A variety of pasta is on the menu of any family. They are prepared quickly and effortlessly, they can keep company with anything - meat, vegetables, fish, poultry. Such products are quite satisfying, and the taste is easy to diversify with seasonings and additional ingredients. It would seem that even a child knows how to cook spaghetti in a pan, and can easily cope with such a thing. However, often instead of a mouth-watering dish, it turns out to be something canteen, unattractive and capable of only satisfying a brutal hunger, but not giving pleasure.
How to cook spaghetti in a pan: general principles
If you follow some mandatory rules, you will never fail. They are simple and quickly absorbed to automatism.
- Most important: the spaghetti pan should be high. Do not forget that these pasta are long, and it is undesirable to break them - the view will not be the same, and the dish will not belong to Italian pasta either.
- A lot of water is poured: for every hundred grams of spaghetti - not less than a liter.
- Before you cook spaghetti in a pan, you must definitely wait for the water to boil, otherwise they will certainly stick together.
- Fill in the “noodles" should be gradually and constantly stirred until the pasta softens.
If the height of the pan is not enough to immediately immerse the spaghetti in full, they are laid as much as they fit. After waiting for the submerged part to become soft, the sticking tips are melt with a spoon.
Little tricks
It was believed that pasta must be washed after cooking. However, this action is true mainly for “soft” products. Real spaghetti are made from durum wheat, and when cooked properly, they will not stick together without washing. However, if you want to pour water over them, in no case do not use cold tap water, otherwise the finished product will become loose. Rinse the pasta with boiling water.
Some chefs say that to cook spaghetti so that they do not stick together, add a spoonful of vegetable oil to boiling water. The opinion is debatable: such an additive does not give a guarantee, but it can affect the taste of the final dish, especially if you plan to serve some gourmet sauce with oil that does not include oil. But if you wish, you can follow this advice.
When the products are completely immersed in boiling water, the fire should be slightly reduced, since cooking spaghetti in a pan with boiling water means getting a paste boiled from the outside and hardened inside. Yes, and the risk of sticking increases.
Tagliolini
So in Italy called homemade spaghetti. And the real mistress always cooks them yourself. The process is simple, but to get the right shape you will need a special machine for making pasta. Flour is taken in two types: coarse grinding and premium - in a ratio of 1: 3. For every 200 grams of flour mixture, one egg is given. The flour is sifted with a slide, a crater is made in it, where the right amount of eggs is driven in and a little salt is poured. The dough is kneaded in a circular motion with a fork. Little by little, half a stack, cold water is poured (its exact volume cannot be indicated, it should be used as much as the flour "takes"). The output should be very steep, actually solid, not kneaded to full smoothness and not tearing dough. It hides in a bag and leaves for half an hour on the table to "rest". Then the dough kneads a little and cuts in bulk. The machine turns on to the maximum so that the layer comes out thick. A piece of dough is passed through it, immediately folded into three layers and again passes through the machine. And so 5-6 times, until the dough turns smooth and even. Then the middle number is placed, and the dough again rolls to thinness. At the very end, a nozzle is put on and the desired thread is set. The resulting spaghetti is sprinkled with flour and dried - it can be right on the table, it can be faster, in a barely heated oven. And you can start cooking a variety of Italian dishes.
Pesto pasta
Traditionally served spaghetti with sauce. And their recipes invented an unimaginably huge amount. You can buy ready-made, grocery, but it's boring and not too tasty. We offer to try a little and build a gas station yourself. One of the most famous and popular spaghetti sauces is pesto. Fragrant and incredibly tasty, it blends perfectly with pasta. It will require a large bunch of basil - only green, not purple, which is usually offered in the markets. From this spicy herb leaves are cut off, we do not need twigs. Two tablespoons of peeled pine nuts are fried a little - dry, without any oil, after which they are folded into a blender with basil and three garlic cloves and turned into gruel. This paste is combined with olive oil (half a glass), salt and a small piece of grated Parmesan. Pesto for spaghetti is ready!
Pasta with marinara sauce
Just wonderful spaghetti in harmony with tomatoes. In summer, fresh tomatoes are taken, in the off-season - tomatoes in their own juice. They will need one and a half kilograms (or four banks of 400 grams each). A large onion is chopped as finely as possible, a large carrot is rubbed. Olive oil-based frying is made from them. When the vegetables reach half cooked, six chopped cloves of garlic are added to them. Basil is also involved in the sauce. If you have it in dried form, then pour in along with garlic (a teaspoon). If there is fresh, chopped, put off adding it to the very end (and then take two tablespoons). After two joint stewing minutes, the tomatoes, mashed by a fork, are put, the juice which is allocated from them is poured. The mass is salted, peppered and sweetened with a spoon of sugar. When the sauce boils, cover it and leave to simmer over low heat for about half an hour. The last step is to mash it with a blender and mix with pasta.
Spaghetti bolognese
This is another legendary dish. Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce are served in the most expensive restaurants, and are prepared in poor families. There are a lot of options on this subject. The following is most attractive to us. From equal proportions of pork and beef collar, minced meat is made and fried until the water ceases to evaporate. Minced meat is also made from carrots, celery and onions; it should be four times less than meat. When the pan ceases to steam, vegetables are added to the meat, and everything is fried together until moisture leaves them. A glass of red wine is poured, and the process repeats. A glass of milk is poured into an almost ready sauce. When it is absorbed, the tomatoes are laid in their own juice (two cans), the stewing continues for another ten minutes. Salt and seasonings are poured, and after about five minutes the sauce is poured into a portion of spaghetti. The dish is sprinkled with grated cheese (preferably Parmesan) and served on the table.
Cheese sauce
This is an incredibly tasty addition to spaghetti, which also cooks easily and quickly. A gram of two hundred cheese is rubbed, it turns out especially elegantly if you mix different soft varieties and add a little "Dorblu" or its analogues. Loose cheeses like Adyghe or feta do not fit: the first will not be able to melt, and the second will curl up. A piece of oil is slowly heated in a pan. Two tablespoons of flour are poured and mixed to it, and after that - cheese chips. Stirring lasts until everything is melted to a state of thick sour cream. Little by little, a glass of milk is poured in small portions. The next portion is poured only when the previous one is completely combined with the sauce. Pour salt, pepper and preferred spices. Fans of spicy can add a spoonful of mustard or a couple of crushed cloves of garlic. Those who like aromatic gravy can chop fresh herbs into the sauce. Or you can take cream instead of milk, and crushed nuts instead of mustard and garlic.
Mushroom sauce
For spaghetti with any meat, this option will be just perfect. Fry is made of two chopped onions. 300 grams of cubed mushrooms (fresh, frozen or sterilized) are poured into it. When the water stops evaporating, the sauce is pepper and salt. A glass of medium fat cream is poured. As soon as the sauce boils, it should be removed from the heat, seasoned with parsley. Spaghetti should be ready by now.