Dried pasta

I dont mean to keep starting to many threads, but I might have to cook this weekend in a cooking competition using dried pasta. I was planning to use the Ideas in food method of hydrating the pasta and finishing it quickly, which will give me ample time to prepare an amazing pasta sauce, but I only have 1h 15mins for the entire cooking process. Is an hour enough time for hydration? Or am I just better cooking it off in a large pot of salted boiling water?

If anyone has good input for pasta sauces, I would love to hear them. I am actually very bad with pasta since my food is mostly protein + sauce, this is definitely out of my comfort zone, so a good general guideline for a tomato and cream based sauce would really help me out

Not the most interesting topic but thanks to anyone willing to help me out!

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michaelnatkin

It seems to me that the old-fashioned way in a large pot of boiling water doesn't take any more of your active time in the preparation, and the results are probably a bit more predictable for you since I assume you've been doing it that way much of your life. If you feel very comfortable both with the execution and results of the IiIF method, nothing wrong with it. I haven't tried it but would be concerned you'll end up with pasta that is equally cooked tender all the way through instead of a nice gradient.

FrankM_3301

@lennard most condiments for dried pasta can be prepared in the time it takes to cook (traditionally) the pasta (not counting mis en place). I would suggest a couple of things: 1. Who is your audience and what might they be looking for (traditional?...modern? ...outside the box thinking?)? 2. Not to imply you don't know this (but you did say it was outside your comfort zone), cook the condiment in a pan along side your pasta pot (salt the water substantially). When the pasta has a minute or two left on the cooking time, add it to the condiment pan. Adjust the consistency with pasta water and dress the pasta with just enough condiment so that it is dressed like a salad. 3. Perhaps clue us in on my first point for further suggestions, but @ChefSteps Hazelnut Cream Sauce is pretty damn good.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I agree with @frank, make sure you finish the pasta in the sauce for the final 1-2 minutes of cooking.

As for sauce advice: If you are going the tomato route make sure you taste your tomatoes first to get an idea of their acidity level so you can balance that out if needed. Also if using tomato paste.concentrate make sure you fry it for a few minutes to caramelize it a bit and get rid of any tinny flavor it may or may not have. I like to always start with a base of garlic, onion, 2 small anchovy fillets and a healthy glug of olive oil. Frying that over med-heat until the fillets dissolve and then i'll add in a pinch of pepper flake and season with salt and pepper, add the tomato paste and garlic, fry for another 2-3 minutes until the paste starts to darken in color and smell sweeter and then deglaze with wine (whatever I have on hand usually), then add in the crushed tomatoes and a nice big sprig of fresh basil and a smaller sprig of oregano. Re-season with salt and pepper and then simmer low and slow until it tickles your fancy.

Pepijn_31744

I agree with most which has been said here. I would definitely go for the boiling water approach since, as @Michael_Natkin said, there is no real difference in prep. time. The only thing I would change is, I would take out the pasta sooner and finish it in the sauce a bit longer. Usually I finish it in the sauce for about 4-5 minutes (time depends on the type of pasta). It is how I prefer my pasta, might not be how you like your pasta.

Matt_67991

Another problem with the IiF method is that you can make the pasta soggy if you over hydrate it. I don't find any advantage over traditional or even low water cooking. If I had advice, I would pretty much second Frank and traditional cooking. Maybe look up some youtube videos of how Mario Batali or some other fairly traditional italian cooks do it. Just practice with a timer if until you're comfortable with it, since pasta is so cheap.

Also remember the old expression: your sauce can wait on your pasta, but your pasta can't wait on your sauce.

Lennard__34626

So it is generally not a good idea to hold the pasta even if you toss it in some olive oil after draining it?

Pepijn_31744

I wouldn't do that, the olive oil will prevent the spaghetti from sticking to each other, but it will also prevent the sauce from coating it.

Lennard__34626

That makes sense. And what exactly does the pasta/starch water do? I understand it is used as a thickener but how exactly do I use it? Just add a few spoonfuls into the sauce and let it reduce?

Brendan_Lee_56950

I don't really use it for thickening as much as I do for loosening up a sauce that may be a bit too dry. I don't find that there is too much starch in the water unless you are cooking a very large amount of pasta or really starchy pastas (i.e fresh pasta with a lot of flour to keep it from sticking). But be aware that the liquid is going to be fairly salty since you seasoned the water well so keep that in mind.

Lennard__34626

Any thoughts on finishing a tomato sauce with butter?

FrankM_3301

@Lennard...depends on your audience. It would probably be delicious, however, in general, traditional Italian tomato sauce condiments are olive oil based. It would be more common to finish the dish with a drizzle of aromatic oil. But, as I mentioned earlier, who you are cooking for (judges of the competition) is important in your case. What are you being judged on?

Brendan_Lee_56950

I agree with Frank. I usually go with a drizzle of the good olive oil but I've done butter and it's delicious but may not be good for traditionalist judges

ttpoker

I'm a fan of par-cooking dried pasta, and then finishing at the last second. It provides a very distinctive bite that is not easy to obtain otherwise from dried pasta.

Chris_Young_80640

So just to cause some minds to melt, here is a totally different approach to cooking pasta (article by Harold McGee):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25curi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

What I like about this approach is that you have far more control over the hydration ratio. Not really appropriate for a restaurant (too much labor), but I do this at home all the time.

Matt_67991

@Chris I love that method for macaroni and cheese and stuff like this recipe, which was huge on the internet last summer:

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2013/06/one-pan-pasta/

It's almost like it recipe pulls a chefsteps level magic trick.

