How to Cook Better Pasta

Pasta is one of the simplest things to cook, but also one of the easiest to get wrong. A few small habits make a big difference to how it tastes and comes together – these are the ones that matter.

1. Salt your water properly

You'll sometimes hear "as salty as the sea". That's a bit excessive, but the water should clearly taste salty – more salt than you'd think, not just a pinch. (Don't worry, the pasta won't absorb all of it.)

2. Cook al dente

Pasta should be just tender, with a slight bite. Cook it about a minute less than the pack says, since it'll finish cooking in the sauce.

3. Save some pasta water

Before draining, scoop out a mug of the cooking water. That starchy water helps a sauce loosen and cling to the pasta – it turns a sauce from something that sits on top into something that comes together.

4. Use less sauce than you think

This is where most people go wrong. Pasta shouldn't be swimming in sauce; it should be lightly coated, so the flavour clings to each piece. If there's sauce pooling at the bottom of the plate, it's probably too much.

5. Finish the pasta in the sauce

Instead of pouring the sauce over the pasta, add the pasta into the pan with the sauce and toss them together for a minute or two, adding a splash of pasta water if it needs loosening. That's what makes it feel like one dish rather than two separate parts.

What people usually get wrong

• Not salting the water enough
• Using too much sauce
• Draining all the pasta water away
• Not finishing the pasta in the sauce

Fixing even one or two of these will noticeably improve your pasta.

Simple tomato pasta, as an example

A good tomato sauce is the classic example of keeping things simple and letting the ingredients do the work.

Gently cook a peeled whole garlic clove in extra virgin olive oil until fragrant, then add good-quality tinned tomatoes (Mutti are a reliable option in the UK). Cook on medium-low while the pasta cooks, adding pasta water gradually as it reduces – usually around half a ladle to a ladle.

Finish the pasta in the sauce, adding more pasta water if needed until it's smooth and coats the pasta properly. Finish with grated parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.