ASK Italian cooking eating

The perfect Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

I’m currently working with ASK Italian to promote their brilliant campaign to #Respectthepasta! A couple of weeks ago I visited my local ASK Italian in order to tell you about their delicious menu. This week I wanted to share some tips for cooking the perfect pasta at home.

cooking spaghetti

ASK Ambassador Theo Randall, has had a huge hand in creating some of the delicious menus at ASK Italian, he has also created a set of rules for creating perfect pasta:

Pasta DO:

-Use LOTS of boiling, well-salted water
-Cook for two minutes less than the packet instructions and finish cooking in the sauce with a spoonful of cooking water -Enjoy immediately in small portions in warm bowls or plates – “pasta waits for no man”

DO NOT

-Tip pasta into a colander to drain it – use tongs or a slotted spoon to take pasta out of the water -Test ‘done-ness’ by throwing pasta onto the walls
-Use too much sauce – coat the pasta, don’t drown it

Using the rules above I was tasked with creating the pasta dish of our choice. I turned to the ASK Italian cookbook and chose the recipe for Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, my husband’s favourite Italian dish. It’s a simple, classic recipe which we’ve made many times before. We opted to leave out the parsley but we did use cream, I didn’t realise this was a controversial ingredient!

cooking spaghetti alla carbonara

We followed the recipe which meant we cooked the pasta the ASK Italian way. I’ll hold my hands up and admit to usually over-cooking pasta so cooking it for slightly less than normal meant it tasted perfect and slightly al dente. This is a great classic recipe and I would definitely recommend trying the pasta rules next time you’re cooking at home.

 

17 Comments

  • Reply
    Helen Dickinson
    April 17, 2014 at 9:19 am

    Thank you for the tips above. I will bare this in mind when making the perfect pasta. Your dish looked delicious.

  • Reply
    You Baby Me Mummy
    April 17, 2014 at 9:47 am

    This looks yummy, thanks for the tips, very useful for someone like me who is not gifted in the cooking department x

  • Reply
    Sonya Cisco
    April 17, 2014 at 9:56 am

    I am terrible for over cooking pasta (and most things, damn you twitter app!) but it is so much nicer al dente!

  • Reply
    mellissa williams
    April 17, 2014 at 10:10 am

    I have to admit I like a lot of sauce with my pasta. You have made me want to make this now !

  • Reply
    Polly
    April 17, 2014 at 1:35 pm

    we love spaghetti in my house!

  • Reply
    Globalmouse
    April 17, 2014 at 2:18 pm

    We are a home that eats a LOT of pasta!! Thank you for the tips – yum!

  • Reply
    Hannah Staveley
    April 17, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    Hmmmm this looks so nice .x

  • Reply
    Vikki Holness
    April 17, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    Along with Spaghetti Bolognese, this is my son’s favourite meal. Although i have to admit, yours looks much nicer than mine lol! xx

  • Reply
    Kate Thompson
    April 17, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    Looks delicious. I have only just tried this recipe myself – we tend to steer away from meals we cannot all eat (due to allergies) but the older two love this!

  • Reply
    Sarah Bailey
    April 18, 2014 at 1:14 am

    I am a total pasta burner- this looks so nice though, theres something relaxing almost about a nice pasta dish.x

  • Reply
    Shell Louise
    April 18, 2014 at 9:21 am

    I usually over cook the pasta as well. I’ll try and remember to take it out a couple of minutes early in future!

  • Reply
    Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
    April 18, 2014 at 11:15 am

    We love carbonara, yours looks really yummy x

  • Reply
    Clare @ Emmys Mummy
    April 18, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    This is our favourite meal. In fact we had it tonight

  • Reply
    Clare @ Emmys Mummy
    April 18, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    This is one of our favourites, infact we had it tonight

  • Reply
    wendy
    April 19, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    We love pasta in our house. Thank you for sharing

  • Reply
    agatapokutycka
    April 21, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    I like your tips and I do agree pasta shouldn’t swim in a sauce

  • Reply
    The Egyptian Mummy
    April 21, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    Your version looks so much nicer than when I make it! Mine always seem to go a muddy colour :S will have to try your recipe now

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