A while ago I reviewed Anita Stewart's Canada...a fantastic book, wherever you live. And as a bonus I received a free subscription to Rouxbe a very cool on-line video cooking school. You really should check it out.
Naturally, I decided to look at the basic pasta cooking lesson. It really is for first time pasta cooks, but I still learned a lot. Here are a few tips for the new and not so new Presto Pasta Night Chef:
1. Did you know that you should cook dried pasta differently than fresh pasta?
Dried pasta is harder and should be cooked in lots of salted (2 tbsp salt per 1 lb/450g pasta) water that is rapidly boiling so that the pasta doesn't stick together. Fresh pasta, much softer and more delicate than dried, should be cooked in lots of salted water that is only at a strong simmer (slow boiling). Same goes for filled pasta that would break apart at a strong boil.
2. Pasta is done when...dried is al dente (just a bit hard in the center) and fresh is ready when it's tender.
If you have any specific pasta making question...leave it in the comments and we'll all try to answer.
And don't forget that this week PPN #91 will be hosted by another great food blogger...Daphne of More Than Words. So get your great dishes into her by Thursday night so that she can post the roundup on Friday. Email entries entries to daphnesu16(at) yahoo(dot)com and a cc to me Ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com
Plus...Don't forget to check all the Presto Pasta Night Roundups dating back to March, 2007, see who's hosting for the next four weeks and check out guidelines and tips for entering and hosting.
If you have any ideas for a topic for Presto Pasta Night, let me know. Facebook members, please visit the Presto Pasta Gang on Facebook
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