Why pasta water is worth its weight in gold
Pasta’s ready, time to drain. But watch out: don’t pour the pasta water down the sink! It’s worth its weight in gold. What can you do with leftover pasta water?
Super-creamy pasta sauce
The water you’ve just cooked the tagliatelle or ravioli in is nothing more or less than hot water with a little salt and some flour. And that’s precisely the secret: a spoonful of that pasta water takes your pasta sauce to the next level. The sauce binds a little, gets a touch of salt and, above all, becomes wonderfully creamy. Making pesto pasta? Stir the pesto loose with a cup of pasta water so it clings to your pasta better. A splash of pasta water in the cheese sauce for mac & cheese? Definitely do it. A ladleful in carbonara? Winner!
Nigella’s tip: use it in focaccia
Nigella Lawson revealed on Twitter that she uses pasta water when baking bread. Replace the liquid in your dough recipe with pasta water and you’ll notice the difference immediately: the bread rises better and tastes better. That’ll make a focaccia of the highest level! Taste how salty your pasta water is; you’ll probably need to use less salt if you’ve already added a generous spoonful to the pasta water.
Cook beans for the next day right away
Use the water immediately to cook dried legumes in. So drain the pasta over another pan, add the dried chickpeas to it and start cooking immediately. After an hour or two, the legumes will be soft and cooked through; drain them and save them for the next day.
Read also:
- 5 pasta rules for the perfect pasta
- Stockpiled too many cans and too much pasta? Here’s what you can do with them
- Olive oil in your pasta water: yes or no?
