MINI HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: BIALETTI MOKA POT (AND TUTORIAL)

A few weeks ago, I thought to myself, "Should I work on a new holiday gift guide?" My answer was resounding "Nah" (as resounding as a "nah" can be), because I thought the 2014 holiday gift guide covered pretty much everything, especially with the suggestion of a labor-free staycation for mothers that I hope Mr Bee is considering.

Then I remembered there's a product so pretty, so Italian, so dear to me, and so reasonably priced that I have to recommend it to you for this holiday season. I'm talking about the caffettiera, or moka pot, the wonderful contraption that gives you a wonderful, strong coffee in minutes right from your stovetop. Coffee made with a moka pot is similar to espresso in its dosage (roughly) and instantaneous kick, and it is served in an espresso cup, sometimes with one or two teaspoons of sugar and/or a dash of milk. I believe every Italian household owns a few moka pots in various sizes, and drinks moka coffee first thing in the morning, after lunch, and with friends when they drop in for a visit.

There are many beautiful moka designs from different brands, but my favorite is the aluminum Bialetti pot patented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti and carrying the classic logo of the "little guy with a mustache" that you can see on the right. (Now that I think about it, they could have found a more inventive name for an Italian mascot.)

Here is everything you need to know about your moka pot once you decide to gift it or in case you become a lucky giftee. Read on.

HOW TO BUY 

You can find Bialetti pots online and at many Italian specialty stores. For a beginner, I'd recommend to start small with a 1- or 3-cup moka pot (around $25 for the latter) and a packet of replacement gaskets ($3.80 on Amazon). I'd also recommend enriching your gift with a bag of ground coffee, ideally from Lavazza or Illy moka or espresso ground (but once you get addicted, Café Bustelo at CVS purchased at dawn will also do). If you're dealing with a coffee lover, I would visit your local coffee roaster and ask for a dark or medium roast ground a little finer than drip coffee but a little coarser than espresso. And in case you're dealing with someone very special, you could gift a set of espresso cups, too.

FIRST DAY WITH YOUR MOKA POT

A moka pot needs to be thoroughly cleaned before it can produce proper coffee. Wash the three main parts (see diagram below) with warm water ONLY, then run the pot with only water for 3-4 times to remove any protective residue. I know you don't know how to use it yet, but I guess you'll have to read the entire post.

MAKE MOKA COFFEE!

1. Fill the bottom container with filtered water up to the internal valve.

2. Insert the funnel and fill it with ground coffee. You can make a small pyramid here, but in any case, NEVER press the coffee. Remove any ground coffee on the filter rim.

3. Screw on the top container. No need to apply a ton of strength here, but do a decent job so your coffee doesn't come out from the sides.

4. Place the moka on a low heat until the coffee emerges and fills the top container. If you're in another room, you'll be alerted by your moka's happy gurgling. DO NOT leave the coffee boiling any longer: It will taste burnt and awful, and you run the risk of ruining the gasket.

5. Pour your coffee, doctor with sugar and/or milk (or sambuca, or grappa) if this is what you're into, and drink.

MAINTENANCE

Maintenance for a moka pot is very easy. Wash the three main parts of the moka pot after each use with warm water, never with soap or detergent. You can use a stiff plastic brush to remove stubborn residue. Leave the parts to dry on a rack. Done!

Every six months, or whenever necessary, disassemble the moka and wash each part thoroughly making sure the filter is clean and the gasket is clean AND still soft. Run water through the moka chimney and make sure the valve is clean. If the small metal piece sticking out from the valve doesn't pop in when pressed, it means that there's coffee residue that needs to be cleaned. To remove limescale buildup, fill the bottom container with water and a little vinegar or lemon juice and let it boil for 10 minutes or more.

Replace gasket and filter as necessary, usually when they have become irreparably dirty, hard, or when coffee starts to sputter or comes out in only in part.

To read a poignant reflection on the diverging attitudes towards coffee for Italians and Americans, read Slow Food/Fast Coffee.

