This is a Pasta Queen Public Service Announcement...
Why is pasta bad for you? Can you believe this is one of the top searched questions on google? Imagine all of the poor Nonnas that would upset! Let me be the first to tell you that PASTA IS NOT BAD FOR YOU! Especially when made with love. Italians eat pasta daily and they are still one of the longest lived populations on earth! So go ahead, have that pasta for dinner and enjoy it, life is too short to eat anything that isn’t just gorgeous (just like you are).
Since not all pasta is created equally, here are my tips for buying (and making!) the best pasta:
Buy Italian Pasta! You need to treat yourself to the good stuff, it makes all the difference in the world. Choose a high-quality Italian-made pasta that has been slow-dried and extruded through a bronze die. This will give the pasta a rough surface that will allow it to hold onto the sauce you serve with it.
Be Mindful of your Ingredients. When you start with beautiful ingredients, you will make a beautiful dish. Be mindful of what you add to your pasta, the quality and freshness of your ingredients is imperative!
Go Al Dente or Go Home! Al Dente translates to “to the tooth” which means when you bite your pasta, it should have a little bit of a crunch to it. If you cook it further than this, it will be mushy, will not absorb the sauce and will also make it harder to digest. When you cook pasta just to al dente, it will have a lower glycemic index which means it will supply a stable stream of energy, keeping you satisfied and fueling your muscles without any crash. When you overcook pasta, you lose this benefit and you will feel sluggish after eating your sad and mushy plate of pasta. Not a winning combination!
Save the Tears of the Gods! Pasta water is the secret ingredient to almost every good pasta dish! The starch in this water will make the sauce cling to the pasta itself, infusing flavor into every bite.
Salt the pasta water like a seasoned soup. Many people will incorrectly tell you to salt your pasta water so it tastes of the sea. Have you ever tasted the Mediterranean Sea? It's VERY salty, and I can promise you that you do not want your pasta cooked in water that is seasoned like that! All you need to do is salt the water as if you were making a well-seasoned soup; nothing less and nothing more.
