Cooking pasta: any really new methods?

[blue_dolphin]

@rotuts, it sounds like you've developed a “build it in the bowl” method that works really well for you with Fasta-cooked linguine.
Maybe the Fasta people would be interested in commissioning you to write a cookbook featuring their product?  Sell it!

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

you bet !

 

the worlds only two page cookbook :

 

page 1 : Linguini a la Campari 

 

page 2 : Linguini a la Pork 'iPot' Ragu.

 

Fasta would send me DelCecco linguini for life

 

and cover any tariffs on Campari tomatoes.

Edited Friday at 02:07 PM by rotuts (log)

[haresfur]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I'm pretty sure that in Italy they've been using the pasta water,  in certain sauces, for a long time.  And I don't recall ever seeing a plate of pasta with sauce dumped on top when dining in Italy; the pasta is always mixed with the sauce before plating.

 

I certainly do recall from the 1960s/1970s. But I admit my recall of that time period may be fuzzy. I have a memory of spaghetti with sauce on top and the waiter putting the parmisian on top with a heavy hand and a flourish. 

 

I think people tend to go quickly from "what we do now" to "this is how we have always done it" ymmv

 

eta: and I wasn't necessarily referring only to what they do in Italy, but old style, what my parents always did. I actually often like having a bit of variety between forkfulls of past with sauce and forkfuls without for some dishes. I'm probably in the minority on that one.

Edited Friday at 02:57 PM by haresfur (log)

[Honkman]

On 10/8/2025 at 11:45 PM, Duvel said:

You mean like deep-frying, open flame grilling, broiling, serving stuff raw, ..?

I would argue that the impact on microplastics goes beyond these things. Not saying other cooking methods aren’t without potential issues but we are starting to understand more and more the impact of microplastics and its possible deep impact on human health 

[weinoo]

21 hours ago, haresfur said:

I certainly do recall from the 1960s/1970s. But I admit my recall of that time period may be fuzzy.

 

For some reason, my recall of that time period is a bit hazy as well.

 

I'm sure there were places, here as well as maybe in Italy, where the plate and dump was done. It's just not classically how it is handled.

[Ddanno]

Should have called the thread "Let's start a war with Italy" 😁

[TdeV]

On 10/10/2025 at 9:51 AM, haresfur said:

I actually often like having a bit of variety between forkfuls of pasta with sauce and forkfuls without for some dishes. I'm probably in the minority on that one.

 

Nope. Me too.

[Duvel]

On 10/11/2025 at 6:23 AM, Honkman said:

I would argue that the impact on microplastics goes beyond these things. Not saying other cooking methods aren’t without potential issues but we are starting to understand more and more the impact of microplastics and its possible deep impact on human health 

Still not getting why microwaving food contributes to your „phobia“. And how the average cookbook author should incorporate your fears* …

 

—-

* this is by no means to discredit your views. I am just wondering how a specialist author on regional/topic-centered cuisines would be able to address issues that are currently not fully understood by the scientific community …

[Pete Fred]

I rarely eat pasta but have recently been on a cacio e pepe trip after noticing that my local supermarket started carrying the bronze die pasta that @weinoo mentioned, with its starch enhancing benefits. A couple of Serious Eats articles I read are nothing new-new, but speak to this subject. And re-reading them just now, I'm curious to give the pre-soaking method a go. (The original Ideas in Food blog is now closed, but 1-minute pasta is discussed here, as well as a couple of other hacks.)