NOT TOO LATE: MALLOREDDUS WITH LAMB RAGÙ

One of the main differences between Dead Chef and a serious food blog is that the serious food blogs publishe holiday recipes on time, so that readers have all the time to make up their minds on their menu, buy the necessary supplies, and even attempt a recipe once before the big day. So it is with a little shame that I present you with my Easter recipe a full two weeks after Easter. The recipe is Malloreddus with Lamb Ragù, which should lessen the shame quite a bit since it's a pretty damn delicious.

So, Easter. I love lamb: so soft, so flavorful, so fat. It was one of the main reasons that Mr Bee and I spent our honeymoon in Sardinia, the beautiful Italian island that is heaven on earth and that perfected the use of lamb in cooking to an art. Among the million amazing dishes we tried on our 6-day trip (we ate in our sleep, too), there was a simple pasta with a lamb ragù that captured our hearts and possibly initiated their clogging. The pasta was malloreddus, a traditional small "dumpling" you can find in specialty stores or at conventional grocery stores under the name of "gnocchetti".

The main focus of the recipe, however, is the lamb ragù. I based my recipe on the Florentine ragù preached by Giuliano Bugialli in his precious tome The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (incidentally, a great culinary history book, too). I made Bugialli's ragù many times with beef, veal and pork, and even turkey (surprisingly flavorful), and it always comes out extremely well: rich, earthy, velvety, and abundant. I believe the secret lies in the use of dried porcini mushrooms to impart a robust, earthy vigor to any sauce. You might want to find some good-quality dried porcini for this; I get mine straight from Italy.

Once you have your lamb ragù, you just mix it with the cooked pasta and serve the dish drizzled in good extra-virgin olive oil and topped with grated Pecorino. It's a super-flavorful pasta with the pomp of a winter recipe and the simplicity of a last-minute spring lunch. Perfect for Easter, then, or right afterwards.

MALLOREDDUS WITH LAMB RAGÙ

FOR THE RAGÙ

4–5 large pieces of dried porcini mushrooms 
3 tbsp EVOO + more to top off pasta in the end
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
1 celery rib, minced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs tomato paste
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 C red wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb canned tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1 1/2 C vegetable stock

1 lb malloreddus (or Barilla "gnocchetti")
3–4 tbsp grated Pecorino, preferably Sardinian

• Soak the mushrooms in a cup filled with warm water for at least 20 minutes.
• Make the soffritto: Heat the EVOO in a large pot (I use a Dutch oven), and then add the garlic, onion, carrot, and celery and let cook at a low heat until soft and a little caramelized. You might want to splash some water here and there if the soffritto ever gets dry.
• Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
• Turn the heat to medium, and mix in the ground lamb. Sauté for 15 minutes, then spoon off most of the fat. Unless you want to keep it, of course. I'm not judging. *tips hat*
• Add the red wine and cook until evaporated, for another 10–15 minutes.
• While the wine cooks down, pureé the tomatoes with an electric blender.
• Once the wine is cooked down, add salt and pepper to taste and mix in the tomatoes.
• Lower the heat and cook for 25 minutes.
• Remove the porcini mushrooms from the water, give them a good squeeze, chop them, and add them to the sauce.
• Strain the water from the dried mushroom through paper towels or a fine sieve to remove any grit.
• Add the mushroom water and vegetable stock to the ragù and cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
• Cook the pasta in abundant, salted water, then strain and mix with the ragù in a large bowl.
• Drizzle the pasta with EVOO and top with grated Pecorino.

Note: If you really cannot find malloreddus, you can use other types of short pasta like conchiglie, orecchiette, elbows... Do not go as small as orzo, though, or it will turn into a sad slop of a dish. 

Another note: The original recipe was for a beef ragù, but I made it with veal and pork and even with turkey, and it always turned out great. And at this point, you can use it for anything you want,  from pasta to lasagne to chili to the Sloppy Joe of you life. 

