Making pasta seems like the easiest recipe in the world… until you compare your spaghetti with that of any Italian and you consider that, perhaps, you are doing it average. Either it's hard, or it's overcooked, or the sauce doesn't mix well… Come on, what you thought was simply putting pasta in boiling water has more science than it seems.
To elevate our pasta dishes and avoid all these little culinary dramas, Jordi Cruz has shared on his Instagram a video reviewing the most common mistakes we make when faced with preparing a pasta dish. Without extravagant tricks or strange ingredients because it is simply a matter of understanding how cooking works so that the result has the perfect flavor of a holiday in Rome.
More water please
According to the chef, one of the most common mistakes is that we use too little water. And of course, then the pasta does not move well, it becomes caked and cooking occurs unevenly. To avoid this, the chef recommends a very specific proportion: for every 100 grams of pasta, we need one liter of water. This gives the pasta room to rotate, hydrate, and cook evenly.
Salt is essential and in just the right amount.
Another classic in the kitchen is that we either overuse the salt or we don't add it directly. However, to boil pasta, the water must be properly seasoned from the beginning of the process. It doesn't have to look like seawater either, but it does have to be enough for the pasta to absorb the flavor while it cooks. In the video, the Catalan chef is cooking with eight liters of water, so he specifies that he needs to add “one hundred grams of salt.”
In addition, we will have a liquid that is pure gold to reuse later, when it is time to blend the sauce in the pan. Especially because it is water that, in addition to salt, contains starch and adds body and flavor to the sauce without the need for anything else. So, save a glass when you drain the pasta.
No spices in the water
The temptation is always there to put a clove of garlic, a bay leaf, a little oregano… in the water but don't do it. According to Cruz, adding things to the water steals the pasta's prominence and alters the “purity” of the flavor it should have. If the sauce is well made, there is no need for the water to add anything else.
The eternal debate: oil yes or no?
The most repeated discussion regarding pasta is whether to add oil to water. For Cruz, the answer is a resounding no. The reason is that that little bit of oil prevents the sauce from sticking to the pasta, because it creates a slippery film that spoils the final result. In fact, good pasta already has a texture designed precisely for the sauce to grip.
Only with these small adjustments (abundant water, just the right salt, no aromatics and no oil) the process changes completely without complicating it. They are simple details, but they make the difference between a “depression meal” dish and one that transports you directly to a trattoria Italian. Because mediocre pasta is never due to a lack of talent but rather a matter of technique and a Michelin star chef has just argued it for you.
Cover photo | Jordicruz
