Why You Should Finish Your Pasta In The Sauce - And How To Do It!

 

Remember when people used to dump their pasta into a colander, and pour the starchy cooking water down the drain? It turns out that's a bad idea, because drained pasta doesn't hold the sauce very well or absorb its flavour.

When we launched our Pasta Kits here at Cucinato, we wanted to make sure customers understood that the best way to prepare our homemade pasta was to finish cooking it in the sauce - not topping the pasta with sauce after it's cooked. So we made this little video to show you how it's done.

As chef Gianluca Ruggieri says, this demo is not just about our Pasta Kits - you should always finish cooking your pasta or gnocchi this way!

Below the video we've added the written instructions for finishing your pasta in the sauce. Hope you find them helpful - let us know if you have any questions or comments!


 

Tools needed

  • Pot to boil water
  • Pan to heat up sauce
  • Tongs, spider or slotted spoon
  • Ladle (for pasta water)
  • A splash of olive oil


Instructions

  1. Keep pasta (or gnocchi) frozen till it’s ready to cook.
  2. Bring a pot of water to a boil (enough to easily submerge your pasta).
  3. When boiling, salt generously, then gently add the frozen pasta.
  4. While the pasta is cooking, heat the sauce at medium high in a pan, stirring to prevent burning. When it starts to simmer, add a ladle of water, and remove from heat.
  5. Fresh pasta (and gnocchi) typically take about three minutes to cook. Once they are al dente (they taste not quite cooked) scoop them out of the boiling water and add to your sauce in the pan, and add a splash of olive oil as well.
  6. Heat the pan with pasta and sauce at medium high, gently stirring, allowing it to come to a simmer again, and the sauce to start thickening. Continue this process for several minutes – allow to simmer, stir and/or shake to prevent burning, add a little pasta water at a time - until you have a nice creamy-textured sauce, and the pasta is fully cooked.
  7. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

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