Grains
Pasta
Salt the water heavily, drain a minute early, finish the cooking in the sauce.
1 recipe on this site
Ingredient reference image: AI-generated. Recipe photography is my own.
In the kitchen
Under heat
Starch on the surface releases into the cooking water, which is what makes that water useful for finishing a sauce.
Against air
Cooked pasta left uncovered dries and clumps as the surface starch sets — a little oil or sauce tossed through prevents it.
In storage
Dry pasta keeps almost indefinitely in a sealed container; cooked pasta is a two-to-three day fridge item, not longer.
At the shop
Shape should match the sauce — long strands for smooth sauces, ridged or tubular shapes for anything chunky that needs to cling.
Which variety, for what
- Long strands (spaghetti, linguine)
- Best with smooth, oil- or cream-based sauces that coat rather than cling.
- Short, ridged, or tubular shapes (penne, rigatoni, fusilli)
- Built to trap chunkier sauces in the ridges and hollows.
