How to Cook Pasta...

Pasta is a general term used to describe a spaghetti, tagliatelle, ravioli, tortellini, stuffed or not stuffed which are found dry in supermarkets in boxes.
Or can be freshly made but dried.
Or can be freshly made but still soft.
Each kind has to be dropped in enough boiling water till they are cooked "Al Dente" meaning that they are not soft to the tooth when bitten but have a bit of a "bite" to them.
The general rule of thumb is one liter of boiling water for every 100 grams of pasta....whatever kind it is.
Add the salt as soon as the water boils do not put the salt when the water is cold...the water will take longer to reach its boiling point.
Do not add salt after the spaghetti is cooked,  it will not work.
When cooked, the water should be drained. BUT always keep some just in case you need it for the sauce etc. It contains that special substance which will help your sauce or whatever to thicken.  It will also help to increase your sauce in volume.
Serve all the pasta in a serving dish sprinkled with parmezan. Parmesan is the cheese to use with pasta. Pecorino is also another cheese to use with pasta.
Some use half parmezan and half pecchorino.(pecchorino comes from pecchora meaning goat) so it is goat cheese... you have to be careful though because it is very salty.
There is another way to serve pasta:
Instead of straining the whole quantity when the pasta in the boiling water has cooked to the desired doneness, pick up the pasta, with a special long claw-like spoon with holes in it, out of the water straight into the plate. It does not matter if some of the water is also transferred...it will be mixed with whatever sauce you will use.
Spaghetti must not be cut with a knife.
Spaghetti must not be eated with a spoon and fork. Just a fork.
Pasta must not be passed under cold water before returning to the pot.
If you have put the required quantity of water to boil you should not have to add oil to the water to keep them from sticking together.
That's it!
Enjoy
Stelio

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