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Meal Instructions
Specimen #0182·BOILING·Dead Simple

Perfect Al Dente Pasta

The 4-quart water plus 2 tablespoons salt rule and the 2-minutes-before-package trick that finally gets al dente pasta right at home.

Cook temp
212°F
Total time
12m
REST
1m
Serves
4
PREP
2m
Ingredients
1 lb Dry Pasta — any shape
4 quarts Cold Water
2 tbsp Kosher Salt — or 1 tbsp table salt
Equipment
6-qt Pot
Colander
Kitchen Timer
Long Tongs or Wooden Spoon
DirectionsGet to the point
1Boil 4 qts water in a 6-qt pot; add 2 tbsp kosher salt (water tastes like the sea).
2Add 1 lb dry pasta; stir 15 sec to prevent sticking, set timer 2 min under package.
3Reserve 1 cup starchy pasta water before draining; drain in colander, do NOT rinse.
4Toss immediately with sauce, adding splash of pasta water to loosen and cling.
Dad pro tip

Timing pasta by taste beats timing by the clock. Fish out a piece 30 seconds before the timer goes off, bite through it — you should see a thin white core still in the middle. That's al dente. If it's tender all the way through, drain immediately.

Kid adjustment

Toddlers who don't know better prefer overcooked pasta — go 30 seconds past package direction for softer noodles. Kid al dente is a myth; kid pasta should be fully cooked and easy to chew.

Reheat

Reheat plain drained pasta in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. For saucy pasta, cover a plate and microwave 90 seconds with 2 tbsp water sprinkled on top. Reheating in a dry skillet is the fastest way to ruin al dente.

BASIS: Tested on 1 lb dry spaghetti in 4 qts water with 2 tbsp kosher salt at a full rolling boil, drained 2 minutes shy of package direction (8 min for spaghetti listed as 10 min).220 kcal · 8g protein · 44g carbs · 1g fat
USDA FoodData Central #168893 (dry pasta)
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