This is the dish you’ll want to have leftovers.

Classic Genovesa Pesto with Green Beans and Potatoes is a bit of Carb Heaven, but make sure that spaghetti has a bite to it.

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

Spaghetti with Meatballs and Garden Vegetables Doesn’t Need a Sauce. This is a pasta you absolutely want to cook al dente!

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

Pasta Carbonara is a delightful classic.

How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian, Al Dente #pasta #Italian #cookpasta #spaghetti

Pasta Water 

Where there’s a sauce involved like a warm pesto, you might want to finish the cooking in the pan to bring more favor to the pasta. Put the pesto in frying pan. Add in pasta, but reserve a little of the pasta water. See Number 8 on tips.

Pasta and Chicken with Pistachio Pesto

Pistachio Pesto can be used on any pasta and is so good. How to Cook Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta From Spinach Tiger

Factory pasta is best suited to olive oil sauces and can be used with butter sauces. Bread crumbs as a topping often give pasta that little extra something.

Pasta La Fritteda 

This spinach pasta is store-bought from Trader Joe’s and will have a longer cooking time than homemade.

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

How to Cook Pasta al dente: Here are the rules for factory produced, dried pasta.

  1. Choose the right pasta for the intended sauce.
  2. LOTS OF WATER – I use a 7 quart pot fill it with 6 quarts of water to cook one pound of pasta. WHY? The more water per pasta ratio, the faster the water gets back to boiling and the faster the pasta will cook. The more water per pasta ratio, the more room the pasta has, and this avoids sticking.
  3. Do NOT put oil in your pan. Just use an ample amount of water. The exception to this rule is homemade, filled pasta such as ravioli.
  4. LOTS OF SALT – Once the water begins to boil, add the salt and not before. Wait a few seconds until the water is rapidly boiling and then add pasta.
  5. COOK Al Dente – Only cook the pasta until it is soft, yet still has a chew. Do not overcook. Test the pasta starting at two minutes before suggested cook time.
  6. RESERVE some pasta water. Before you empty the pot into a colander, reserve a cup of pasta water for your sauce
  7. Do NOT rinse pasta with water. The starch on the pasta needs to stay put!
  8. FINISH cooking the pasta in the sauce. Place enough sauce into a large frying pan or dutch oven and finish cooking the pasta. It will absorb some of the sauce and flavor. At this time, add in some of the pasta water. The starch in the water will help to thicken the sauce.
  9. ENJOY!

How You can Tell if  You have a good pasta

What’s a good pasta? You should be able to tell the difference between a good quality boxed pasta and a so so pasta, because the quality pasta will have more body to it when cooked. It will plump more and have flavor, not be just bland starch.

There are two brands I think are exceptional in the moderate price range.  Alma’s and La Molinari. I’m mentioning these brands because they are only slightly higher in price than the cheaper brands and worth a few extra cents.

I also like the higher priced De Cecco pasta a lot! There are other brands with Italian names that are priced right and get premier space, and while they are not bad, they are not exceptionally good either.

It’s so important to get the pasta right, because a few simple things can make the difference between a great bite of pasta and a dish no one really cares to eat.

How to Cook The Right Pasta for the Right Sauce

A thick bolognese sauce is great with a papparadelle (a wider noodle) , but also memorable with an extra thick spaghetti that is hollowed, called bucatini.  It’s one of our favorite pastas! De Cecco makes a great bucatini.

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian al dente from Spinach Tiger


The Best Pasta for Chicken Soup

I grew up on pastina (affilate) in my chicken soup and now the boys absolutely love and prefer this.


Pastina (affiliate)  is amazing with scrambled eggs and parmesan cheese. It’s the dish my grandmother made for me and a pasta kids can eat with a spoon. As we got older, we started scrambling eggs into spaghetti with olive oil and cheese and it’s my husband’s favorite.

Homemade Papparadelle is perfect for bolognese, but is lovely with chanterelle mushrooms and butter. A homemade egg based pasta will cook very quickly. Homemade pastas are made with eggs and softer wheat flour. They cook quickly and absorb sauces deeply.

How to Cook Gluten Free Pasta

The same rules apply, but read the directions carefully. Some gluten free pastas have long cooking times. Keep in mind that most gluten free pasta is not good reheated and will fall apart.

Gluten Free Rotini Mexican Style

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

Pasta is a Perfect Ingredient for a One Dish Dinner

We love one dish pasta dishes, and sometimes we turn to low-carb pasta.

In this case, a low-carb, high protein pasta was used and cooked extra long with the last few minutes cooking in the olive oil mixture to absorb the flavor.

Pasta with Salmon, Olives, Tomatoes, Cauliflower

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

Low Carb Pasta with Peach Pork Bolognese.

How to Cook Pasta like an Italian from Spinach Tiger

Pasta is one of those dishes the whole world loves and makes in so many different ways. Eaten in moderation, it’s a great part of life. Properly cooked, it’s easier to digest and enjoy!

Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian (al dente) and Which Pasta to Use

How to Cook Pasta Properly.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time15 mins
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4
Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of pasta or as desired.
  • 6 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons salt

Instructions

  • How to Cook Pasta: Here are the rules for factory produced, dried pasta.
  • Choose the right pasta for the intended sauce.
  • LOTS OF WATER - I use a 7 quart pot fill it with 6 quarts of water to cook one pound of pasta. WHY? The more water per pasta ratio, the faster the water gets back to boiling and the faster the pasta will cook. The more water per pasta ratio, the more room the pasta has, and this avoids sticking.
  • Do NOT put oil in your pan. Just use an ample amount of water. The exception to this rule is homemade, filled pasta such as ravioli.
  • LOTS OF SALT - Once the water begins to boil, add the salt and not before. Wait a few seconds until the water is rapidly boiling and then add pasta.
  • COOK Al Dente - Only cook the pasta until it is soft, yet still has a chew. Do not overcook. Test the pasta starting at two minutes before suggested cook time.
  • RESERVE some pasta water. Before you empty the pot into a colander, reserve a cup of pasta water for your sauce
  • Do NOT rinse pasta with water. The starch on the pasta needs to stay put!
  • FINISH cooking the pasta in the sauce. Place enough sauce into a large frying pan or dutch oven and finish cooking the pasta. It will absorb some of the sauce and flavor. At this time, add in some of the pasta water. The starch in the water will help to thicken the sauce.
  • ENJOY!

Please follow me on instagram. If you make this recipe,  please tag me #spinachtiger.

If you love this recipe, please give it five stars. It means a lot. xoxo

 

x


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Filed Under: Italian Recipes, Pasta Recipes Tagged With: pasta, pasta al dente, spaghetti

« Peach Rosemary Focaccia the Comfort Food of Summer
Gluten Free Peach Tart, Sugar Free »

 

Please follow me on instagram. If you make this recipe,  please tag me #spinachtiger.

If you love this recipe, please give it five stars. It means a lot. xoxo

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Comments

  1. Pat Olsen says

    October 17, 2020 at 3:58 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for this GREAT tutorial – I just learned more in one read than I’d known in about 60 years of cooking pasta! 🤫 And these are such doable tips. Thank you! 💯

    Reply
  2. Alisha Ross says

    December 17, 2019 at 11:24 pm

    5 stars
    I think that the magazine is a wonderful idea – I would like to see families cook at least one meal a week together – might help alot of problems.

    Reply
  3. jenni says

    August 2, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    5 stars
    I have been searching for authentic pasta receipe. glad i landed on your blog. thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Reply
    • Angela Roberts says

      August 4, 2018 at 7:26 am

      Thank you.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget: A Former Chef's Guide says:
    July 20, 2020 at 1:58 am

    […] Boiling pasta. This is literally the simplest thing you can do and will give you access to thousands of meal choices. […]

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  2. Italian Pasta with Meat Sauce | A Texan in the Kitchen says:
    October 21, 2019 at 2:27 am

    […] the pasta is al dente, combine the pasta with your beef sauce. Cook for a minute so the pasta absorbs a little of the […]

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Taco Tuesday can be keto with my grain free tortillas. Easy enough to make and they stack one on top of the other in the freezer. #linkinprofile https://spinachtiger.com/grain-free-tortillas-keto-low-carb/
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#grainfreetacos #grainfreetortillas #paleotortillias
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How warped time is now. Three days ago, bombing in Nashville. FBI says solved. Life goes on. Power restored. Went to my usual Monday morning workout. HOWEVER, my brain and heart can’t catch up this fast. Taking a day to chill, process, and look at the big fat year ahead. Bakery owner, full-time food blogger. Thinking about what new doors to open, what doors I should shut. I’ll leave you with this. 2020 started off amazing! I scheduled my first bakery classes and was so gleeful to be able to make one of my dreams come true. In March they all had to be cancelled. The bakery grew during the lockdown! The blog took a major hit in ad dollars due to pandemic. The blog grew substantially in 4th quarter. The blog broke all $ records this month. The bakery closed for three weeks substantial exposure to Covid (taking care of those infected) I never got it! 34 year old sister in law (ex) died suddenly of pancreatic cancer six weeks after diagnosis in July. Her father died five months later. My step mother’s duties increased a bit due to this. She inherited $10,000 from a separate source. So like everyone else, its been up and down and up and down and I didn’t even mention politics, riots, etc. WOW! However, unlike most people, I’m going to call this the best year of my life and marriage. WHY? I started a prayer call in March, praying 4 to 5 days weekly. It has changed my life, my husband’s life and those who come to pray. It has meant EVERYTHING!  By the way this is a cake I never wrote about. Blackberry w lemon mascarpone. What is the ONE GREAT THING of 2020 you experienced?
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#cakesofinstagram #celebrate #spinachtiger #huffposttaste #foodpost #feedfeed.baking #bakedfromscratch #foodblogeats #foodblogger #lemonfrosting #mascarpone #dessertsofinstagram #buzzfeedfood #blackberries #nakedcake
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Can food make you feel better? Sometimes. But it’s been a rough two days. Remember when I said on Christmas Eve, “may tomorrow be as nice as this day: That didn’t age well. What a time! Great little Christmas morning and then I looked at my phone. A BOMB exploded in downtown Nashville. 😡😢Even though I live miles away, our cell service is still not working. We lost internet and TV as did thousands in five states.  Doug ran to Comcast the next morning to get us a temporary account. The scary thing aside from a BOMB, is how vulnerable we are with no cell service or internet (AT & T) as it was all housed in one building with no back up plan. Did you know our infrastructure is this vulnerable? Many of us still can’t call 911 if we needed to. 🙁We are grateful no residents were harmed from the bomb. We still don’t know the “who” in the remains. We don’t know what to believe. 🤷🏻‍♀️I highly recommend watching the Netflix show, Manhunt Deadly Games (about Richard Jewell (falsely accused) and Eric Rudolph (the actual Centennial Park Bomber). Great insight into serial bombers, lone wolfs, and the FBI. 🙏🏻 for not just Nashville but for America.
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#buzzfeedfood #nashvillebomb #nashvilleexplosion #Manhunt #sweetpotatoes #runnyeggs #brunch #breakfast #spinchtiger #foodphoto #castironpan #lodge #eggs #paleobreakfastideas
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