And since we're making pasta, let's refresh our basic pasta skills:

American Pasta: 11 Ways You're Doing It Wrong

Perfect Pasta: Dead Chef's Technique

MORE DOUGH: STUFFED PIZZA

We were recently invited to a birthday "pie party", where the host asked us specifically to bring an "Italian dish with sausages". The request put me in a tough spot: Although sausages are a specialty of the Veneto region where I'm from, it is hard to find them in a dish that you can bring pre-cooked to a buffet-style dinner. Sausages in Veneto—peppery and coarsely ground, with no fennel seeds or other spices—are mostly grilled on the spot and served with polenta.

As I started thinking about a dish that would be appropriate for the occasion, I remembered the pizza dough from The Italian Store in the freezer, calling me hauntingly like Poe's tell-tale heart. I also remembered a recipe for "Escarole-Stuffed Pizza" in an old issue of Gourmet Magazine that sounded pretty fantastic. I knew what to do: a stuffed pizza with sausages, Swiss chard, and mozzarella.

The only problem was, I'm still completely terrible at stretching dough. I'm too clumsy and impatient, and I always pierce several holes in any dough (or fabric, actually) that passes through my nervous hands. (Upon close inspection, you will notice that my pies are just a perplexing puzzle of broken pieces haphazardly thumbed together.) I needed help, and my very helpful and patient husband was happy to do the stretching with the lovely but fundamentally useless assistance of MiniBee, our oldest son. So I stood on the side and took the pictures, and begged my husband to write a little how-to for you coordinated and smart readers. (You'll find it below; keep on reading.)

The pizza is fairly easy to make once you have mastered the dough-stretching part: It is simply a pie filled with sausages and Swiss chard, to be eaten warm (or any temperature, really) in slices. The only trick I learned from the Gourmet recipe is cooking the crust first in the oven so that it does not get too soggy once you add the stuffing. The final pizza is soft, chewy, and perfectly salty. The sausages add a decadent joy to this recipe, but pizza is so versatile, you can really stuff it with anything you like. Although pardon me for repeating myself: NO PINEAPPLE AND NO CHICKEN. Don't make me come there with my perforating fingers and Poesque delusions.

STUFFED PIZZA

3 sweet Italian sausages (about 1/2 lb)
1 crushed garlic clove
1/2 bunch Swiss Chard, chopped
1 C cubed mozzarella (drained for 10 minutes)
2 tbsp EVOO
Kosher salt 
pepper
flour
1 pizza dough at room temperature (only best-quality dough—DC people, you can only use Vace or The Italian Store or make your own)


MAKE THE STUFFING

• Heat the oven to 500 degrees and put a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Blanch the Swiss chard in water for 2 minutes, then strain it and dump in ice water. Dry with paper towels.
• Squeeze out the meat from the sausages' casing. If you don't love doing this like I do, find someone who will.
• Cook the sausage meat, breaking up large lumps with a wooden spoon, in a large skillet for 8 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Transfer a large mixing bowl.
• Cook the crushed garlic in the rendered fat for 2 minutes. Discard.
• Add the Swiss chard to the skillet and cook for about 4 minutes. 
• Mix the Swiss chard with the sausage, let cool for for a few minutes, and then add the cubed mozzarella.
• Sprinkle with one tablespoon of EVOO and salt and pepper to taste.

MAKE THE PIZZA

• Cut 1/3 of the pizza dough and stretch on a floured surface to a 9'' diameter.
• Place the dough in the cake pan, sprinkle with EVOO, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is golden. Let cool for 10 minutes or until you can touch dough and pan with your bare hands without risk of erasing your fingerprints.
• Spoon the filling on the crust, keeping it about one inch away from the border.
• Stretch the rest of the dough to a 10'' diameter. Place the dough it over the pizza and carefully fold it underneath for about an inch. Press edges so that the stuffing is perfectly enclosed.
• Brush the top of the stuffed pizza with olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt.
• Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until your pizza looks like the one in the picture above.

