Cooking Instructions
When it comes to cooking fresh pasta, it’s not as simple as throwing it in boiling water and setting a timer.
Here’s the short of it — fresh extruded pasta doesn’t take long:
Bring salted water to a boil
Add pasta and let cook for up to 2-4 minutes, checking for change in color and some pieces begin to “float” to the top
Shorter pastas (like Rigatoni or Campanelle) tend to cook slower
Longer, softer pastas (like Mafaldine and Bucatini) cook quickly!
Drain, then combine it with your sauce over high heat, and let it continue to cook for another minute or two.
The pasta will finish cooking, the starches will help it emulsify, and you’ll have a wonderfully incorporated pasta dish.
The length of cooking is directly proportional to the moisture content. If the pasta has been in the fridge for a couple days, it will be drier and you might need to cook it a bit longer. If you bought it that morning, the pasta will cook quickly - don’t look away!
Tips by recipe type
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When cooking with jarred sauce, you’ll want to cook the pasta halfway to al dente (around 2 minutes) before incorporating it into the sauce.
Then, let it cook for another minute inside the sauce. Add a bit of pasta water to help it along, if needed.
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This is our favorite way to dress our pasta. Making simple sauces from scratch helps it cling to the pasta rather than sitting on top.
With this method, you’ll want to make sure your sauce is nearly ready (3 minutes out). Drop the pasta into boiling water for about 60 seconds, then scoop it out directly into the skillet with your sauce.
Let the pasta continue to cook while you add your finishing emulsifiers. -
Fresh pasta is perfect for pasta bakes! For layered bakes, you likely do not need to pre-cook pasta for this. Just assemble and bake!
For twice baked - very gently parboil for less than a minute, incorporate your sauce, then layer your toppings before putting it in the oven.
This will result in a final bake that is al dente and not too mushy!