DRIED
How to Cook Dried Pasta
Instructions
How to start
- Begin cooking pasta when sauce is done and NOT BEFORE. For best results, your sauce should be done cooking and ready BEFORE you begin cooking your pasta.
- Start with a LOT of water. 1 gallon of well-salted water per pound of pasta is a good rule. The water should taste like seawater. (Approximately 2 tablespoons of salt per gallon of water)
- Don’t add oil! It does nothing but float to the top and make the pasta greasy as it is drained. Nasty.
How to cook
- Don’t add pasta to the pot until the water is at a rolling boil. ROLLING.
- Stir the water to get it moving. Add pasta. Immediately stir again. Keep an eye out for clumps of pasta. Stir till pasta separates. Stir again, then continue to stir cooking pasta AT LEAST every two minutes of cook time to keep pasta from sticking to itself.
- If you cannot use 4 quarts of water per pound of pasta or you are cooking a lot of pasta at one time, you will need to stir the pasta MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY to keep the pasta from sticking to itself or burning to the bottom of the pan.
When is it done?
- Most pasta is done after 8-10 minutes. Size matters and small shapes will be done more quickly than larger pieces.
- Check for doneness early and often. Check for doneness by eating a piece. It should be soft with a gentle bite right in the center. This is called al dente and is considered the best way to serve pasta.
- Remove pasta when it is SLIGHTLY under your target level of doneness to compensate for carry-over cooking.
How to sauce
- Sauce immediately: Cooked pasta can’t sit around – it will stick to itself and become mushy as it continues to cook.
- Don’t rinse your pasta (unless you are precooking pasta – in that case you may stop the cooking process by shocking the pasta under cold running water).
- Don’t add oil to cooked pasta – that will keep the sauce from sticking.
- Deposit pasta directly into sauce, swirl carefully, then plate. Never, EVER, pour sauce over plain pasta. It may look pretty, but the sauce won’t stick and the eating experience will be poor.
- Save some of the cooking water! Reserve about ½ cup – it's flavorful, somewhat salty, and starchy. It can be used to loosen a thick sauce without diluting body or flavor.
Cooking Low-Temp Pasta – Cook’s Illustrat
PASTA FILLINGS
Mushroom duxelles is something that you probably don’t know the name of but have eaten at some point in your life. It’s a staple in classic French cuisine for its use in Beef Wellington, aka “Bouef en croute.” In short, it’s a cooked paste of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, garlic, parsley, and (usually but not always) wine. Because mushrooms are estimated to be about 85% water, it’s important to cook the mixture until it’s a thick paste-like consistency to concentrate the flavor and keep from having a watery mess.
Uses for Mushroom Duxelles:
- Stir into a cream sauce for a quick mushroom sauce.
- Thicken chicken or vegetable broth with a flour slurry or roux, mix in mushroom duxelle and a touch of heavy cream for a quick cream of mushroom soup.
- Combine with beaten eggs and heavy cream for a quiche filling.
- Potatoes Anna with Duxelle: Toss thinly sliced russet potatoes with clarified butter, salt and pepper. Layer half-way up in a cast-iron skillet, spread with mushroom duxelles and top with remaining potatoes. Press a piece of parchment paper against the potatoes and bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the paper and continue baking 15-20 minutes until top of potatoes are golden brown. Invert on a cutting board and cut into wedges.
- Combine with ricotta cheese and use as a filling for mushroom ravioli.
- Use as an omelet filling.
- Stuffed zucchini: Slice zucchini in half lenghtwise. Scrape out the seed cavity with a spoon. Season inside with salt and pepper and place upside down on a paper towel to drain off excess juice. Combine duxelles with beaten egg and freshly ground breadcrumbs. Turn zuccchini over and and stuff with mushroom filling. Place in a baking dish and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
Mushroom Duxelle
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound mushrooms finely minced, almost to paste consistency
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, divided
- 3 tablespoons shallot finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 C beef stock
Instructions
- Place mushrooms onto cheesecloth and wring out excess liquid.
- Heat saute pan over medium high heat
- Add 1 tablespoon butter and swirl to melt and avoid burning.
- Add mushrooms, shallots, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and thyme.
- Cook, stirring frequently until mushrooms appear dry and are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter and, when melted, add beef stock
- Cook, stirring frequently until the stock has evaporated.
- Remove from heat and cool.
Four Cheese Filling
Ingredients
- 8 ounce ricotta cheese
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ cup provolone cheese shredded
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
Instructions
- Add all ingredients and blend well.
SAUCES
POMODORO
“Pomodoro” in Italian literally means “golden apple,” which is quite fitting considering the sauce’s star ingredient: the tomato. However, it might be surprising to learn that tomatoes weren’t always a staple in Italian cooking. In fact, tomatoes originated from the Americas and were introduced to Europe in the 16th century by Spanish explorers. Initially, they were met with suspicion and were even thought to be poisonous. It wasn’t until the 18th century that tomatoes began to be embraced in Italian kitchens.
The magic of Pomodoro sauce lies in its simplicity. Traditionally, it involves only a few key ingredients: ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and salt. The beauty of Pomodoro sauce is that despite its simplicity, it brings a rich, robust flavor that enhances any dish it graces, from pasta to pizza and beyond.
The exact historical pinpoint of when Pomodoro sauce was first created is a bit hazy, but it began gaining popularity in the 19th century when the pairing of tomatoes and pasta became a common delight in Neapolitan cuisine. This was a time when the vibrant food culture of Naples started to spread and influence other parts of Italy and eventually the world.
Pasta Pomodoro Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz roma plum tomatoes peeled, seeded, and diced
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 10 oz chicken stock
- crushed red pepper to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup hand-torn fresh basil
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese peeled into thin curls
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large deep sauce pan over high heat. Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium-high and add tomatoes, vinegar and chicken stock; simmer for about 8 minutes.
- Stir in red and black peppers. Simmer until slightly thickened. Toss pasta (either noodles or filled pasta) gently, then slide onto the plate. Garnish with torn basil and serve peels of parmesan or asiago cheese.