Jot down these key points and you’ll soon be creating pasta dishes as tasty as the real thing from Italy. Buon appetito!
- Follow the cooking instructions on the packet to the letter and don’t cook your pasta for a second longer. It should be cooked al dente, or even slightly undercooked, as it will continue cooking with the hot sauce.
- Don’t even think of adding olive oil to the water. OMG!
- Never, ever wash pasta after you’ve strained it. You’ll give any Italian a heart attack! The only exception is if you’re making a cold pasta salad.
- Never reheat pasta, as it loses all its flavor and texture. There’s an exception here too: it’s OK if you’re making a pasta bake.
- Make the sauce while the pasta is cooking; that way they’ll both be hot when it comes to mixing them together.
- If you want to make genuine Italian recipes, stick with the originals, as there are lots of different versions. Did you know, for example, that a true carbonara sauce shouldn’t contain any cream? Or that a proper Bolognese sauce should have more meat than tomato?
