how to cook spaghetti

Most boxes and bags of pasta, whether fresh or dry, come with cooking times printed on them. Also, be sure the bacon is fully heated/cooked - but not crispy. Presenting a new way to party together—virtually. Once you've finished perfecting your pasta cooking technique, try your hand at one these delicious, easy to make pasta recipes (like Bucatini with Kale and Ricotta, Pasta With Parsley-Almond Pesto and Fried Onions, or Shrimp and Asparagus Fra Diavolo). Bring to a boil then let simmer for around 30 minutes … This article has been viewed 97,502 times. You can also opt to keep things simple: drizzle your finished noodles with good-quality olive oil, salt and pepper, and finish with a shower of shaved Parmesan. Once a large pot is filled with water, it’s important to season the water liberally with salt. Drain and leave to steam dry for a few mins, just until the surface of the pasta looks matte. These all-in-one recipes are wholesome, simple and affordable. 2 Combine the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl and beat with a fork. Is it really better than using a credit card? wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Real Simple may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email on this website. Load up the pot with lots of water You want five or six quarts of water for a standard 16 oz. You absolutely need the starch that clings to the noodles in order to make the sauce (more on that later) the best it can be. A heavy wood spoon is better so that it won't scratch the pasta pot. Always use fresh grated Parmesan cheese - the canned stuff won't work. Pasta in itself is a wonderful thing. Lastly, just before the pasta is ready to plate, add fats, with the heat off! Now is the time to bring everything together. And that’s all there is to it: Treat your spaghetti with respect and cook it properly, and you will have a rich arsenal of perfect pasta recipes for any occasion. Rather than pouring a sauce over the spaghetti, it’s time to finish cooking the noodles (which we undercooked by a minute or two, remember?) Salt the water with at least a tablespoon—more is fine. Most people don’t use a large enough pot when they cook spaghetti. Add any or all of these tasty fats and watch the spaghetti and sauce become luscious and rich. Within the pasta pantheon, spaghetti is perhaps the greatest shape of all — a long, skinny noodle that is pure joy to eat. Nobody likes a bland noodle, right? We use cookies to make wikiHow great. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This dish does use raw eggs and can cause. A good rule of thumb is to check your spaghetti a full minute or two before the earliest time suggested. Then add pasta sauce, pesto or simply a good drizzle of olive oil and seasoning. In the States, you may have trouble finding the pancetta, but it's well worth the trouble. 15 Foods You’ve Been Cooking Wrong This Entire Time, The Best Italian Restaurant in Every State, You’ve Been Defrosting Your Food All Wrong — Here’s How to Do It Right, Ree Drummond and 16 Other Celebrity Chefs on the Perfect Scrambled Eggs. Follow these simple tips and your spaghetti will always be buonissimo! Boil water in a large pot. To create this article, 25 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Waiting for the water to come to a rolling boil, Alton Brown might say that they cook perfect pasta in cold water, Pasta Recipes Just Like Grandma Used to Make, How to Cook Chicken, Turkey, Steak and 12 Other Foods Correctly. Feasting may look a little different this year. While draining, reserve a cup or two of the cooking water. Once the spaghetti is cooked through, drain and … Not salting the water at all will leave you with bland noodles and ruin everything. Add only enough cheese to make it somewhat thick. As with any dish that contains eggs - there is a risk of food poisoning if the eggs aren't completely cooked. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. If it still has a bit of crunch and seems to be a few minutes away from pasta perfection, that’s the time to turn off the heat and drain those noodles. These simple stretches reduce muscle tension and stiffness. The salty water adds flavor to the pasta. Mix everything together and add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin things out and add some of the highly desirable starchiness to the mix. Use a strong spoon as the pasta mixture does get somewhat sticky as you're mixing in the eggs, cheese, and black pepper. Whatever type of noodle dish inspires your palette, we promise you'll have a delicious dinner on the table in minutes with this foolproof method for cooking pasta. Put the pasta into plenty of boiling water, stir it, bring it to a simmer, turn the heat off, put a lid on and leave it to finish cooking for 10-12 mins. Stir fairly vigorously to encourage the starch on the pasta to emulsify into the sauce, which will leave you with a panful of saucy pasta that is one harmonious dish rather than two separate components. Your spaghetti needs room to move and cook evenly, so using a pot that gives it space is imperative. Expert advice to identify and eliminate household odors. (Pro tip: be sure to use a big stockpot.). One person or an entire country? If you have a heavy pot to boil the pasta, this shouldn't be a problem. Spaghetti isn’t hard to cook, and yet time and time again, people get it wrong. Cubed pancetta is literally raw, un-smoked. When ready to cook the spaghetti, heat a large saucepan of water and add a pinch of salt. Ergo, do not snap in half! After the spaghetti has been swimming about in it, the water is full of wondrous starchy goodness, which, like the starch that still clings to the noodles, is going to do wonders for any sauce. If you can, use freshly course ground black pepper, otherwise use a course ground jarred pepper. Follow these simple steps and you’ll only make perfect spaghetti from here on out. In Italy, spaghetti alla carbonara is considered one of the easiest, least expensive pasta dishes. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Few dishes can compete with a big bowl of perfectly cooked spaghetti. But who should you trust? If it still has a bit of crunch and seems to be a few minutes away from pasta perfection, that’s the time to turn off the heat and drain those noodles. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 97,502 times. When it comes to spaghetti, it’s not a simple case of just buying a single ingredient. How to Cook Spaghetti To make this spaghetti recipe with ground beef, first cook the pasta according to package instructions. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a2\/86553-1.jpg\/v4-460px-86553-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a2\/86553-1.jpg\/aid86553-v4-728px-86553-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"