Cooking pasta is really very easy, until it goes wrong. And then it’s a disaster!
But if you follow a few simple rules, there is no reason why it need ever be troublesome.
The rules really are very simple:
1. Use a BIG pot
2. Boil lots of water (Cover the pot — the water will boil faster)
3. Add salt when the water comes to the boil
4. Put in your pasta and bring it back to the boil
5. Give the pasta a stir
6. Cook the pasta for no longer than it says on the packet.
1 and 2. Use a BIG Pot and boil lots of water.
The first mistake people make when cooking pasta is the size of their pot. Pasta needs a lot of space to move around in while it cooks. If it doesn’t have this space, then there’s a good chance that the pasta will stick together or to the sides of the pan, with disastrous consequences.