HOW TO STRETCH PIZZA DOUGH

Whether you have been a show-off and made your own pizza dough or simply bought it from your local pizzaiolo, you'll still need to transform that sticky ball of goodness into a soft, elastic, and impossibly thin disc. The first thing is, the dough should be room temperature. Too cold and you will actually feel it resisting your touch (insert joke here). Then, you should have plenty of flour on your working surface. Once you're ready, plop the dough on the flour and dust it liberally. Do not to fold the dough over onto itself: The time for kneading has passed, and all you would be making is a really crappy croissant. Instead, flatten the dough with your fingers, pushing it outward from the center, and flip it often in the flour. Soon the dough will begin to soften, and at that point you can start to stretch it—literally, pick up the flattened dough, hold it in front of you, and pull at it gently while turning it like a steering wheel. Eventually the dough's own weight will be enough to continue stretching it (that's why those guys flip it in the air!). You really want to make the dough almost paper thin, but without creating any holes. There are other tricks to making non-compliant dough more elastic, including dousing with olive oil, but really—flour is your best friend. —Alec

Find the original recipe from Gourmet here: Escarole-Stuffed Pizza.

PIZZA IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

I can't believe it took me almost 9 years to set foot inside an H Mart, the Korean supermarket with locations in Fairfax, Gaithersburg, and my beloved Wheaton. H Mart is a wonderland of Asian foods and beyond that transforms the idea of perimeter shopping from boringly healthy discipline to an amazing adventure in meal planning: The first side offers all kinds of noodles, dumplings, and miso; the second side has the best array of fish, mystery fish, meats, and offals; the third side explodes with beautiful herbs, roots, and greens; and the fourth side is where you pay, but not too much.

I have been going to H Mart for a few months now, and I have discovered many sauces, spices, and vegetables that now have become staples in my house. But the food I now have to buy every single time I shop there is their lovely whole fresh mackerel. It is dirt cheap at about $2.50 per fish and grants a most delicious dinner that will make all of my family members perfectly happy. 

Your Meyers-Brigg Type determines whether you are drawn to or disgusted by this photo.

We usually buy three whole mackerels for a whole dinner. (The staff at H Mart will gut the fish for you if you're not up for gutting.) It might seem like a lot, but our toddler eats a whole one on his own without batting an eye, so we had to adapt. Since I have lately become an apostle of dry salting for meats and fish (do yourself a favor, get your hands on Molly Stevens's All About Roasting), I pat the mackerels dry and then salt them heavily inside and out. I let them stand on the counter for about 20–30 minutes so that the salt has the time to extract and then seal in all of the flavors, and then I broil the fishes on a roasting pan for about 10 minutes, turning them once. I know they're ready when their skin blackens and puffs up to resemble a Neapolitan pizza crust. It's a kind of esoteric sign for me, I guess.

The result is a tender, fat, incredibly flavorful mackerel that will light up your dinner and that may also bring all neighborhood cats caroling outside your door. It's almost Christmas, so be nice to them.

CHICKPEA BREAD (NO BREAD MACHINE)

As promised, here is a very easy and extremely rewarding recipe for chickpea bread for total bread-making newbies (like me). First of all, let me explain why I decided to make bread at home when I can easily buy it anywhere I want. I have a confession to make: We have recently become a sugar-free family. I say it with quite a bit of shame, because I really didn't want to join in this generation's most annoying quirk of eliminating one food group from its diet. Oh well.

It all started a few months ago when my husband and I decided to join 3 other million viewers and watch "Sugar: The Bitter Truth", the lecture in which UCSF endocrinologist Robert Lustig very convincingly explains why sugar, in the form of fructose, is pure evil. I soon went through my already HFCS-free pantry, and eliminated (= threw away or swallowed whole) all products containing sugar.* Of course, we realized we needed to find a type of bread without sugar. For sliced bread, we are now spending ridiculous amounts of money on Ezekiel sprouted bread, so I decided to research an easy bread recipe to bake a sugar-free loaf at home.

