Should you rinse pasta for cold pasta salad?
My response is still no, despite the widespread misconception—even held by many chefs—that you must rinse your pasta in cold water before serving it cold.
Is pasta being rinsed, even for cold pasta salad? Here’s why this is not necessary:
Rinsing strips the starches from the pasta. Ultimately, this has a negative impact on the dish’s overall flavor and texture. WHAT TO DO INSTEAD….
- Cook pasta al dente and drain.
- Still, toss the hot pasta in the chosen dressing, sauce, or vinaigrette so that the mouthwatering flavors seep in immediately.
- Afterwards, let it cool down a little before adding the new ingredients!
- Add a little more of the dressing and toss. More flavorful!.
TRY IT. This may not be the most popular method, but it’s the best one—pasta salad is a game changer!
How much Spaghetti should I cook per person?
It’s easy to overestimate or underestimate how much spaghetti or pasta you actually need, so do you measure or dump your pasta?
Consider measuring portions for a moment before adding anything at random and having far too much or not enough.
After taking a few measurements, you’ll develop the habit of remembering how much you need for each person.
Tips for Measuring Pasta
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh out servings. Servings vary from person to person. —between 56 and 200 grams of dry pasta per individual
- For small shapes (such as shells or elbow macaroni), measure out approximately 1 cup of dry pasta per person.
- Another option is to use a soup ladle as a rough measure; my mother uses one ladle for each person.
- Use my pasta measuring tool or something similar for long pasta (such as spaghetti, angel hair, or thin spaghetti).
I don’t store leftover PLAIN (unseasoned) pasta in my fridge. I usually make double my sauces and save the sauce. After that, all I need to do to have a fresh meal is cook my pasta!
How to cook spaghetti al dente
When spaghetti is cooked al dente, which is defined as “to the tooth” or “to the bite,” it is thoroughly cooked but still firm and just a little bit chewy. The majority of spaghetti packages specify a boiling cooking time for the pasta, but you’ll need to cook it for an additional minute or two to achieve al dente pasta. Fresh pasta can never be al dente.
