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How to cook pasta

By Georgina Kiely

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Learn how to cook pasta 'al dente' using our cookery team's top tips and try our moreish pasta recipes with toppings and sauces that'll liven up dinner time.Cooking pasta is really simple, but like a lot of simple cooking, timing is crucial. Most dried pasta cooks in about 10 mins – a few minutes less and it will be chalky and tough, a few minutes more and you’ll end up with a slimy mush. The trick is to test it and stop cooking when it’s perfectly ‘al dente’ – which translates from Italian as ‘to the tooth’ but simply means you should need to use your teeth to chew it.

AdvertisementHow much water do I need to cook pasta?

80-100g dried pasta per person

500ml - 1litre water per 100g

How do I season pasta?

1 tsp salt, or more if you prefer, in the cooking water

Sauce, oil or butter of your choice over the cooked, drained pasta

Finely grated hard cheese, such as parmesan or pecorino, to finish

Basic pasta recipe: