Cooking fusilli is not difficult. And especially after reading these 6 handy cooking tips, cooking fusilli becomes super easy. In this blog we’ll tell you all about it, so read on quickly!
How should you cook fusilli?
Cooking fusilli is done in a large pan of boiling water. The first step is to fill the pan with water. Then bring this to a boil and then add the fusilli. Let the pasta cook in the boiling water until tender. Look carefully on the packaging to know the exact cooking time of the fusilli. Then you can drain it and add it to the pasta sauce.
This is a brief summary of how to cook fusilli. There is in fact much more to tell about cooking fusilli. With our experience, we know all about it and therefore we have put 6 handy tips on paper. Read these tips below.
Fusilli cooking tip #1: Cook fusilli in a large pan
You’ll need a pan to cook the fusilli in. But what kind of pan do you choose? We recommend always choosing the largest pan you have. This is because fusilli can easily move during cooking. There is more than enough room in the pan. This reduces the chance of the fusilli sticking together.
Using a large pan is therefore important. But there are more ways to cook fusilli. We personally always use a pasta pan. We’ll explain exactly why we use a pasta pan.
A pasta pan is very handy because you can immediately drain the fusilli. The pasta pan has an insert that makes draining quicker and easier. This also prevents the boiling water from splashing. Our advice is therefore to always cook fusilli using a pasta pan.
Want to know more about a pasta pan and which one is our favorite? Take a look at our blog: ‘What makes a good pasta pan’.
To cook the fusilli fill the pan 75% with water. Our tip is to always fill it with warm water. This will save time as the water will take less time to boil. If you want to be completely quick, we recommend first bringing the water to a boil with a kettle.
Fusilli cooking tip #2: Add some salt to the water
You can cook fusilli with extra flavor by adding some salt to the pasta water. It allows the flavors of your pasta dish to come more to the fore and in this way serves as a flavor enhancer. Try it out and you will notice the difference immediately.
Yet there is also a downside to this tip. Using too much salt is obviously not good and we do not recommend it to anyone. So pay attention to how much salt you add to the water.
To help you get started, we have a little mnemonic device for you. If you stick to this, you will see that the water contains enough salt, but not too much. Add about 10 grams of salt per 3 liters of water. With this you will season the fusilli perfectly.
We briefly told you above about the effect of salt in your pasta dish. Would you like to know more about it? Then read our blog “Cooking pasta with or without salt?” and read more about this topic.
Fusilli cooking tip #3: don’t use a lid while cooking fusilli
We often see people use a lid to cook their pasta in. We recommend not to do this. It causes the water to foam and this can cause a lot of mess. Next time, just leave the lid off!
The foaming of the water is due to the ingredients of pasta. It contains protein and starch. Both can cause the cooking water to foam. By using a lid you only aggravate this process. Without a lid it is also easier to stir the pan. In the next tip, we’ll explain why this is important.
Fusilli cooking tip #4: keep the fusilli moving during cooking
Pasta has a tendency to stick together, so does fusilli. Of course, we’d rather not have this happen. An easy way to prevent this is to keep the fusilli moving while cooking. Do this by stirring the pan every minute.
Don’t you hate sticky pasta? There are many more tips to prevent sticky pasta. You can read all about it in our blog: “How to prevent sticky pasta”.
Stirring the pasta in the pan is very important to prevent sticky pasta. Use a spaghetti spoon to stir. You can also use the spaghetti spoon when cooking fusilli or other pasta.
In addition to stirring, a spaghetti spoon is super handy for scooping up all types of pasta. In fact, the spaghetti spoon was developed for this purpose. A spaghetti spoon is therefore a real must-have for lovers of Italian cuisine. Try it out and you will notice that you do not want anything else. Read all about using a spaghetti spoon here.
Fusilli cooking tip #5: taste the fusilli before pouring it off
Tasting is perhaps the most fun part of cooking. It allows you to assess your cooking skills and make any adjustments you need. This also applies to cooking fusilli. Taste it for about 1 minute before pouring off the fusilli.
Tasting fusilli has two major benefits:
You taste whether you’ve added enough salt
Tasting the fusilli will immediately tell you if the pasta water is salty enough. If this is not the case, add some salt. Is the fusilli already cooked and you don’t want to cook it any longer? No problem. In that case, add some extra salt to the pasta sauce.
You taste to see if the fusilli is cooked enough
People have a personal preference for hard or soft fusilli. It also depends on the dish you’re making. If you’re using fusilli in a salad, it’s best to cook it al dente. This means that the pasta has a bite and is just ready to eat. Did you know that in Italy they eat all pasta this way? You can read how to cook pasta al dente yourself in our blog ‘How to cook pasta al dente’.
These reasons show why it is so important to taste fusilli before you drain it. Fusilli is the most important ingredient in your pasta dish. So taste it well and determine when the fusilli is cooked to your liking.
Fusilli cooking tip #6: Add the fusilli straight to the pasta sauce
Perhaps you’re used to serving fusilli and the pasta sauce separately. There is of course nothing wrong with this if you like it. But adding the fusilli directly to the sauce has several advantages. And is therefore our advice.
Firstly, it reduces the chance of the fusilli sticking together. By adding it to the pasta sauce immediately after draining, the sauce adheres well to the fusilli. This makes it almost impossible for the pasta to stick together.
Another advantage is that it ensures that the dish becomes a whole. The fusilli and pasta sauce are mixed well. Each bite is therefore the right ratio between pasta and sauce. Extra tasty if you ask us!
We advise you to try it out for yourself. We think there’s a good chance you won’t want to do it any other way. Long story short, add the fusilli to the pasta sauce immediately after draining!
How long should you cook fusilli?
