Cooking Dried Pasta
When cooking dried pasta, you cook it until it is al dente which means “to the tooth”. When biting into an al dente pasta, there will be some resistance of the pasta in the middle of the noodle. Most often, you can follow the directions on the box to achieve al dente.
When finishing in a sauce, remove the pasta from the water a little before it is done so that it can finish cooking in the sauce pan.
In the photo below, the left pasta noodle is undercooked. There is a white ring surrounding dry pasta in the center. The middle pasta noodle is al dente because the center has a solid white dot, giving it a bit of bite. The right one is overcooked as the noodle is fully cooked through and has swollen with excess water.
Cooking Fresh Pasta
Fresh pasta takes very little time to cook, as the dough has a lot more moisture in it than dried pasta does. While dried pasta can take 10 minutes to cook, fresh pasta only takes 90 seconds to 4 minutes. This cook time can vary based on pasta thickness and how long the pasta has had to dry before cooking.
Because fresh pasta is not dry in the middle, there is no al dente. Instead, the goal is tenderness. There should still be a slight bit of chew to it.
When finishing fresh pasta in a sauce, remove it from the water a little before it is done so that it can finish cooking in the sauce pan.
Well-Cooked Pasta in Seven Steps
- Fill a large pot (I use an 8-quart) about two-thirds with water. (This is about 5 quarts—good for a full batch of fresh pasta or box of dried.) Bring the water to a boil. Set your pot, pan, or bowl of sauce next to the pot.
- When the water is boiling, season it generously with kosher or other coarse salt, enough so it tastes pleasantly salty, like a soup. Let it dissolve for a few seconds.
- Add the pasta to the pot, shaking out any excess flour from fresh pasta to avoid gumminess, and stir for a few moments to prevent sticking.
- Cook the pasta to your desired doneness, or just shy of your desired doneness if finishing the pasta in a sauce. Stir and taste the pasta as it cooks, not once, but several times. • For dried pastas, aim for what al dente means to you, and start tasting a few minutes before the instructions on the package. • For fresh pastas, aim for tender but not mushy. They cook quickly, generally between 2 and 5 minutes.
- While the pasta cooks, warm your sauce.
- Transfer the pasta to the sauce with a spider sieve, slotted spoon, pasta basket, or tongs. If these tools aren’t an option, scoop out 1 cup (240 ml) of cooking water with a heatproof measuring cup or mug and drain the pasta in a colander over the sink—then immediately tip the pasta into the sauce (don’t rinse, don’t let it cool).
- Marry pasta and sauce together and enjoy!
Fresh Pasta Cook Times
| Style | Approximate Cook Time (for partially dried or frozen pasta, add 1 to 2 minutes) |
|---|---|
| Hand Formed | 3 to 5 minutes |
| Hand Cut | 2 to 3 minutes |
| Short | 3 to 5 minutes |
| Stuffed | 2 to 4 minutes |
| Gnocchi | Until they float, plus 30 seconds or so |
Cooking Gnocchi
Cook gnocchi until they float, plus about 30 seconds.
You can cook gnocchi by boiling them, or by boiling and then pan drying them.
To pan fry them, simply heat a large nonstick pan to medium-high and add a thin layer of oil or butter. Use a spider sieve to add the gnocchi to the pan. Ensure that the pan is not overcrowded. Cook for 3-5 minutes (golden brown), flip and then cook the other side. Repeat as needed until all the gnocchi are fried on both sides. Toss with sauce.
Cooking Stuffed Pasta
When cooking stuffed pasta, a gentler boil is preferred to reduce the risk of any explosions and prevents any cheese-filled pastas from curdling. After adding the pasta, let the water return to a boil, then turn down the heat to a lively simmer.