How to Keep Pasta from Sticking ?
Pasta makes great comfort food and is really easy to cook and totally versatile. But why does my pasta stick together and how to keep pasta from sticking together after cooking or draining? This is exactly what we will be exploring in this blog post. Adding a little bit of olive oil to pasta while it is boiling will help to prevent it from sticking together.
The great thing about Pasta is that it can be really simple or quite elaborate. It can also be meat based or totally vegetarian so the variety available makes it a popular choice which can be so simple that even a child can cook it.
In our house it is a menu staple at least two nights a week as it is something that everyone in the house will eat without fuss!
How to Keep Pasta from Sticking Together after Draining
Whether it is Spaghetti, shells or spirals put the pasta in a large pot of already boiling water and cook for 10 minutes or whatever time is indicated on the box.
The trick I always use, which I have found stops it from sticking together is to put one desert spoon full of Olive oil into the boiling water.
I have not often seen this written in a recipe, but it does seem to work for keeping pasta or spaghetti from sticking together after cooking or after draining.
When cooking time is up, drain and wash in a colander under running cold water for one minute. I do find that following this process the pasta does not stick together and then you will be able to use it with your favorite recipe.
If you are using fresh pasta it does not seem to be sticking as much, but you can still use the small amount of Olive oil in the water.
During winter another great way to serve pasta and to make it go further is to have it in a soup . The whole-meal casarecce pasta is a perfect choice to make a rich tomato soup for winter lunch.
Making Your Own Pasta
If you are making your own pasta at home using a hand-turned pasta machine does make it easier. Homemade pasta is simple and there are many recipes available for it. Once you have made a smooth dough, it should rest for 20 minutes, then roll it out on a floured board and leave to dry for 15 minutes.
Cut into strips of the required thickness. Boil the strands in lightly salted water, don’t forget the dash of oil. Drain it under the cold water as this will stop it continuing to cook and help to stop pasta from sticking together. After it is finished serve immediately with your favorite sauce.
Lasagne is a Non-Sticking Pasta
Lasagne is another great way to have pasta, and it is easier to buy the lasagne sheets in the supermarket and follow the instructions on the packet, cook in a rectangular oven proof dish.
Eggplant is a great vegetable to use in lasagne, but it does take a bit of preparation and the time taken for preparation of a lasagne is time consuming as you usually cover it with a cheese based sauce.
This takes more time compared with other pasta dishes, but is worth it. It will easily feed a family of 6 and they will love it as there are so many variations on the recipe.
How to Keep Pasta from Sticking Together After Draining
You are making a salad, so you will be serving the pasta cold. Cook (shells) to al dente in the usual way , after you have washed it in cold water drain well then roll the pasta up in a cotton Tea cloth and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
This removes any excess starch, and you will be ready to make your special salad. Today I am making Bean, Pea and Celery Salad with chopped Pecans and will cover it with a light Balsamic dressing (Mayonnaise if you prefer). There are so many variations on this salad that I could write a book about it.
How Pasta Restaurants Prevent Pasta from Sticking
Where I live there are dozens of Italian restaurants and most of these make the Pasta fresh every week. Once you learn how to make it, it is extremely cost effective as well as being easy to do.
Everyone seems to start with Spaghetti when they first try Pasta, and Spaghetti is the most likely to stick during cooking.
On consulting the Italian restaurant they said that after adding a drop of oil to the boiling water to make sure that the water keeps boiling really rapidly and that you may have to rake a large fork through the boiling water in order to separate it out a bit.
But that the main secret is to keep the water on a rolling boil. Pasta also freezes really well and can be pulled out of the freezer and heated for a quick workday dinner.
How to Keep Pasta and Spaghetti from Sticking after Cooking
We have established that the Pasta should not stick during cooking due to keeping the water boiling with a dash of oil in it. When heating Lasagne or Cannelloni in the oven spray the base of the heat proof casserole dish or use baking paper to line it and it won’t stick.
Cannelloni is really useful, when feeding fussy children as you can hide vegetables in it that would be otherwise rejected. It is amazing how good a piece of pumpkin can taste when inserted in cannelloni and covered with cheesy sauce, even broccoli if well concealed will be eaten.
You will think of many ways to disguise vegetables until they become an acceptable way of life to a four year old. You will find that if they do not eat much else children always love pasta.
When cooking Pasta for children my mother always gets the scissors and cuts the packet Spaghetti into about three to make the lengths more manageable before cooking. This is not necessary, but I suspect it makes it easier to manage for both her and the children as everyone loves Spaghetti and it never seems to stick!! This is not something that most people would want to do as we all like to wind it around our forks.
After you have cooked it grate the Parmesan Cheese over it while it is still warm and it is perfect for a snack without anything else on it.
Tricks for Different Pasta Types
What you really want is for the Pasta to stick to the sauce, so if you are cooking a Tomato based sauce use some spiral Pasta. This is readily available and it will attract the sauce to the Pasta and will cling to the individual spirals, grate some Parmesan over it and it will be a perfect entre.
Because many people eat Pasta two or three times a week, it is a totally versatile food which is suitable for all age groups.
Gnocchi
Gnocchi is a light Pasta which can be served as an entre. In order to make is even lighter use Semolina in your favorite recipe and grill the completed Gnocchi sprinkled with Parmesan in an oven proof dish.
This will make it crispy on the surface and creamy within, and before you cook it, spray the dish with olive oil to prevent sticking. Serve it hot before the main course. Homemade Gnocchi is the best type, and will become a family favorite, you can also make potato Gnocchi.
Ravioli
Ravioli are small pasta parcels filled with meat or vegetables. These have to be cooked carefully in a rolling boiled water as they very easily burst and can stick. In order to prevent this from happening boil with a splash of oil immediately after making. The length of time that they take to cook will depend on how finely you have rolled the pasta.
Do not keep it before cooking as it will be more likely to burst and stick to the saucepan and other pasta squares. This is the most difficult pasta to hand make, so try to leave it until you are more experienced, eat it straight after cooking.
Conclusion
Once you start to create your own Pasta masterpieces you will become much better at it and you will want to continue to try more and more dishes, as there are endless things to experiment with.
In order to start the process just make sure that you have a two liter saucepan and a Pasta scoop just to ensure that you can keep it separated during the cooking process.
Probably leave actually making your Pasta from scratch until you have become proficient in cooking it and making the sauces.
For various food safety precautions and requirements you can check USDA web-site.