amateur cooks

[khattichic]

Re: amateur cooks

@Reha

One tip I wish someone had told me when I started cooking…don’t boil the pasta until its completely cooked. By the time you eat it, it’ll be mash. Boil until its almost cooked and has a little time left to go…it keeps cooking once its off the heat so don’t think its kacha.

Yup! That’s called "al dente", or “to the tooth”. The same is true when grilling meat or steak, you have to account for carry over cooking time. And when you let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing, it allows for the juices to redistribute, thus ensuring you won’t get dry, tough meat.

Going back to pasta, before you drain the pasta, always reserve about a cup of the boiling water. It acts as an instant binder/thickening/finishing agent for your sauce, as all the starch has been released while boiling. Also, instead of dumping the sauce on boiled pasta, add the pasta to the pan where the sauce is cooking, it will coat your pasta better, and the al dente pasta will finish cooking off.