How long should pasta cook?
Cooking times by shape
As a rule of thumb: dried spaghetti take 8–9 minutes, linguine 9–10, penne 11–12, fusilli 10–12 and rigatoni 12–14 minutes. Fresh pasta is ready after 2–3 minutes, filled pasta after 3–4 minutes. Check the package and taste one minute before the stated time.
Pasta keeps cooking in the hot sauce, so drain it a touch earlier than you want to serve it.
Salt, pot and water
Use about 1 litre of water per 100 g of pasta in a generous pot, so the noodles have room to move. Salt the boiling water with roughly 10 g of salt per litre — it is the only chance to season the pasta itself.
Do not add oil to the water: it coats the pasta and prevents the sauce from sticking later.
Al dente and pasta water
Al dente means the core still has a slight bite. Bite through a strand: a thin white dot in the center means it is done.
Before draining, scoop out a cup of the starchy cooking water. A splash of it emulsifies your sauce and makes it cling to the pasta like in an Italian restaurant.
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