From The Straits Times    |

Pasta Perfect

Bolognaise
“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not spaghetti! You want to use pasta that can trap the meat sauce, like penne, fusilli, rigatoni (a tube-shaped pasta that’s usually ridged and can be slightly curved), or orecchiette (it looks like a tiny ear) as they allow some sauce or meat to fall inside the pasta. Penne especially, goes very well with rich sauces as its tube retains the pasta sauce while its outer layer absorbs the sauce.”

Cream sauce
“Cream sauces tend to thicken the whole dish, so you can’t use pasta that will absorb too much of it, like penne or rigatoni. Otherwise, your dish will become dry and coagulated. So stick to long-cut pastas like spaghetti, linguini, tagliatelle or bavette (a flat, ribbon-like pasta with a slightly convex shape), which will give you that lovely moisture a good pasta dish should have.”

Pesto
“This is versatile and goes with everything. The thick sauce, when mixed well with any type of pasta, from spaghetti to penne, becomes a nice blend of flavours. It runs through the pasta pretty easily too.”

Pasta Perfect

Aglio olio
“Although you can cook anything aglio olio, it’s best tossed with spaghetti. Spaghetti, or any thin pasta, can be easily coated with the olive oil, so you will get a more flavourful mouthful. It’s harder for the oil to travel all the way through the pasta if you use big, chunky ones.”

TIP:
If you’re a novice cook, start with short-cut pasta like penne and rigatoni. These are more forgiving – they won’t overcook even if you leave them in boiling water for an extra minute. Long-cut pasta like spaghetti and tagliatelle get overcooked easily because they are thinner, which is why you have to be more precise when handling them.