Pasta

Preparation

1. Boiling over

   Step 1

   The immediate remedy is to blow on the surface of the water. This will give you about a 15 seconds’ grace period to look frantically around for the pot holder to pull the pot off the burner. If you can’t find it, blow again. And again. Then put a bit of oil (about 1 tablespoon) in the water. Next time, lightly grease the top inch of the inside of the pot.

2. Mushy

   Step 2

   Sauté the mushy drained pasta in a skillet in some olive oil until a bit browned. It will give it a bit more bite.

3. Stuck together

   Step 3

   If your drained pasta is stuck together, you can unstick it by quickly plunging it back into boiling water, this time with a healthy glug of olive oil or some butter in the water. Next time, put the oil in at the start and the problem won’t arise. Also, make sure you cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly boiling water and stir it occasionally.

   Step 4

   If the pasta is permanently stuck together—this can happen with lasagna noodles, for instance—slice the mass thin to make new noodles and use them as you had planned. You can also fry the new noodles with a butter-and-oil mixture and some onions, using the same sauce you had originally planned.