Pasta is a favorite dish for almost everyone. There is usually a standard method of cooking pasta. The traditional way of cooking pasta is boiling it in water and adding it to your favorite sauce. But can you cook pasta in the sauce?
You can cook the pasta directly in the sauce without boiling it in water first. All you have to do is add it to the sauce and let it cook. While cooking pasta in the sauce there must be enough liquid for the pasta to absorb and you must control for salt and starch levels.
In this article, we will take you through all the steps, tips, and a little extra information for your understanding regarding cooking pasta directly in the sauce.
How to cook pasta in sauce
Cooking pasta directly in the sauce is a simple method that will save you a lot of time and fewer dishes to clean.
While cooking the pasta in the sauce, you must ensure that you add enough water for it to absorb. The right amount of liquid is the key for the dish to become tasty and successful. On the other hand, too much water can turn it into soup.
To make it easier for you to get through the process, here are all the steps to cooking pasta in the sauce.
Step1:
Choose the seasoning and ingredients, such as mushrooms or garlic. Cook all the ingredients first. Cooking them will add depth and flavor to the dish, and adding your pasta will let it absorb the flavor.
Step 2:
Once the first step is done, add the pasta sauce to the ingredients. Ensure that you add enough pasta sauce.
Step 3:
Add the pasta to the sauce. While doing this step, remember to cover the pasta with all the sauce. Ensure that no pasta is left without being covered in the sauce.
Step 4:
It is time for you to add water to the pasta. Only add a little water to the sauce, as it can become soupy. You can start by adding half a cup of water. While adding the liquid, you must pay attention when the sauce becomes thick. You can add the water based on your added sauce and pour more water when the pasta dries out.
Step 5:
Mix it up a little once you notice that your pasta is cooked. Serve it hot, and make sure that you don’t forget to garnish it with some veggies and your favorite seasonings!
Note: When you cook pasta in the sauce, ensure that you water it down, as the pasta absorbs water a lot, and it can take a few extra minutes to cook.
What Should I Keep in Mind While Cooking Directly with Sauce?
Preparing your dish directly in the sauce may sound like an easy task, but it requires you to pay a lot of attention when boiling the pasta in the sauce.
- Ensure that you are always near the stove when you add liquid to the sauce.
- As mentioned above, do not add an extra amount of water at once. Add slowly and only when you feel like the sauce is getting thicker.
- If you want to cook spaghetti or long pasta, ensure that you use a tall and wide pot. Otherwise, this method will not work correctly. You can break the long pasta into half, but it will not feel like you are eating or having spaghetti. It is not ideal to use long-dried pasta for directly cooking it in the sauce because the pasta will stick out in a pan and will not absorb the sauce. The pasta will not soften, and it will cook unevenly. Instead, you can opt for shell pasta or macaroni.
- This method of cooking takes more time compared to the traditional way of making pasta. If you want to eat quickly without any stress about the dish not working out well, then opt for boiling the pasta in water instead of the sauce method. Also, if you are trying this method for the first time and do not have time for experimenting, then do not opt for this process.
- When you cook pasta in the sauce, there will be chances of the dish tasting a little more starchy than usual. If you are not a person of the starch flavor, it is preferred to boil the pasta in water and then make the dish. This is because, when you cook pasta in the sauce, it releases starch into the sauce. Even if the starch might not be highly noticeable, few people might not enjoy the dish.
How Is It Different from Boiling the Pasta in Water?
Boiling the pasta in water and then adding it to the sauce is way different from cooking the pasta in the sauce directly.
When you boil the pasta in water first and add it to the sauce, you do not have to worry about the starch releasing from the pasta into the sauce. However, when you cook it in the sauce, the starch is directly released into it, and you cannot stop it from happening.
The starch also makes the sauce thicker. Though you can add water to make it less thick, it can get tricky. You do not want to add more water to the mix.
You must ensure that the pasta is perfectly cooked and not raw when you cook it in the sauce. When you boil the pasta in water, you will be able to have a rough idea of how long it will take to cook, but with the sauce method, you might have to keep checking.
Maintaining the consistency of the sauce perfectly while the pasta is cooking can be difficult. Adding too little water can make the sauce dry and the pasta raw, and adding too much water can make the dish watery or soupy. With the boiling pasta method, you do not have to worry about the pasta being raw or the sauce being too runny.
Another element that makes it different from the traditional method is the salt levels. This is because the salt levels may vary when you cook in the sauce. In the traditional method, the pasta is boiled in salt water; hence you do not have to add more salt to the sauce.
You are already seasoning the pasta. However, with the sauce method, you must ensure that you add the right amount of salt to season the sauce and pasta. During this process, the salt levels may vary; sometimes, the pasta can taste a bit saltier.
Which Method Is Better?
Most people opt for the traditional pasta method, i.e., boiling the pasta in water and adding it to the sauce. This is because they can control the starch, salt, and water levels while preparing the dish.
However, you can cook the pasta in the sauce and make it as well. The time taken will be different, and you may not get the dish perfectly the first time. Cooking pasta in the sauce can take a few tries to understand the amount of water and salt needed to be added.
Once you get the hang of preparing it in the sauce, it will become easier for you to make it.
Final Words
You can cook pasta in the sauce. It may take time to nail the dish, but it is easier, simple, and when you want a less cleanup process. The essential tip to remember while preparing the dish in the sauce is the water level. The water levels can make or break the dish. Trying out different ways to cook pasta is always fun, and you might enjoy the dish more than the traditional method. As always keep you kitchen Hot and Salty!
