J
John Gaughan
Guest
That last thread I started about pasta caused a stir... it seems that, of all horrors, people
disagreed with me! Anyway, here is how I normally prepare pasta and my rationale for doing so.
1. Cook pasta al dente in plenty of boiling water. Water has salt and a little olive oil added.
2. Rinse pasta in hot water to get rid of excess starch. Normal pasta has plenty of starch, even
after rinsing. Olive oil helps avoid sticking.
3. Plate and add sauce. Sauce has EVOO added to replace water lost when cooking. Arguably, this
helps bond to OO-coated pasta.
When I did this working as a restaurant line cook, I shocked the pasta in cold water. I reheated in
boiling water and added to sauce in a saute pan to reheat. At home I eat it right away, so I do not
shock it, but I still want to get rid of some of the nasty yucky starch. The olive oil also helps
avoid sticking when stored in the fridge.
When I used whole wheat pasta, the sauce did not stick to the pasta nearly as well. I assume this is
because it has less starch, or least less starch released into the water.
--
John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/ [email protected]
disagreed with me! Anyway, here is how I normally prepare pasta and my rationale for doing so.
1. Cook pasta al dente in plenty of boiling water. Water has salt and a little olive oil added.
2. Rinse pasta in hot water to get rid of excess starch. Normal pasta has plenty of starch, even
after rinsing. Olive oil helps avoid sticking.
3. Plate and add sauce. Sauce has EVOO added to replace water lost when cooking. Arguably, this
helps bond to OO-coated pasta.
When I did this working as a restaurant line cook, I shocked the pasta in cold water. I reheated in
boiling water and added to sauce in a saute pan to reheat. At home I eat it right away, so I do not
shock it, but I still want to get rid of some of the nasty yucky starch. The olive oil also helps
avoid sticking when stored in the fridge.
When I used whole wheat pasta, the sauce did not stick to the pasta nearly as well. I assume this is
because it has less starch, or least less starch released into the water.
--
John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/ [email protected]