Pasta comes in a variety of shapes and sizes - such as penne, fusilli, spaghetti, farfalle, tagliatelle - and can be dried or fresh.
Follow our cooking guidelines to help you cook the perfect pasta:
How much per serving?
As a rough guide we recommend the following quantities:
- As a starter – approx 75g per serving
- As a main course - approx 125g per serving
Cooking tips
- make sure the pan you are using is big enough for the amount of pasta you are cooking
- have plenty of boiling salted water in the pan
- a little oil in the water can help to prevent the pasta from sticking together
- add all the pasta to the water at once to help it to cook uniformly
- stir immediately after adding to the water, then stir occasionally during cooking to prevent sticking
Timing tips
Fresh egg pasta cooks in approx 2 to 3 minutes depending on the shape & size, always check the manufacturer’s instructions
Dry pasta cooks in approx 8 to12 minutes depending on the shape & size, always check the manufacturer’s instructions
Draining tips
Long pasta: strands or ribbons should be left still lightly dripping
Short pasta: tubes or shapes should be drained more thoroughly as holes & hollows hold more water
Fresh egg pasta: needs the least draining, it should remain slippery after draining as it tends to absorb more of the sauce than dried pasta
