Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Easier Pasta

Being that I'm always busy, I'm always looking for ways to make my life easier. And I've certainly found the solution to easier pasta!

Great cooks will have you boil the pasta in several quarts of water, reserve a cup of the pasta liquid, drain the pasta, add the sauce, add the reserved pasta liquid, and then serve. But, emboldened by my previous experiments with cooking pasta in sauce, I decided that all of that was too much work! Instead, try this method:

Heat the sauce to just below an energetic simmer. Add the pasta, and enough warm water to within an inch of the pasta (for al dente), or level or slightly above the level of the pasta for softer pasta. Stir the pasta several times during the first few minutes. If the sauce/water level is below the pasta, cover. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, and give it maybe a minute or two longer than you would traditionally boil the pasta. Test, then remove the pot from heat and let sit a few minutes.

The result? A one-pot pasta dish, with the silky quality of the starch reserved, and only one dish to clean. It works with tomato sauces, pumpkin sauces, even with cheap boxed macaroni and cheese. And you don't have to attend it; just set the timer and walk away. Magic!