NEXT! Allowing Pasta to Drink to Its Fill

[elleng]

COOKING pasta the way you would make risotto may sound new and hip. But it’s at least old enough to have been demonstrated to me in Rome in 1976, and I imagine as old as pasta itself.

It makes sense: using this “absorption” method, the liquid is minimized — there’s no need for a gallon a pound — and added gradually to the pasta, which absorbs it completely. The pasta retains its starch, making it creamy and rich; it also gains the flavor of the stock.

(VIDEO included.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/dining/02mini.html?hpw

[blaze]

1. Interesting

I just bought my first udon noodles today and may give this method a try!

Thanks for the link! :)

[pscot]

2. At the very least

add it to the sauce al dente and let it finish cooking in the sauce.

[The empressof all]

3. I have done this

The first time I did this was when I added raw pasta to chicken soup cooking in my crock pot. I added way too much pasta for the soup to remain soup and was rewarded with chicken soup flavored pasta. I was glad at the time that I used pasta instead of egg noodles. I thought they were excellent. My SO thought they were a bit soggy.

Since then I have cooked pasta in red wine....Just because I wanted to try it. The pasta came out a beautiful color but ultimately it was a waste of a bottle of 2 buck chuck. It was still great to eat with a good shaving of Parm and a bit of butter.

I do add Better than Bouillon to the Pasta Water instead of salt if I'm making a White Pasta with Chicken. I save the broth for cooking or gravy making later in the week so as not to be wasteful.

[Tab]

4. I usually add garlic salt

And not a teaspoon of regular salt like my mother did (it'd be lost in 2 or more gals of water), but my 5 quart Le Creuset, and I put in plenty of garlic salt so you can taste it. It adds to the flavor of the pasta.

Second, I get the "dressing" (be it butter, sauce, or whatever) on the pasta as soon as it drains - NO RINSING! - while it's still hot, because the pores are still open and it will bind with the sauce. No mixing oil in there either (in the water, I mean) - it'll cause the sauce to slide off, as wll rinsing and/or letting the pasta cool too much. Get it while it's open and receptive. The garlic salt has flavored it (I guess you can experiment with other things, like pepper/salt), and the sauce sticks.

Usually infallible.

- Tab