Questions about the make, manufacture, preparation, and cooking of all types of pasta, including traditional durum wheat, whole wheat, and gluten-free.
12
votes
5answers
3k views
How to substitute eggs in homemade pasta?
I am looking to make pasta at home, but all the classical pasta dough recipes I know of are egg-based. While I have no problem with eating meat and animal products from time to time, I would like to ...
27
votes
6answers
3k views
Why are there so many different pasta shapes?
Do the different pasta shapes serve any purpose, or are they just for fun? Some difference appear to be cultural (lo mein vs spaghetti), but there are so many different syles of Italian pasta, is ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
Is there a faster/less messy way to stuff manicotti/canneloni?
I've had all the ingredients for stuffed manicotti sitting around in my kitchen for the past 2 days but keep putting it off because I absolutely dread the whole stuffing process.
I usually start off ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
How do I stop homemade Ravioli from going soggy? (storage issue)
Last week I made some Pumpkin Ravioli. The filling was a bit moist, but nothing excessive.
The problem is, that obviously, I don't want to be stuffing ravioli immediately before they go into the ...
18
votes
9answers
6k views
How should one go about reheating pasta?
Ok, so, I know the answer, "You shouldn't, because it's easy to make it fresh."
But on occasion, I end up making too much pasta, not having enough sauce, etc. and the pasta gets stowed in a ...
12
votes
6answers
947 views
Why is my mac 'n' cheese grainy?
I need to make a large batch (to serve 30) of mac 'n' cheese, and rather than bothering with my standard roux - cheese sauce, I thought maybe I could cheat with a short cut.
I dug up an old recipe ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Can I preserve fresh potato gnocchi by drying it?
I have a lot of potatoes to use, and I am making a large batch of Gnocchi. I plan to freeze much of it, but I was wondering if it's also possible to dry the fresh Gnocchi and store in a sealed ...
8
votes
4answers
482 views
Saving pasta water
When making pasta, I often use small amounts of pasta water as an addition to sautes or to lengthen sauces. I have thought of saving more of the pasta water to refrigerate and use within 2 or 3 days, ...
20
votes
5answers
11k views
What is the correct water to pasta ratio?
I have heard one should use a lot of water when cooking pasta; how much water should I use?
6
votes
3answers
6k views
How to make the pasta in this TV show (Anthony Bourdain in Rome)?
I'm talking about the one served on a parmesan crust bowl, but that's not all.
Besides the parmesan bowl (they only showed the chef melting grated parmesan and then molding it), what kind of pepper ...
7
votes
3answers
3k views
Why does my homemade pasta stick to itself whilst cooking?
I make a fair amount of homemade pasta (Mostly Tagliatelle or Linguine), and I tend to cook it fresh, rather than drying it and cooking from dry; however, it tends to clump and stick together in the ...
1
vote
2answers
229 views
Adding Meat to Pasta Caprese
I absolutely love pasta caprese. I have a great recipe for it that provides perfectly creamy mozarella and tasty tomatoes and uses up the leaves on my basil plant. It's a great dish.
I also don't ...
3
votes
0answers
167 views
How do I keep fettucini from sticking together while boiling it [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I keep pasta from sticking to itself?
I have tried to add vegetable oil to the water. I have tried stirring while boiling. Is there a better technique?
21
votes
9answers
13k views
What's the numbering system for spaghetti and does it matter?
When I lived in Italy some years ago I remember an Italian friend explaining the numbering system for spaghetti (perhaps also other long pasta). How spaghetti was sold in Italy with a number ...
5
votes
2answers
769 views
Impact of using egg yolks vs whites in a spaghetti dish?
I'm making a dish that calls for several egg yolks and 1 full egg (all scrambled together) to be poured over hot spaghetti and cooked salt pork (to cook the egg), and I'm wondering how much of a ...
7
votes
1answer
738 views
Is It Possible to Make Elbow Pasta At Home?
I love making egg, semolina, and wheat pasta at home, but my home pasta maker (a KitchenAid attachment with a roller and two cutter blades) does only basic fettucini and spaghetti shapes plus whatever ...
7
votes
2answers
4k views
Heating meatballs in pasta sauce
I made meatballs yesterday in the oven and I'm going to add them to pasta sauce tonight to heat them up and add them to spaghetti. My question is how long should I boil the meatballs for in the sauce ...
