Turkish
Lifer
Ok, cooking pasta is an art to me, here I'll briefly explain the steps to cook the pasta itself, not the sauce or anything.
First step is to decide what kind of pasta you want. Smaller shaped ones like Fuzili will have a thicker taste than thin and long ones like Spaghetti or Angel Hair. If you use Spaghetti or Angel Hair, do NOT break them in half. Second step is to get a large pan! It has to be very large so that it can take 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of pasta. This is very important for the water to keep its composition throughout the boiling process. Turn your range on, probably about 75% way on to the max temperature. Let it boil. Do not add anything into the water till it boils. Once it boils, add salt. The amount depends on your personal preference, but I use about 10-12 grams. This will calm down the water, so wait for it to boil again. Once its boiling again, put in the pasta. As you put in the pasta, stir it with a wooden spatula or something similar so it wont stick. And if you are not on diet, I strongly recommend extra-virgin olive oil as you stir the pasta (even if you're on a diet, this is the kind of oil you don't want to run away from). Now that you put in the pasta, set the heat to about 60% of the way to the max heat. Let it cook and cook and cook. Taste a few pieces to see how you like it. I like my Pasta NOT very soft (as with Italians also). Now drain the pasta really well, but do NOT run cold or warm water over it. Just let it drain. Now serve directly to the plates.
I could actually write up the art of sauces too but it will take hours, I really spend too much time on the sauce. But one good commercially available sauce is Rao's Homemade Marinara. It has less ordinary fat than other brands and tastes most authentic. One important thing to remember is to not put too much sauce on the pasta. In other words, pasta should not be swimming in the sauce. Its there to supplement the taste of pasta, not take over it 🙂 I also put some olive oil on top the sauce, along with basils and oregano but those are my personal tastes. Anyways, I hope this helps!
Buon Apetito!
