Pasta is one of the simplest meals to cook, but that doesn't mean the dish can't be improved. Over the years, a number of chefs have revealed the many mistakes us Brits make when serving up the Italian speciality. From draining the water over the sink to messing up the serving size, there's lots of simple tricks people fall foul of.
Thankfully, most of the errors have quick solutions. The same is true for what might just be the most common mistake going. Talking to the Mirror, celebrity chef Aldo Zilli explained overcooked pasta is one of the most frequent culprits - with both professional chefs and home chefs making the easily-remedied mistake.
"Dry pasta is something most people tend to overcook in this country," he said. " A lot of restaurants precook it then serve it overcooked."
The Italian chef added: "The cooking of pasta needs to be finished in the sauce. If you are making pasta, cook it two minutes under, then add it to the sauce with cooking water and finish the cooking in the sauce, so the pasta has got a chance to absorb all the flavours."
As you have probably heard before, you shouldn't run the pasta under the sink either, in between the above two steps. "Never cool pasta down under cold water because you are washing off all the goodness," the expert explained.
He also shared a "foolproof" method for working out the correct portion size. " Calculate 80 grams of pasta per person that always works. It is foolproof," Aldo advised.
Or if you are cooking spaghetti, he says you can make use of the hole in your spaghetti spoon. While you would be forgiven for mistakenly thinking the slot is for draining water, it actually helps you to measure a serving size. Simply put dry pasta in the hole to measure the correct amount.
For those wanting to try the chef's food for themselves, Aldo Zilli has recently announced his residence at the newly-opened Lucarelli's on the Fifth Floor of London's Harvey Nichols.
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