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.
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!
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.
Thank you for the tips above. I will bare this in mind when making the perfect pasta. Your dish looked delicious.
This looks yummy, thanks for the tips, very useful for someone like me who is not gifted in the cooking department x
I am terrible for over cooking pasta (and most things, damn you twitter app!) but it is so much nicer al dente!
I have to admit I like a lot of sauce with my pasta. You have made me want to make this now !
we love spaghetti in my house!
We are a home that eats a LOT of pasta!! Thank you for the tips – yum!
Hmmmm this looks so nice .x
Along with Spaghetti Bolognese, this is my son’s favourite meal. Although i have to admit, yours looks much nicer than mine lol! xx
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!
I am a total pasta burner- this looks so nice though, theres something relaxing almost about a nice pasta dish.x
I usually over cook the pasta as well. I’ll try and remember to take it out a couple of minutes early in future!
We love carbonara, yours looks really yummy x
This is our favourite meal. In fact we had it tonight
This is one of our favourites, infact we had it tonight
We love pasta in our house. Thank you for sharing
I like your tips and I do agree pasta shouldn’t swim in a sauce
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