How to cook pasta so that it doesn’t stick together + photos and videos

Soup with meat

This tasty and nutritious first course is equally suitable for both children's and adult menus. Therefore, they can quickly and satisfyingly feed an entire large family. To cook several servings of this soup for lunch, you will need:

150 g dry pasta.
400 g beef on the bone.
8 medium potatoes.
A small onion.
2 medium-sized juicy carrots.
2 liters of filtered water.
Salt and herbs.

Having figured out what can be cooked from pasta and potatoes, you need to figure out how to do it correctly. To begin with, the washed meat is placed in a pan filled with water and boiled over low heat, not forgetting to remove any foam that forms. After a short time, carefully pour grated carrots and chopped onions into the broth. A little later, add potato cubes to the softened meat and cook everything together for about half an hour. At the final stage, add salt to the soup, add pasta and wait until it is completely ready. Before serving, each serving is decorated with fresh herbs.

Do I need to rinse?

Another important question is whether you should rinse already cooked pasta. It all depends on how long after cooking they will be consumed. If the dish is immediately placed on plates, then this is not necessary. It is necessary to wash them if the products will be stored for 24 hours. Otherwise, after cooling they will stick together.

While the dish is cooking, you need to pour filtered water into a bowl. After the pasta is cooked, pour it into a colander and wait for the water to drain. Now all that remains is to rinse them with cold water and wait for the water to drain again. Cooks say that this action is necessary to stop the cooking process, since they will continue to overcook even after turning off the heat and draining the water until they cool completely.

Pasta with egg

This simple but quite tasty dish will be a good option for a hearty family dinner. To prepare it you will need:

100 g of any pasta.
2 large chicken eggs.
2 tbsp. l. any vegetable oil.
Salt and water.

Now that you understand what can be cooked from pasta and eggs, you should understand the sequence of actions. Pour filtered, lightly salted water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. As soon as it boils, pour pasta into it and boil it in accordance with the recommendations given by the manufacturer. After this, they are discarded in a colander, thoroughly washed with warm water, shaken and placed in a heated frying pan, lightly coated with vegetable oil. After a few minutes, add beaten salted eggs to the fried pasta and briefly heat everything together on the stove.

How to cook pasta correctly

Pasta is a product made from dried wheat dough mixed with water. They differ from spaghetti in that they are hollow inside but also have a tubular shape. There are more than 500 recipes for cooking dishes using pasta. The variety of pasta is so great that they have an official classification from forms to specific preparation.

Probably everyone has encountered the problem of incorrectly preparing pasta. In general, the first mentions of pasta appeared in the 10th century. Italian chef Martin Corno wrote about them. So, why haven’t they come up with a golden recipe yet? Of course, it exists, but not everyone knows about it. It's time to deal with this pasta question step by step.

Salad with mozzarella and ham

This recipe will be a real discovery for those who have not yet figured out what can be made from pasta. A salad prepared using it is equally appropriate for a family dinner and a holiday table. To treat your family to it, you will need:

300 g of any pasta.
120 g good ham.
100 g mozzarella.
180 g cherry tomatoes.
100 g fresh basil.
70 g parmesan.
½ cup olive oil.
Sea salt, walnuts and dried Italian herbs.

The washed and dried tomatoes are cut in half and placed on a baking sheet. Then they are sprinkled with dry herbs, sprinkled with olive oil and briefly placed in a preheated oven. While they are baking, you can start processing the remaining components. Place boiled pasta, strips of ham and pieces of mozzarella in a deep plate. All this is salted and decorated with baked tomato halves. The finished salad is topped with a sauce made from chopped basil, grated Parmesan, chopped nuts and olive oil.

General rules for cooking pasta

Since vermicelli is one of the types of pasta, you need to cook pasta in the same way as all the others - in a large amount of salted water. The water should boil before you throw the noodles into it. Immediately after immersion, stir the vermicelli and reduce the heat to medium. It is better not to cover the pan with a lid - the foam formed during cooking will flow onto the stove.

The cooking time for vermicelli depends very much on what type it is and what kind of flour was used to prepare it. Therefore, every self-respecting manufacturer indicates this parameter on the packaging. If it is vermicelli of the highest grades, durum wheat is used for it - the so-called “durum”. This is a guarantee that if the cooking time is observed, the vermicelli will not become boiled, you don’t even need to rinse it in cold water - just drain the water through a colander, put the vermicelli in a saucepan and put a piece of butter in it.

