Ten Top Tips

1. Always cook pasta in a large pot, preferably tall and deep rather than wide and shallow, specially for long strands.

2. Use a generous amount of water; we recommend 1 litre per 100 grams of pasta so that it can swim freely in the pot.

3. Salt the water with a good handful of sea salt; this is really your chance to season the pasta itself (and not only the sauce), bringing out the flavour of the pasta.

4. Never rinse cooked pasta; the starch on the surface contributes flavour and helps the sauce to adhere.

5. Always reserve a quarter cup or so of the pasta cooking water to add to the sauce. This both loosens the sauce so it can coat the pasta, and contributes starch that helps it cling better.

6. Don't add olive oil to the pasta cooking water. It is an old wive's tale that this will keep it from sticking as it cooks; pasta clumps together when it is not cooked in sufficient water.
Save your olive oil for salad dressing!

7. Don't coat drained pasta with olive oil to keep it from sticking; this will prevent the sauce from clinging to the pasta, causing it to end up in a pool at the bottom of your serving dish.

8. Cook the pasta just to al dente and no longer.

9. Remember that your plain pasta will continue to cook when you add it to the hot sauce and toss them together, so don't leave it in the pan any longer than necessary to marry the sauce and pasta together and warm them both through.

10. Don't let the pasta cool. Enjoy while hot!

Back to top