Cooking fresh pasta is not difficult but how do you cook it the right way? We tell you exactly how to cook fresh pasta the best way. With our 6 handy cooking tips, you can enjoy your plate of fresh pasta to the max.
How should you cook fresh pasta?
Fresh pasta is cooked in boiling water Fill a large pan with water and then bring it to a boil. Then add the fresh pasta to the boiling water. Let the fresh pasta cook in it. You can find the exact cooking time on the packaging of the fresh pasta. When the pasta is cooked you can drain it and add it to the pasta sauce.
In this section we have briefly explained how to cook fresh pasta. But that’s not all. There is much more to be said about cooking fresh pasta. That is why we are giving you 6 handy cooking tips to make cooking fresh pasta even better!
Fresh pasta cooking tip #1: Cook fresh pasta in a large pot
Fresh pasta is cooked in a pan, of course. Choosing a pan to cook the fresh pasta in is more important than you think. We recommend using a large saucepan. This is because a large pan allows the pasta to move around while it cooks. This prevents the pasta from sticking together. Elongated pasta tends to stick together more easily. So pay extra attention to this.
A large saucepan can help you cook fresh pasta properly. But we think there is an even better way: cooking fresh pasta with a pasta pan.
This type of pan is specially designed for cooking pasta. Ideal! The biggest advantages of a pasta pan are that cooking pasta is a lot easier. In addition, it is much safer than a normal pan. It prevents the boiling water from splashing. Would you like to know more about pasta pans and which one is our favorite? Take a look at our blog: ‘What is a good pasta pan’.
Fill the pan about 75% full of water. It’s best to use warm water and save some time this way. Our tip is to use a kettle so the water is already boiling before you put it in the pan. Then put the pan on the heat and let the water boil.
Fresh pasta cooking tip #2: Add some salt to the water
Adding salt to the water is a step that is often underestimated or forgotten. A shame according to us! Salt gives the pasta a lot more flavor. All the flavors in the pasta dish are brought out by the salt. It therefore makes your dish much tastier.
Adding salt to the pasta water is therefore very important. We would like to give you one thing though: do not use too much salt. Too much salt can ruin your pasta dish and you don’t want that.
Use this guideline to make sure you don’t use too much or too little salt. Add about 10 grams of salt per 3 liters of water. We think this is the ideal amount for cooking fresh pasta.
Above we briefly told you about the effect of salt in your pasta dish. Would you like to know more about this? Then read our blog “Cooking pasta with or without salt?” and read more about this topic.
Fresh pasta cooking tip #3: Do not use a lid during cooking
During the cooking of fresh pasta, the water can start foaming. Very annoying if you ask us! This happens when you use a lid on the pan. Our advice is therefore to just leave the lid off.
The foaming of the water is caused by a simple reason. Pasta contains starch and protein. These components dissolve (partially) while cooking the pasta and this is how the foam is created.
Because fresh pasta often contains eggs, and therefore more protein, the water tends to foam even more. Therefore, make sure to omit the lid while cooking fresh pasta.
Fresh pasta cooking tip #4: Keep the fresh pasta moving
Fresh pasta has a tendency to stick together. You can prevent this in a simple way by keeping the pasta moving. Do this by stirring through the pan every minute. Apply this tip and you will see that the pasta will not stick together.
Do you hate sticky pasta as much as we do? We have written down all the tips on how to prevent this for you. Read it in our blog: ‘How to prevent sticky pasta’.
By stirring the pasta in the pan you keep it moving and it will not stick together. This is best done with a spaghetti spoon. The spoon is ideal because you can use it for all types of pasta.
In addition, with a spaghetti spoon you can easily scoop up any type of pasta. A spaghetti spoon cannot be missing in the kitchen cabinet of a pasta lover. We will gladly tell you more about how to use a spaghetti spoon.
Fresh pasta cooking tip #5: Taste the pasta before pouring it off
Tasting is perhaps the most important part of cooking. This also applies to cooking fresh pasta. Cook the pasta as described and taste whether you think the pasta is cooked enough. You do this by about 1 minute before draining.
Tasting fresh pasta has two major advantages
You taste whether you have added enough salt. After tasting, you will know immediately if you have added enough salt to the water. If necessary, add some more water if you notice that the water is too low in salt. If the pasta is already cooked enough you can just drain it. In that case, add some more salt to the pasta sauce to compensate.
You taste whether the pasta is cooked enough. By tasting the pasta you will notice whether you think pasta is cooked enough. This is different for each person. Some people like pasta that is cooked through, while others like pasta that is a little firmer.
These are two reasons why it is always important to taste fresh pasta before you drain it. Above all, cook the fresh pasta to your own taste. Pasta that is too cooked or too hard does not taste good. Therefore, our advice is: always taste!
Fresh pasta cooking tip #6: add the fresh pasta to the pasta sauce at once
In Italy they add cooked pasta to the pasta sauce. And not without reason. We are happy to explain it to you.
The first reason is that the pasta has less chance of sticking together. This is because by adding it to the pasta sauce, the sauce sticks to the pasta. This is why in Italy they never suffer from sticky pasta. By adding the pasta to the sauce at the same time, the dish becomes a whole. Extra tasty according to us!
Try it out for yourself and you will see that you will not have problems with sticky pasta.
How long should you cook fresh pasta?