If you are afraid that the vermicelli will stick together during cooking, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the boiling water.

Salmon casserole

This bright and very appetizing dish will arouse genuine interest among those who have not decided what to cook for dinner with pasta. To feed your family tasty and satisfying, you will need:

300 g young green beans.
150 g spaghetti.
400 g fresh salmon fillet.
140 ml each of low-fat cream and cow's milk.
6 selected chicken eggs.
50 g soft butter.
Leek stalk (white part).
Salt, white pepper and olive oil.

Spaghetti, beans and fish are boiled in different saucepans filled with salted water. Then they are combined in a deep container and supplemented with chopped onions, fried in melted butter, milk, cream and beaten eggs. The resulting mass is salted, sprinkled with white pepper, mixed and baked in a heat-resistant form at 170 degrees for about forty-five minutes.

Should you break spaghetti?

Many people's favorite type of pasta is spaghetti. They are presented in the form of long strips that can be boiled whole or pre-broken before cooking. It is more convenient to cook separated pasta into small parts, so they will cook faster and will not have time to stick together during heat treatment.

Whole cooked spaghetti looks more beautiful and refined. Especially, those people who like Italian cuisine prefer to consume them in this form. But to prevent long pasta from sticking to each other, you need to cook them in a deep pan with a wide bottom or in a special rectangular container for cooking spaghetti. They must be completely submerged in water.

Attention!

It is recommended to choose horns, spaghetti, pasta and other types of products from durum varieties. First of all, they are healthier. Secondly, they do not contain wheat flour, which contributes to their sticking.

Pasta with mixed vegetables

This unusual, but very tasty and bright dish will be a true find for vegetarians. To prepare it at home, you will need:

300 g of any pasta.
150 g of young green peas.
2 small zucchini.
8 stalks of asparagus.
2 cloves of garlic.
Large onion.
40 g parmesan.
Salt, a mixture of several types of freshly ground pepper and olive oil.

Having figured out what you can cook from pasta and vegetables, you need to understand the intricacies of the process. To begin, sauté onions and garlic in a preheated, greased frying pan. Then they add blanched green peas, boiled pasta, fried zucchini half rings and toasted asparagus. Add some salt to all this, sprinkle with a mixture of peppers, mix gently and remove from the stove. The finished dish is decorated with Parmesan slices and served.

Cottage cheese casserole

The recipe described below will certainly interest young mothers who do not know what can be made from pasta for children. Even little picky people who don’t like cottage cheese will not refuse a casserole made using it. To serve this healthy sweet dish for breakfast, you will need:

250 g pasta.
450 g fresh cottage cheese.
100 g raisins.
100 g cane sugar.
200 g of low-fat sour cream.
3 raw chicken eggs.
Semolina, vanillin and butter.

The eggs are thoroughly ground with sugar, and then combined with mashed cottage cheese and sour cream. The resulting mass is supplemented with vanilla, steamed raisins and boiled pasta. Mix everything well and distribute it over the bottom of a deep form, greased with oil and sprinkled with semolina. Cook the casserole for forty-five minutes in a moderately hot oven.

How long to cook

The cooking time indicated in almost every cooking instruction is the same - 7-9 minutes. The minute-by-minute cooking is determined by the letter next to the release date - it determines the group to which the product belongs.

Based on the variety, the cooking time is set:

“A” (durum wheat) – 20 minutes;
“B” (vitreous wheat grades 1 and 2) – 8-10 minutes;
“B” (standard 1st grade wheat flour) – 5-7 minutes, depending on the composition of the product.

Store shelves are full of a variety of shapes, lengths and compositions.