I started researching Italian blogs because, as far as I know, sugar isn't yet an ingredient in our everyday bread. I found this very simple recipe from ButtaLaPasta that not only does not require a bread machine, but it also allows you to use store-bought yeast rather than homemade starter yeast.** I know expert bakers will scoff at this, but I'm just learning. Just like I would not pick Lady D.'s wedding dress as my first sewing project, I will not choose a French baguette as my first bread-making experiment.

Anyway, here is the recipe. I kept the ingredients and rising times from the Italian blog, but then used the Dutch-oven baking method popularized by Mark Bittman and brilliantly explained by Patrick Lynch on his website (here). I hope you like it.

CHICKPEA BREAD

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8oz cooked chickpeas (a small can will do)
1 packet active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
lukewarm water

• Activate the yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water for 15 minutes.
• Mash the chickpeas with a fork.
• Mix the dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients, kneading and adding lukewarm water until the dough comes into a ball and it is a little sticky and not too hard. If you're using a stand mixer, this should take a couple of minutes.
• Place dough into a large bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for 3 hours away from drafts.
• Knead the dough again for a couple of minutes (the dough will deflate), cut a cross on top of it, and place it on oiled parchment paper and then inside a large bowl. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
• Forty minutes before the end of the final rise, turn on the oven to 425F and place a large Dutch oven, with cover, inside.
• At the end of the 40 minutes, carefully place the dough inside the Dutch oven with the parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes with the pot cover on, and then for 20-30 minutes without, until the crust is nicely browned.
• Take bread out of the pan and let cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.

I made this bread a few times now, and I've been very happy with it. It is very quick to make, although you have to plan around rising and baking times. The result is a very soft, moist bread, and the Dutch-oven method gives it a crispy crust that I've never obtained by cooking bread in a regular oven. The chickpeas contribute a slight sweetness and add a good amount of fiber for what would otherwise be just white bread. One loaf lasts us two days, because really we are never happy with only one slice.

Let me know if you try it and if you have some suggestions. As I said before, I know nothing about bread making, so kneading times and techniques have all been improvised. 

*With the exception of a chocolate salami purchased in Venice during my latest vacation. Yes, chocolate salami. It's a chocolate dessert that looks like a salami, and it's every Italian child's favorite thing in life. See one here.
**In Italy especially, there's a very powerful cult of bakers who create and feed their baking yeast at home. They call it Mother Yeast, and that's all I have to say.

Perfect Pasta: Dead Chef's Technique

As promised, here's my almost-magic technique for cooking perfect pasta... so perfect you can serve it to your Italian guests without fear of silent judgement or, God forbid, tears.

I personally* developed this technique over 10 years ago, and it has made such a difference in the pasta I eat at home it's almost ludicrous. The pasta ends up perfectly cooked and absorbs the sauce's flavor in a way that does not happen through simple sautéing. Plus, you get a slight creaminess that just makes the whole dish look and taste almost professional. I'm boasting, I know. But I'm also drooling, so you know I'm sincere.

First things first: If you haven't, read this post to learn about the correct amount of pasta, water, and salt for your recipe: American Pasta: 11 Ways You're Doing It Wrong. You have to know the basics, right? Done? LET'S DO IT!

Note: The recipe here is simple whole-wheat penne** with tomatoes, black cured olives, and mozzarella. What you'll see is two Italian portions, enough for a quick lunch for me and my 2-year-old.

DEAD CHEF'S TECHNIQUE FOR PERFECT PASTA

1. Cook or reheat your sauce in a large pan while the water is boiling or the pasta is cooking, depending on how long it takes.

2. Boil the pasta in salted water (really, salt it!), and taste it 1–2 min before it's supposed to be ready. When you see the "soul" of the pasta (or the tiny white ringlet of uncooked-ness), move to the next step.

3. Pour one full ladle of cooking water into a cup and set aside.

4. Drain the pasta and pour it in the pan with the sauce, stir, and keep cooking at medium heat.

5. Add a splash (I'd say a few tablespoons) of the reserved pasta water and stir gently until the water has been absorbed.