Fresh pasta has a considerably shorter cooking time than dried pasta. This is because fresh pasta contains a lot more moisture. Take this into account when cooking the pasta.
To find out the exact cooking time we recommend you always look carefully at the packaging. If you do this, you will see that the pasta is cooked just right. Of course it also depends on the type of pasta you are using. Always taste before draining, as we mentioned in the tips.
The cooking time for pasta is about the time the pasta is in the boiling water. From the moment the pasta is in the boiling water, the cooking time starts. From that point on, set a timer so you know when the pasta is done.
When you add the pasta to the boiling water you will notice that the water will bubble less. You want to make sure that the water comes back to a boil as quickly as possible. You do this by setting the heat as high as possible.
How much fresh pasta do you need per person?
Determining the number of grams of pasta per person can be quite tricky. The amount you use depends on various factors. We explain below how you can determine the amount of fresh pasta you need.
As mentioned earlier, fresh pasta often contains eggs. In this case, the pasta is more nutritious, so you may feel full faster. It could well be that you fill up faster and that the quantity you normally use for pasta without eggs is now suddenly too much.
In that case we advise you to use less pasta. Where we normally use a rule of thumb of 100 grams of pasta per person, our advice for fresh pasta is 80 grams per person. Are you a large or small eater? Then we recommend adjusting the number of grams.
Of course, there are other factors that play a role in determining the amount of fresh pasta. Would you like to know exactly how much fresh pasta you need? Then take a look at our blog: how much pasta per person. Here we go into more detail about this topic.
How much water do you use for cooking fresh pasta?
Always use enough water to cook your pasta in. This allows the pasta to dance in the pan and not stick together. The pasta sucks up the water which causes it to cook until tender. It also reduces the amount of water in the pan.
But exactly how much water should you use? To help you with this, we have an easy calculation. Use this to calculate how much water you need to cook your fresh pasta in.
Use about 1 liter of water per 100 grams of uncooked pasta. By keeping this amount, the whole wheat pasta can dance in the pan and soak up enough water.
We will clarify the math with an example. Do you want to cook pasta for four people? Then the formula looks like this: 100 grams of whole wheat pasta x 4 people = 400 grams of whole wheat pasta. Per 100 grams we use 1 liter of water, so 1 liter x 4 = 4 liters of water. Easy right?
This sum shows how much water you need as a minimum. It’s not a problem if you use more water, as this has no further influence on the cooking process. Make sure you do not use too little.
Using more water has a small disadvantage: it takes longer to cook. If you have enough time, this does not matter. If you have less time, we recommend using the minimum amount.
The easiest way to cook fresh pasta
Cooking fresh pasta has become a lot easier since we started using a pasta pan. That’s why we think it’s important to mention this tip. We will go through the advantages of a pasta pan with you.
At first glance, a pasta pan looks a lot like a normal pan. The main difference is that a pasta pan consists of two parts. The pan itself and a kind of colander that sits inside the pan. The colander allows you to easily drain the fresh pasta.
This is how you use a pasta pan:
- Fill the pasta pan with water.
- Put the filled pasta pan on high heat.
- Wait until the water in the pan boils
- Add the fresh pasta to the boiling water.
- Cook the fresh pasta according to the cooking time on the package.
- Once the fresh pasta is cooked, lift the colander from the pasta pan. This ensures that the water flows back into the pan through the holes.
- Let the fresh pasta drip out over the pan and add the fresh pasta to the pasta sauce.
As you read above, using a pasta pan is much easier than a large pan. In addition, the colander makes it a lot safer. Prevent accidents in the kitchen and purchase a pasta pan.
There are many different pasta pans available, so make sure you choose the right one. You can read which pasta pan we recommend in our blog: ‘What is a good pasta pan’.
Would you like to know more about using a pasta pan? Then take a look at our blog: ‘How to use a pasta pan’. In this blog we tell you everything you need to know about using a pasta pan.
Cooking fresh pasta without it sticking
Like many other pasta lovers, we hate pasta that sticks. Because of this displeasure, there are many stories circulating. For example, adding olive oil to the pasta water would be a solution. It is also claimed that you should rinse pasta with cold water after pouring it off.
Both stories are not true. So leave these tips aside and avoid a lot of trouble. We are going to tell you how to prevent pasta from sticking.
First of all, it’s about picking the right fresh pasta. This applies to both fresh and dry pasta. In our pasta shop, you will only find dry pasta. This pasta is made of durum wheat and is therefore very firm. This prevents the pasta from sticking together.
In addition, you must keep the pasta moving while cooking. Do this by stirring the pasta in the pan every minute. In this way the fresh pasta does not get the chance to stick together.
After you drain the pasta, it has a tendency to stick together. Prevent this from happening at the last minute. It is very simple: add the fresh pasta to the pasta sauce immediately. This way the pasta sauce sticks to the pasta and it doesn’t get the chance to stick together.
As you read, preventing sticky pasta is much easier than you might have thought. All you have to do is: buy quality pasta, keep it moving and add it right to the pasta sauce. So you can leave those tricks behind from now on!
The right dish for fresh pasta
Fresh pasta is ideal for use in all sorts of pasta dishes. Because egg is often added to the dough, the pasta is extra tasty and nutritious. Want some inspiration? Check out our pasta recipes.