This is how you cook pasta, period. It’s easy peasy, Mario and Luigi

Prep time: ~10 mins

Ingredients:

• Pasta
• Water
• Rock Salt
• Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Put the water to boil into a saucepan, possibly one that is tall
2. Wait for the water to vigoroulsy boil
3. Add salt, usually I add half a fist of it
4. When the water is back to boil, add the pasta, stir and start the timer
5. When the timer expires taste the pasta to check texture
6. When cooked to perfection, remove from the flame and drain
7. Put the pasta back into the pan and add a bit of Olive Oil and stir so the pasta doesn’t stick to the pan

Tips:

• Don’t trust the cooking times, as a rule of thumb i generally subtract 2 to the lower estimation given on the packet. i.e. cooking time of 9-11mins, I’d put 7mins on the timer. After the time as passed I taste it and decide from there for how long more to cook it.
• If unsure on how much salt to add just taste the water until it is just right
• If preparing a sauce keep a spoon of cooking water before draining the pasta and add it to the sauce
• Don’t, I repeat DON’T break the spaghetti, linguine whatever. Just give it time and gently push them in

Recommendations:

• I usually go for Barilla, DeCecco or Voiello Pasta

Possible Substitutions:

• Table salt is an acceptable substitution, but it makes it easy to mistakenly add too much salt
• Butter instead of olive oil is acceptable if not recommened for certain recipes