@Lennard something like that would work well too, but keep it in your comfort zone if you're cooking soon!

ttpoker

Not a fan of the one pan pasta method, but Modernist Cuisine for Home's Fat Free Mac & Cheese which replaces water for perfectly portioned "cheese water" is unbelievably good! In fact it might be my all time fav mac & cheese - such a well balanced dish!

Please tell me you had something to do with that Mac & Cheese dish @Chris Young!

Lou_34544

I like to cook the pasta 75% of the way and finish it in the sauce. This really helps the sauce and pasta become "one" dish, rather than just pasta with sauce on top. To me, this is 90% of the battle...when I started doing that my pasta dishes became much better. I'll also occasionally take it off the heat after finishing and toss in a knob of butter and let the residual heat melt it while incorporating it into the sauce. Butter and tomatoes work wonderfully together. Similarly, if using olive oil, be careful. I would recommend a mild, buttery olive oil to complement the tomatoes...I don't think you'd want something grassy or spicy... there really is great variation in olive oil so taste that, too.

As for your tomato cream sauce, I have some recommendations. I'm by no means on the same level as many here when it comes to cooking, but I grew up Italian and I understand a great deal about southern Italian pasta and pizza. Get great tomatoes. Sometimes a good California plum tomato will taste better than a DOP San Marzano. Taste them. I only ever salt, and almost never add sugar. I never use tomato paste, but I'm a minimalist.

If you're making a cream sauce, I've once had a pasta with Grappa in the cream? It was great...

I've also had a pizza with a Vodka-style sauce made with Sake and cream. Just throwing out some ideas.

I also would not hold the pasta, and especially not in olive oil. You need the starch to make it a cohesive plate. I'd make the sauce, warm it when you're ready to go, boil some pasta to 75% al dente, then finish it in the sauce until its the consistency you want.

Good luck!

Lou_34544

Some Edits:

Cook the pasta in salted water that tastes more like a broth than the sea. You don't want it to be offensively salty like sea water.

Get some good dried pasta...possibly something extruded through a brass dye in the old tradition. This gives the surface of the paste a rougher texture, which some say helps it hold sauce better.

Finally, choose the right pasta for your sauce. You wouldn't choose a large, sturdy shape for a cream sauce. For a tomato cream sauce, maybe use a farfalle, thicker spaghetti, or small Garganelli for a riff on "penne vodka" (which is like the little brother of Penne)

I'm also going to share a "pasta" that's a pseudo pasta... Parisian gnocchi. I have a love affair with this, especially when browned in butter until lightly crispy before sauced

Manfred_18311

If for a competition

I would made a vegetable stock, strain it and cook the pasta in it. You will be

surprised; in addition you can pass the strained vegetable trough a fine sieve in

the stock for a richer aroma enhancement. Save the vegetable, pasta stock for further

use like adding a ¼ l white wine to it and cook blue mussels in it,…simply delicious.

michaelnatkin

If you want to experiment with the absorption (risotto) method, here's an old recipe of mine: http://herbivoracious.com/2010/06/peppery-red-wine-capellini-cooked-by-the-absorption-method-recipe.html that will get you started.

Pepijn_31744

Thanks @Michael, I've been meaning to try that. I've bookmarked your recipe and hopefully I'll finally try it this week.

Lennard__34626

So ironically there was no pasta for the competition, we were given a mystery box with 7 ingredients in them. A white fish(can't recall the name now), one onion, clove of garlic, kale, cherry tomatoes, lemon. An hour to cook. You watch shows like top chef etc but you really don't realise how little time an hour is, especially with a new kitchen where you don't really know where everything is and equipment is new(everything I put on the oven burnt and my induction cooker got too hot cause I have no perception of numbers. I need to see the flame).

Regardless, I came in third. Pretty crazy experience cooking as a home cook, I managed to cook for a two michelin starred chef. Thanks to everyone who helped, I'll be cooking pasta sometime this weekend

Matthew_Snyder_68770

The 'golden ratio' of pasta cooking is 10-100-1000 (salt-pasta-water); 10g salt to season 100g of pasta cooked in 1000g of water. That's a 1% salt solution, which is only about 1/3 the salinity of sea water. @Lou, I think when people say "the pasta water should taste like the sea" it is more to get the point across that most people don't put nearly enough salt in their water, and that's the easiest frame of reference. Altho, I have seen people cooking things other than pasta with actual sea water.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Also, thank the maker that no one here has mentioned putting oil in the cooking water. Possibly my single biggest pet peeve.

Brendan_Lee_56950

but it keeps the pasta from sticking!

t.stanoulis

@Lennard, that's great. I bet it was a lot of fun and an intriguing experience. Have you participated in any other competitions before this or worked at all in any kitchens? It sounds like a great way to gain exposure to something more like a professional cooking environment — jumping straight into the fire.

I'd love to know what dish you ended up making with that box.

Manfred_18311

Brendan, but not by

adding it in the boiling water , once the pasta is strain you add 5 ml Oil to

it to prevent the pasta from aggultinating, adding oil the boiling water it had in

the past just one reason, to keep the starch from over boiling but added simultaneously

a dull taste to the pasta.

Brendan_Lee_56950

@manfred you must have missed the /s at the bottom of the post!

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Yeah, that's the kitchen wive's tale of the utility of oiling pasta water. I know oiling the water works to prevent boil overs.... but so does using the proper amount of water, and lowering the burner control knob.

Don't waste oil putting it on pasta water.