24
votes
7answers
7k views
Can I boil pasta in a pasta sauce?
Is it ok to boil pasta in pan with a pasta sauce?
Is there any reason to boil pasta separately (and then add the sauce)?
26
votes
5answers
3k views
Pasta: Simmering Water or Rolling Boil?
I recently got into a surprisingly heated argument with a friend about what level of boil you should cook your pasta at. He (an engineer) argued that the heat transfer would remain the same regardless ...
4
votes
4answers
650 views
Slow cooker lasagne
Can a lasagne be made in the slow cooker, or will that cause the pasta to become unpleasant?
7
votes
3answers
11k views
Cooking pasta in the microwave
I have a microwave "pot" that I use for steaming vegetables. The instructions say it can also be used for cooking pasta, which seems sacrilege to me.
Does anybody know if the result would be a good al ...
2
votes
3answers
266 views
Pasta preservation
I have some extra pasta, cooked.
I have no extra sauce to put the pasta in.
What's the best way to preserve it so it lasts for a day or hopefully two without getting dry or rotten?
2
votes
2answers
400 views
Will adding lemon juice to non-wheat pastas make them starchier?
I read in this question: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/2574/why-add-salt-to-the-water-when-cooking-pasta that adding an acid like lemon juice to water you're cooking pasta in will help ...
76
votes
5answers
16k views
Why add salt to the water when cooking pasta?
What is the effect of adding salt to the water when cooking pasta?
10
votes
2answers
473 views
How to prepare gnocchi dough for mixed ingredients?
After reading a recent post on incorporating vegetables into gnocchi (and presumably of potato/flour based pastas), I tried my own mixture of veggies and it came out great.
Here is where the ...
8
votes
8answers
634 views
How to make the best Genovese pesto? [closed]
What's your recipe and technique for the best Genovese Pesto?
I use basil, paremsan, garlic, pine nuts (very lightly toasted first), olive oil (extra virgin) and I like a little lemon juice too. I ...
7
votes
4answers
54k views
How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?
I sometimes cook more pasta than I intend to eat or use at once and store the rest in a container in the fridge (just plain, cooked pasta). How long would it store safely for?
8
votes
14answers
946 views
Cheeses for pastas, off the beaten path
I'm looking for some cheese recommendations to serve grated or shredded over pasta. However I'd like to get away from the obvious ones that everybody knows, such as parmesan, mozarella, ricotta, or ...
5
votes
6answers
907 views
What ingredients can be added to pasta to give a different color?
I've experimented with fresh pasta, using the following ingredients to color it:
Beetroot puree
Carrot puree
Cocoa powder
The first two were successful, the cocoa poweder resulted in a very ...
11
votes
6answers
1k views
Gnocchi - best fluffy technique
What is the best way to ensure prepared gnocchi is light and fluffy, not lumpy and soggy? I've seen tips saying to use more flour, to use less, to add ricotta cheese, to air dry...
7
votes
2answers
4k views
How do I use no-boil lasagna noodles in a normal recipe?
How do I convert a normal lasagna recipe to use no-boil noodles? Do I need to add extra liquid or just make sure that the dish is covered really well?
3
votes
3answers
97 views
Daikon in place of pasta
I remember seeing somewhere that one could use daikon in place of pasta, but I can't seem to find how one would prepare it.
Have you done this? If so, what should I be aware of when I try it out?
49
votes
23answers
45k views
How can I keep pasta from sticking to itself?
Whenever I boil pasta (specifically spaghetti), it always sticks to itself before I'm ready to use it. What can I do to avoid this without it becoming mushy (which happens if I keep it in the water)?
...
4
votes
8answers
526 views
Which is a typically American way of seasoning spaghetti and other pasta?
When I visit the States I see a lot of pasta and spaghetti in the supermarkets. I wonder which is the typical seasoning (sauce or similar) used by Americans when they cook spaghetti. Of course, when ...
41
votes
25answers
38k views
In a tomato sauce recipe, how can I cut the acidity?
It seems that every time I make a tomato sauce for pasta, the sauce is a little bit too acid for my taste. I've tried using sugar or sodium bicarbonate, but I'm not satisfied with the results.