6. Keeping adding water to the pasta and letting it absorb until the pasta is perfectly cooked and still al dente. You don't have to use the whole cup, and in my experience 2–3 rounds will do. How do you know it's ready? TASTE IT.

RESULT: Here is the finished pasta. I added some mozzarella at the very end so it would stay firm and not melt into a single squeaky block. Notice the pasta's color: you can see it has absorbed the juices from the olive oil, the tomatoes, and the black olives.

N.A.Q. (Never Asked Questions)

Gratuitous close-up.

I don't have a list of F.A.Q. because I just published this, but I know what you all might wonder...

WHAT DOES THIS DO? I have no scientific insight on the matter, but I think the salt and starch in the cooking water allows the pasta to absorb the sauce better. What I do know, is that the starch in the water will thicken into a creamy sheen that will prevent your pasta from drying out. 

I FORGOT TO RESERVE THE PASTA WATER. CAN I USE HOT WATER OR BROTH? No, I tried and they don't work. They simply dilute the flavor and the broth also alters it too much. Finally, neither created the creaminess I obtained with the pasta water. (Please note that whole-wheat pasta will be less creamy, but not less flavorful.)

IS THIS THE RISOTTO-STYLE TECHNIQUE FOR PASTA I READ ABOUT? No, because in that case the pasta is cooked from the beginning by adding liquid gradually as you would with risotto. I tried the technique and it's great, but in my opinion it takes too long, and the pasta ends up being a little too starchy (if you need a more professional opinion, then please know that Mark Ladner, executive chef of Del Posto restaurant in NY, said the same in the 2013 Winter issue of Lucky Peach.)

WON'T I RUIN THE SAUCE BY BASICALLY BOILING IT? This is an excellent question. Well played, my friend! Runnier sauces like marinara will be fine, but if you're cooking seafood or vegetables that should retain some "crunch", then yes, adding water and prolonging the cooking might ruin everything. In that case, put the condiment in another plate and let just enough juices in the pan to follow the process. Stir everything back together once the pasta is ready.

YEAH, BUT WHAT IF I'M USING PESTO? Thank you for paying attention, you culinary hawk! For all your recipes with an uncooked sauce, like pesto, you sauté the pasta in extra-virgin olive oil (1–3 tbsp depending on quantity) and add the pasta water little by little as explained above. When the pasta is cooked, transfer it to a warm bowl, add the sauce, stir, and serve. I found this oil-and-water technique in a cookbook by Allan Bay, unfortunately published only in Italian (by Feltrinelli). 

So, are you ready to try this? Let me know how it goes! 

*OK, I'm sure I'm not the only one who came up with this. If you cook pasta like this, please share!!!

**I get my whole-what pasta from Trader Joe's. It's organic, it's cheaper than many other supermarket brands, and it does a great job at staying al dente. Plus, it tastes like pasta, not like gritty cardboard, which I appreciate.

Tweet

American Pasta: 11 Ways You're Doing It Wrong

Nine years ago I moved from Italy to the United States into a very gastronomically-conscious community, so I'll say from the start that I've had some good pastas here, especially from my friends of Italian-American descent.

I have, however, also witnessed and then consumed some proper atrocities. Pastas so overcooked, tasteless, and weird that they have become staple horror stories for my family and friends back home. This might sound mean, but let me assure you: It's not. Everybody is judgmental about how their traditions are carried out and interpreted, and since as Italians our only sense of pride these days is food, we're going to get pretty resentful and emotional about it.

In the future I will write a full post on how to prepare a perfect pasta that would please an actual Italian, but for the moment, check out these common mistakes and learn to avoid them:

1. KNOW YOUR PORTIONS. Italians do not eat a shovelful of pasta per meal. We eat about 2-3 oz depending on hunger level and/or occasion. Mega portions are frowned upon, unless you're a particularly active adolescent or a pregnant woman like myself (in that case, shovel over and suspend judgement). You don't care and want to eat more? Fine, but adjust water and salt accordingly, as explained below.