How many minutes does each form require:

“Capellini” (thin noodles) – 2-3 minutes;
vermicelli – 9-12 minutes;
spaghetti – 10-12 minutes;
with a round cross-section – 12 minutes;
“bucatini” (larger section size) – 9-11 minutes;
“linguine” (“flattened” noodles) – 11-12 minutes;
“fettuccine” – 5-7 minutes;
“nests” – 6-7 minutes;
“pappardelle” (large “nests”) – 6-8 minutes;
“fusilli” (in Russia “spiral”) – 9 minutes;
“penne rigate” (in Russia - “feathers”) – 10-11 minutes;
"cavatappi" (in Russia - "corkscrew") - 9 minutes;
“pipe rigate” (in Russia - “snails”) – 12 minutes;
“farfalle” (in Russia - “butterflies”) – 8-10 minutes;
“tortiglioni” (for stuffing) – 9-11 minutes.

Nests with mushrooms and chicken

This tasty and very presentable dish can decorate any feast. To prepare it you will need:

8 pasta nests.
300 g fresh chicken fillet.
250 g raw champignons.
250 ml heavy cream.
200 g of good hard cheese.
Small onion.
Salt, vegetable oil and ground pepper.

Having chosen what can be cooked from chicken and pasta, you should consider the technology itself. To begin, fry chopped onion and fillet pieces in a greased saucepan. After ten minutes, the meat is supplemented with salt, pepper and chopped mushrooms. All this is cooked over moderate heat, and then poured with cream and removed from the stove almost immediately. The resulting frying is carefully placed inside the boiled pasta nests. Top it all with creamy sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Casserole with ground meat

This recipe is sure to add to the personal collection of housewives who are figuring out what can be made from minced meat and pasta. It was invented by Italian chefs and is extremely easy to reproduce. To feed your family a delicious casserole, you will need:

400 g pasta.
400 g ground meat.
50 g Dutch cheese.
200 ml cow's milk.
3 tbsp. l. tomato paste.
3 tbsp. l. white wheat flour.
Selected chicken egg.
Salt, water, vegetable oil and aromatic spices.

Ground meat is fried in a greased and well-heated frying pan. After some time, add some salt, add tomato paste, add two glasses of water and simmer over low heat. After just five minutes, the minced meat is placed in a deep form, at the bottom of which there is already some boiled pasta. Then the ground meat is sprinkled with cheese shavings. It is topped with leftover pasta and topped with a sauce made from boiled milk, flour, salt and egg yolk. Bake the dish for about thirty minutes at medium temperature.

How to fry vermicelli

Products

Vermicelli - 250 grams Butter (80% fat) - 50 grams Salt - 1 pinch Spices - to taste Boiled water - 250 milliliters

How to cook vermicelli in a frying pan

1. Measure out 250 grams of vermicelli, heat a frying pan and melt 50 grams of butter in it. 2. When the oil begins to bubble, pour the vermicelli into the pan and mix thoroughly. 3. Stir continuously until the vermicelli turns a dark golden color. 4. Pour 250 milliliters of cold boiled water into the frying pan, add salt and mix the vermicelli well. 5. Close the pan with a lid and wait 5 minutes until the noodles are fully cooked. 6. Remove the pan from the heat and divide the vermicelli into plates.

Pasta with meat and mushrooms

This tasty and satisfying dish will diversify the usual family diet. It has a relatively high energy value and has a pronounced mushroom aroma. To prepare it you will need:

250 g quality pasta.
500 g lean pork.
200 g of any fresh mushrooms.
2 cloves of garlic.
Large onion.
Salt, any vegetable oil, water, dry spices and fresh herbs.

Those who already know what can be cooked from meat and pasta need to understand how best to do it. First, crushed garlic and a quarter of an onion ring are sautéed in a frying pan greased with vegetable oil. As soon as they change color, add meat cut into strips and continue cooking. After a short time, add water, salt and dry ground spices to a common frying pan. As soon as the meat is soft enough, it is combined with pre-fried mushrooms and boiled pasta. At the final stage, the dish is sprinkled with chopped herbs.

Macaroni baked with cheese

This simple dish has a surprisingly simple composition. Therefore, it will certainly be of interest to those who have some pasta left. Every housewife should know what can be prepared from a meager set of ingredients to nourish a hungry family with nourishing and tasty food. To create this dinner you will need:

450 g pasta.
450 g hard cheese of easy melting varieties.
30 g good butter.
100 g crumbled bread.
Salt and pepper.

Place a quarter of the boiled pasta on the bottom of a mold greased with soft butter. Thin slices of cheese are evenly distributed on top. The layers are alternated until all the ingredients are used up. The resulting workpiece is sprinkled with a mixture of crumbled bread and butter. Bake the dish in a preheated oven until an appetizing golden crust appears.

