All Ingredients

Pasta (any shape)

Spaghetti, elbows, penne, egg noodles. Almost every shape cooks the same way: in a big pot of boiling water. A 1 pound bag feeds 4 to 6 people.

How to cook pasta

  1. Fill a large pot about ¾ full of water. Add a big pinch of salt if you have it.
  2. Put it on high heat and wait until the water is boiling hard, with big bubbles that keep coming even when you stir.
  3. Add the pasta. Stir it for the first minute so the pieces don't stick together.
  4. Leave the lid off so it doesn't boil over. Keep it boiling.
  5. Start tasting after 7 minutes. Pull out one piece with a fork, let it cool, and bite it. It's done when it's soft but still a little firm in the middle.
  6. Use a mug to scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Then pour the pasta into a strainer (a bowl with holes, also called a colander) in the sink.

How to use it

  • Rough cooking times: egg noodles 6 to 8 minutes, spaghetti 8 to 10, elbows and other shapes 9 to 12. Tasting is more reliable than the clock.
  • The cooking water looks cloudy because some starch from the pasta gets into it. That starch helps sauce stick to the pasta. A few spoons of it also work in place of milk in boxed mac and cheese.
  • You don't need oil in the water. Stirring at the start is what keeps pasta from sticking.
  • Don't rinse pasta after draining, unless it's going into a cold pasta salad. Rinsing washes off what helps sauce stick.
  • No measuring cup? Plan on about 1 cup of dry elbows or small shapes per person. For spaghetti, a bundle about as thick as a quarter is one serving.
  • Gluten-free pasta gets mushy fast. Start tasting it a few minutes early.
  • No strainer? Hold the lid on the pot, leaving a small gap at one edge. Tip the pot over the sink so only the water pours out. Use oven mitts or a towel, because the pot and the steam are hot.

Storage

  • Dry pasta keeps 1 to 2 years in a sealed bag or container.
  • Cooked pasta keeps 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Toss it with a little oil first so it doesn't clump.
  • Pasta in sauce freezes well for a couple of months. Plain cooked pasta gets a little soft after freezing, but it's fine in soup.

11 recipes using Pasta (any shape)