Pasta for One

So who could write a recipe Substack without including the ubiquitous pasta, I know it gets a bad name for being the lazy dish to cook but it is still the ultimate fast food and with a little thought can make a really tasty and nutritious meal. The other thing to say is that it is perfect for one and really lends itself to cooking in small quantities more than other dishes. There are some really simple and quick sauces and of course the slower cooking more complex sauces like a really good ragu Bolognese. Don’t shy away from these braised sauces because it can be really satisfying to cook a big trough of the stuff, freeze it in portions and then have a really satisfying meal in no time, it freezes beautifully and is particularly nice in winter when you want something comforting. The key thing to cooking pasta is to have a large saucepan with plenty of boiling water and lots of salt, pasta does not like to be squashed and stressed. I can remember with disdain my student says of seeing flatmates boiling pasta in tiny saucepans the size of cups and eating some congealed starchy mess graced with a pouring of Dolmio! The Italians of course like it “al dente” - I tend to like it a little more cooked but its up to you how you like it. One tip I learnt from the Italians is to keep a little of the cooking water back when you drain the pasta as this helps the sauce to coat the pasta better.