Fusilli has a cooking time of about 10 minutes. Of course it varies by brand, but also by type of fusilli. So you have besides the familiar fusilli also whole grain fusilli and gluten-free fusilli.
These differences all affect the cooking time of the fusilli. Always look carefully on the packaging to find out the cooking time of the fusilli. You’ll see that you cook the fusilli just right if you stick to the cooking time on the packaging. And as we said earlier, tasting is important!
By cooking time, we mean the time the fusilli is in the boiling water. This time starts from the moment you added the fusilli to the water. Set a timer so you know exactly when you can drain the fusilli.
Once you have added the fusilli to the boiling water, you will notice that the water stops bubbling for a moment. At this point, you’ll want to get the water back to a boil as quickly as possible. You do this by turning up the gas to as high a heat as possible. By doing this, the pan of fusilli will be boiling again in no time.
How much fusilli do you need per person?
To answer this question, we look at several factors. The dish you want to make with the fusilli plays a big role. Are you using a hearty, well-filled pasta sauce? Then choose to use a little less fusilli. The reverse is also true: use more fusilli for a light sauce.
For a sauce in between, we recommend 125 grams of pasta per person. If you are a large or small eater, you can of course adjust this quantity.
There are other factors to take into account when determining the quantity of pasta. If you would like to know more, we refer you to our blog: how much pasta per person.
How much water do you use to cook fusilli?
It is important to add plenty of water to the pan for cooking fusilli. This way, the fusilli can dance in the pan and won’t stick together. Don’t be surprised if you notice that the amount of water has decreased after cooking the fusilli. This is because the pasta sucks up the water and therefore cooks until tender and soft.
Do you find it difficult to determine the amount of water? Then use our easy mnemonic. For 100 grams of pasta, you need 1 liter of water. We think this is the ideal amount of water for the fusilli to dance around in and cook until tender.
To make it clearer, we’ll give you an example. Suppose you have three guests and want to cook for them. Including yourself, you’re cooking for four people in total. 100 grams fusilli x 4 = 400 grams. Per 100 grams we use 1 liter of water, so 1 liter x 4 = 4 liters of water. Easy right?
This sum shows the minimum amount of water you need. If you use more, this is not a problem. It is important not to use less water because this will negatively affect the cooking process.
Using a lot of water does have a disadvantage: it takes longer to cook. If you have a lot of time, this of course is important. Do you have less time? Then choose to stick to the minimum amount of water.
Easier cooking fusilli with a pasta pan
Cooking pasta has become a lot easier for us since we started using a pasta pan. Besides fusilli, you can cook any pasta conveniently with it. We’ll tell you the benefits we’ve noticed since using a pasta pan.
A pasta pan looks like a normal pan, yet there is a big difference. This is because, unlike a normal pan, a pasta pan consists of two parts. The outside of the pan and an insert that looks like a colander. The colander makes it very easy to drain pasta.
A pasta pan is used as follows:
Fill the pasta pan with water.
Put the filled pasta pan on high heat
Wait until the water in the pan boils
Add the fusilli to the boiling water.
Cook the fusilli according to the cooking time on the package.
Once the fusilli is cooked, lift the colander from the pasta pan. This will ensure that the water flows back into the pan through the holes.
Let the fusilli drip out over the pan and add the fusilli to the pasta sauce.
Using a pasta pan is a lot easier than a regular pan. Not only is it easier, but it’s also a lot safer. A great advantage if you ask us. There are many different pasta pans available. Make sure you choose the right one. You can read which pan we recommend in our blog: ‘What is a good pasta pan’.
Would you like to know more about the use of a pasta pan? Then take a look at our blog: ‘How to use a pasta pan’. Here we go deeper into all aspects of using a pasta pan.
Cooking fusilli al dente
In Italy, they always cook all pasta “al dente,” including fusilli. Maybe it’s a technique you’ve used before. ‘Al dente’ literally translates to: undercooked. The pasta is just cooked enough to eat. This ensures that the pasta has a ‘bite’ so you have to chew it more. A firm pasta so.
Cooking fusilli ‘al dente’ is not difficult. First you need to know what the cooking time of the fusilli is. Look carefully at the packaging. Subtract a minute from this number. This is the cooking time you need to cook the fusilli “al dente”.
You can find out if the fusilli is still too hard by tasting it. If the fusilli doesn’t have the desired bite, make sure you cook it a minute longer. Then taste it again. Repeat until the fusilli is cooked to your liking.
In our blog ‘How to cook pasta al dente’ we tell you more about cooking pasta al dente. You will see that cooking pasta the Italian way becomes easier and easier.
Cooking fusilli without it sticking
Nobody likes sticky pasta. Neither do we, of course! That’s why we like to tell you about the tricks we use to avoid sticky pasta.
You may have heard that you have to add olive oil to the water in your pasta. Or you should rinse the pasta with cold water after pouring it off. These are both ways we do not support. We even dare to say with certainty that they are nonsense. But how should it be done? Read on quickly to find out.
It all starts with picking the right fusilli. You can recognize a good fusilli by the ingredient “durum wheat”. This ensures that the pasta remains firm and does not stick together. In our pasta shop, all pastas are made from durum wheat.
In addition, it is important to keep the fusilli moving while cooking. You do this by stirring the pan every minute or so. Because the fusilli moves, it does not get the chance to stick together.
Finally, we give you a tip. After draining, pasta often has the chance to still stick together. We want to prevent this of course. Drain the fusilli and then immediately add it to the pasta sauce. This way the pasta sauce sticks to the fusilli instead of the fusilli to each other.
As you can read, preventing sticky fusilli is very easy. So no need to use crazy tricks. All you need is good fusilli. Then you just need to keep it moving while cooking and add it to the pasta sauce after draining.