How much salt do you need and when to add it?

Salt is always added to taste when preparing any culinary delight. As for pasta, 10 grams of salt per 100 grams of product and 1 liter of liquid are enough to prepare them. For 1 pack of pasta and 4 liters of water, 30-35 grams of salt will be enough, that is, one level tablespoon.

From a physics course we know that salt water takes much longer to reach boiling point than plain water. Accordingly, if you need to cook a dish faster, then salt should be added only after the water boils.

Spaghetti with minced meat and tomato sauce

This recipe will definitely come in handy for those who still haven’t had time to figure out what can be made from pasta. To replicate it yourself in your own kitchen, you will need:

1 kg spaghetti.
500 g lean minced pork.
4 large tomatoes.
3 cloves of garlic.
2 onions.
100 ml olive oil.
Salt, fresh basil, water and ground pepper.

Finely chopped onions are sauteed in a deep greased frying pan. After it changes color, ground pork, salt and pepper are added to it. After some time, crushed tomatoes, previously scalded with boiling water and peeled, are poured into the finished minced meat. All this is simmered for a short time over low heat, and then combined with boiled spaghetti and sprinkled with chopped basil.

How to cook pasta without sticking

Fresh pasta often sticks together, which can affect the quality of the dish. This is a major problem that even professional chefs face. Following the correct cooking instructions will not correct the situation, since low-quality products always turn into an unappetizing lump after cooling.

Quality depends on the integrity of the manufacturer. It is popular among manufacturers to keep silent about the starch in the composition and use inappropriate flour to produce expensive pasta. To prevent the problem, you need to buy a proven product.

Pasta with chicken in cream

This hearty dish has an exquisite, delicate taste and a pleasant, subtle aroma. To prepare it you will need:

400 g of any pasta.
200 g fresh chicken.
150 ml heavy cream.
100 g hard cheese.
2 cloves of garlic.
Salt, water, pepper, Italian herbs, butter and olive oil.

The garlic is cut into small pieces, fried in a greased frying pan and removed using a slotted spoon. Place pieces of chicken meat into the remaining flavored oil. As soon as they are browned, pour cold cream over them and sprinkle with cheese shavings. All this is simmered under the lid on the lowest heat. After fifteen minutes, pre-boiled pasta is added to a common frying pan. The finished dish is heated for a short time on the switched on stove and laid out in portioned plates.

Secrets of how to cook pasta

Use the accepted ratio: per liter of liquid - 100 grams of products.
Make a choice in favor of a quality product made from premium flour.
Add salt after the water boils so that the reaction is complete and does not affect the condition of the dry pasta immersed in the boiling liquid.
Immerse products in intensely boiling liquid.
Add a few drops of olive or sunflower oil to the water.
Stir constantly. This prevents the gluten from clumping, which causes the paste to stick to the walls and bottom of the dish.
Observe the cooking time exactly. If the package says “cook until tender,” cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
Do not rinse pasta. It's better to sprinkle with oil. If they still stick together, they can be fried in a frying pan with the addition of oil or sauce.
Do not cover with lid.
Use tongs to serve.

The most popular myth is that ready-made pasta must be placed under cold water. This is the secret of catering enterprises, where side dishes are prepared in kilograms. At home and in modern restaurants, pasta is not washed. Just drizzle with oil or mix with sauce.

The next myth is that pasta makes you fat. Not entirely true, because the production often uses premium flour from durum wheat. There are brands that replace wheat flour with buckwheat, rice, etc. Such dietary products are prepared in combination with vegetable sauces, which will not harm the figure in any way. Less healthy is group B pasta. But small portions with a minimum amount of fat will not harm your figure. Especially if you don’t use them at night.

It is a deep misconception that pasta is cooked without adding aromatic herbs and spices. Many chefs season the pasta cooking liquid with Italian herbs and flavored oils. The rich broth is added to a vegetable or meat dressing so that it reaches the desired consistency and is full of flavor.

Pasta can be prepared in any way you like; it is universal for every type of dish. The main thing is to follow the cooking rules so that the resulting dish has the right consistency and taste in addition to the meat component, sausages or sauce.