How to prepare this symbolic Italian dish

All the secrets for perfectly cooked pasta

Pasta is the main element of Italian cuisine and a universal symbol of our gastronomic traditions, albeit not everyone knows that in order to have perfectly cooked dry pasta, they must respect some very important rules.

First of all you’ll need a very big pot which can immediately hold all of the pasta (even in the case of long pasta like spaghetti). You must put one liter of water for every 100 grams of pasta. This much water is essential to ensure that the pasta does not clump together and to maintain a constant temperature throughout cooking. Only when the water begins to boil do we add coarse salt (10-12 grams for each liter of water). If the salt is put in the pot before the water boils, it slows down the boiling process.

After the salted water returns to a boil, add the pasta and raise the heat in order to maintain boiling. Lightly stir with a wooden spoon. If cooking longer pastas, continue to lightly stir until the pasta loses its rigidness. You must also mix the pasta from time to time while it is cooking, without exaggerating - because pasta needs company.

Cooking times are based on the shape and quality of the pasta, but also on one’s preferences. We producers and lovers of Gragnano pasta obviously indicate times on the box for “al dente” pasta. Nonetheless we suggest tasting a piece of pasta before draining it. And never add cold water to the pasta at the end of cooking, because it removes the layer of starch created while cooking that helps the condiment adhere to the pasta better.

At this point, the pasta is ready to be mixed with its sauce – there are thousands of possibilities to be found in the recipes of the Italian kitchen. And you can finally eat! Buon appetito a tutti! (Enjoy your meal)