Pasta Helps You Get Dinner on the Table in No Time
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Pasta is one of your greatest options for a quick and uncomplicated dinner. The pasta simply has to be added to boiling water and can be ready in less than 15 minutes. And while the pasta is cooking you can prepare your desired topping. Whether you decide on a tomato based topping, pesto or a creamy topping, you will be done in an instant. Here are a number of guidelines for a quick and simple pasta meal.
Avoid adding the pasta to the water before it arrives at a complete boil. This will keep the noodles from becoming soft and sticky. In addition, maintain the water at a boil all the time. You can help the pasta stay firmer if you add some salt to the water. Take note that you must not cover up the pan after you add the pasta. You have to test periodically to establish if the noodles are cooked. Pasta cooks quite quickly and leaving it too long can result in mushy noodles. When the pasta is finished, remove it from the water as soon as possible. It is going to continue to cook if you leave it there.
With that, half of your preparation is complete. The other half is making the sauce. The best thing about pasta is that there are limitless options for topping it. If you’re a pasta fan then keeping a couple of kinds of toppings sitting in your pantry is the perfect route to go.
Pesto is a quick and simple topping. Add a bit of mushrooms, garlic or maybe a bit of Italian sausage, top it with some grated parmesan, and you have a delicious meal in a flash. Sun-dried tomatoes, either canned or bottled, also go well with pasta and allow you to take pleasure in tomato based pasta without the usual topping. Top with grated parmesan and accompany it with some fresh bread for a filling repast. If you are in the mood for a cream-based sauce, just combine some sliced olives, cream, and oregano. Top it off with some grated parmesan cheese. It’s a straightforward topping but quite flavorful.
Olive oil is also perfect with pasta and can be quite simple to use too. Try mixing olive oil with some sliced sausage or canned seafood. You can add some basil for taste and don’t forget the grated cheese. If you want to be daring, try adding some spicy meat such as pepperoni.
Pasta helps you get dinner on the table in no time. In just 15 to 20 minutes you will be able to prepare a substantial meal of pasta blanketed with a selection of delicious toppings. With all the potential variations, it’s a quick and easy cooking meal that you will never get tired of.