Cooking

Why your weeknight pasta is too dry (and the 30-second fix)

It's not the pasta. It's the water.

Most home cooks throw out the pasta water. That's the bug.

A starchy ladle or two of cooking water is the single biggest difference between a sticky weeknight bowl and a restaurant-style coat-the-noodle finish.

The fix: scoop about ½ cup of pasta water just before you drain. Add it to the sauce a tablespoon at a time, off heat, while tossing the noodles. The starch emulsifies the fat in the sauce. The water carries the salt and seasoning. The noodles arrive at the bowl already dressed.

Try it tonight on whatever pasta you're already cooking. You don't need a new recipe.

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