Talk to the best cooks in ltaly,and you might learn a simple secret to making great pasta: save the water the noodles are cooked in.
After pasta noodles have finished cooking, Italian cooks do not throw out all the water.
They keep a small amount to use when making the sauce for the dish.
The leftover water contains starch from the pasta.
This starch helps other ingredients stick to the noodles.
It also helps to thicken the sauce.
And because the water often has salt(and sometimes other seasonings),it adds flavor too.
Food expert Christopher Kimball recently wrote about the secret of making pasta for The Associated Press.
He said he and his team at MilkStreet thought of this method while developing recipes for a one-pot pasta.
With this one-pot recipe, you not only get a rich and thick sauce, you also have less cleanup.
The starch released by the pasta gives the sauce thickness.
And the pasta takes in more of the sauce's flavors.
Remember these terms: A"recipe"is the list of steps needed to make a dish.
And "ingredients" are the individual food items in a recipe.
This recipe uses only six main ingredients,plus spices and herbs.
The recipe appears in MilkStreet's book "COOKish."
The main ingredients are:cherry tomatoes,onion, Italian dry salami, fontina cheese and,of course, pasta.
Salami is a salty,dry meat.
For people who do not eat meat,you could use mushrooms instead.
Kimball cuts the salami into small cubes.
This lets them cook evenly in the pot.
He also cuts the fontina cheese into small cubes, and adds them at the end.
The cheese makes the dish rich.
Any other cheese that melts easily can also be used.
The dish,Kimball says,is a tasty meal that takes less than 30 minutes to make.
It uses just one pot. So,cleanup is also quick.
One-pot pasta with tomatoes,salami and fontina
From start to finish,this dish takes about 25 minutes to make.
It serves four to six people.
Here are the ingredients:
(All measurements are approximate.)
12.5 grams(12 ml/1 tablespoon)extra- virgin olive oil
113 grams(4ounces) salami cut into small cubes
1 liter(2 pints)cherry OR grape tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into small pieces
5 grams(6 ml/2 teaspoons)fennel seeds
Kosher salt and ground black pepper- to taste
454 grams(1pound) of pasta
112 grams(4 ounces)fontina cheese, (or some other cheese that melts) cut into small cubes
In a large pot, heat the oil.
Add the salami and cook until it turns brown.
Add the tomatoes,onion,fennel seeds,and a small amount of black pepper.
Cook until most of the tomatoes have opened.
Add about a liter of water salt,and bring to a boil.
Stir in the uncooked pasta.
Cover and cook, mixing around every few minutes.
Make sure the water continues boiling.
When the pasta is still a bit firm, pour out the water and save a cupful.
Move the pot off the heated surface.
Mix in the fontina cheese,then season with salt and pepper.
Add some of the pasta water as needed to thicken the sauce.
If you like,you can add freshly cut parsley or cilantro on top.
This is just one pasta recipe.
But you can use the pasta water with just about any pasta dish and any sauce.
So,remember: don't throw out all the pasta water!
I'm Jill Robbins.
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