2. START WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER. Purists will ask for a quart of water per portion. I find that you can definitely get away with less, especially if you're preparing an unpretentious home meal. However, there needs to be enough water to cover the pasta comfortably. Spaghetti might stick out for the first minute or so, but then they should swim happily in the water. So, a sauté pan might work to boil 2 portions of penne, but you still want a taller pot for spaghetti and other kinds of long pasta.

3. YOU NEED WAY MORE SALT THAN THAT. Pasta water needs to be salty. You cannot just add a pinch of salt to a stock pot--that's completely useless. The rule of thumb is about one teaspoon per person, or for 2-3 oz of pasta. This will make pasta flavorful in itself and allow it to absorb more of the sauce once you get everything in the pan. Oh, you can add the salt once the water is boiling. Definitely add it BEFORE you put the pasta in.

4. WAIT FOR THE WATER TO BOIL BEFORE ADDING THE PASTA. That's it.

5. STIR, NOW! Stir the pasta for about 30 seconds, less if it's not very crowded. This will prevent the pasta from sticking. Some people suggest adding some oil to the water, but that is based on a myth.

6. TIME IT, BUT TASTE IT, TOO. You want to read the cooking time of the pasta format you have chosen, but really, you should taste it, too. The amount of water, the size of your pot, how crowded the pasta is... these are all variables that can slow down the cooking time. Try the pasta a couple of minutes before it supposed to be ready. If you see the "soul", or a tiny white speck or ringlet inside the pasta, that means it should be ready in a minute. If there's no soul in your pasta, then drain it. No matter what, though, do not let the pasta cook for much longer. Good-quality pasta can tolerate a couple of extra minutes in the water, but cheap pasta will become a gluey mess.

7. DON'T LET IT DRAIN FOR HOURS. This I saw multiple times. The pasta is drained on the sink and then left there, in the colander, for a painfully long amount of time. If you want to shock an Italian, this is definitely the way. Pasta should be drained and then immediately mixed with the chosen condiment, in a bowl or back in the hot pan. If you let it sit, it will get cold, it will stick, it will become an inedible glue. It will suck beyond belief, and the damage will be pretty much irreparable. You might add a little bit of oil just to prevent sticking right after you drain it (and once I did exactly this, out of desperation, at someone else's house), but really, do not let the pasta sit in the sink.

8. SERVE THE PASTA MIXED WITH THE SAUCE. I was often served pasta and sauce in separate bowls. This basically has the same effect of letting the pasta sit in the sink. It will get cold and stick, and it won't mix well with the sauce once you finally mix it. If you're using an uncooked sauce, like pesto, mix pasta and sauce in a bowl and serve it. If it's a cooked sauce, then mix or even sauté pasta and sauce together in a hot pan.

9. EAT IT, NOW! Pasta should not sit there and wait for you to finish your cocktails, appetizers, or whatever. It should be eaten nice and warm and still al dente. If you let it sit, it will continue cooking and become horribly mushy. So once it's done, please serve it and eat it. The only exception is lasagne, which keep pretty well even for a couple of days (if prepared correctly).

10. DRY BASIL TASTES TERRIBLE. Many pre-made tomato sauces contain dry basil, which has a very off, dark, and overpowering flavor that immediately signals a foreign interpretation of pasta. Read the ingredients of the sauces you buy and make sure only fresh basil is used. Needless to say, do not add dry basil to any Italian preparation. Promise?

11. NO CHICKEN ON PASTA. Pasta works wonderfully with pretty much anything. In the end, you should think about it as bread. Instead of a sandwich, you're eating vegetables, meat, fish or whatever with this amazing starch. Still, a grilled chicken breast should never be placed on top of pasta. It's really hard for me to explain why, but the combination has a bland and microwave-y flavor no matter what spices and cooking method you use. If you really insist on pasta with chicken, that's fine,  just don't serve it to your Italian friends. They won't understand.

Now you can move on to the next post on the subject, Perfect Pasta: Dead Chef's Technique.


Tweet