Pasta seems impossible to get wrong, and yet bland, mushy pasta is everywhere. The fixes are simple: salt the water properly, cook it just shy of soft, and never drain away all that starchy water.
Salt like the sea
This is the step almost everyone underdoes. The water should taste distinctly of salt, because it is your one chance to season the pasta itself from the inside. A small pinch in a big pot does nothing. Add the salt once the water boils, then taste it.
Al dente means a little bite
- Start tasting a minute or two before the package time.
- You want it tender but with a firm center, what Italians call to the tooth.
- Remember it keeps cooking when you finish it in the sauce, so pull it early.
Save the pasta water
Before you drain, scoop out a mug of the cloudy cooking water. That starch is liquid gold. Finish the pasta in the pan with the sauce, adding splashes of the water until the sauce turns glossy and clings to every strand. This is the difference between sauce sitting in a puddle and sauce that coats the pasta. Tossing it together for the last minute is the step that ties the whole dish together.