I feel like the saying that it’s not polite to speak about politics or religion should include pasta 😳 Risking being impolite I’ll share that I’m married to an Italian with a set way of doing things but he doesn’t complain when I follow a new technique thank goodness. With new tools and new science I believe food evolves not to mention the traditions were made based on local farming whereas that isn’t really a limit anymore.
If t you're talking about pasta and pizza, anyone slightly related to Italy, be it a pure Italian mamma or your pal who went in Italy for a school exchange 12 years ago, will c come and tell you you're doing it wrong. the secret of Italian cuisine is, the only right way is mama's way so it ceases to be the right one once you leave the house walls. This rule works all around the Mediterranean sea, try to talk about the '' true'' falafel or hummus recipe with anyone from Greece to Egypt 😂
Im Italian American and my family always told me to only be generous with salting the water if you were making sauce but if you bought sauce in jars to go light because the sauce would have a pretty high salt level to preserve it. I’m curious if you think that could be true or if it should be lots of salt always
Hello, I'm Italian and I can guarantee you that if you're cooking pasta you will put salt in it. There's not a single Italian who won't salt pasta water. Then all the tomato sliced or sauce have just tomato in it, no salt, I don't know if it's different in the US
Hi! In the spirit of your commendable effort, allow me clarify a couple things from an Italian's prospective! 1- Italians NEVER use that amount of onion (unless they are going for a so called"cipollata"). 2- Less water is required, as to allow your starching agent to be effective. 3- The pasta water should taste "come il mare" (like the sea), hence way more salt in the pasta and WAY LESS in the sauce. 4- Italians hardly ever mix onion and garlic in one dish. 5- Oregano is hardly ever used for tomato sauces, unless you are going for a puttanesca sauce or for a marinara pizza topping. 6- Last but not least: Spadellare! The mantecatura (stirring) of the pasta at the very end needs to be quick and energetic or your pasta will end up breaking (as does in the last bits of your video). Thanks for going the extra mile to spread passion for the Italian cuisine!
1hellaN1 Daman Ciao! I LOVE your answer! TROPPO ITALIANO. This is 100% correct. I am not italian but am a chef for over 20 years. He does need more salt in water and less in sauce. Dry oregano? NEVER. That is American-Italian. Onions? Seldom used in a basic marinara. I use red onion when I make penne all’ arabbiata but only then! You know what kills me? In US it’s almost impossible to find guanciale! Unless you live in a big city. Chicago, New York. Yes we can use bacon but it’s not the same! Ciao!
Sea water is too salty (approx. 3.5%). About 1% is good, which is a lot more than he added www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/how-salty-should-pasta-water-be.html
Ah, so good to read a proper Italian explanation at last! My Nonna would be proud of you! Yes, one of my fist thoughts was 'what a ridiculous amount of onion used here'! My Old Mamma uses the rule of same physical amount of chopped onion to chopped garlic (at most), to take a little acid out when making a slow cook sugo or ragu. If making a quick salsa with fresh chopped tomatoes, no onion required. Oregano - dried oregano is disgusting when applied in excess but many cooks not well versed in the nuances of Italian cooking seem to equate this very heavy flavour with all things Italian. Wrong! Nevertheless, I enjoyed this video - better than most - but if he described pasta as noodles one more time I was ready to lose it. Semolina flour based pasta is derived from Chinese wheat flour or rice based noodles. Good on the Chinese! They are not the same thing, though. Like Spam is not the same thing as lovely, lovely, lovely mortadella. Grazie Mille, 1hellaN1 Daman. Spero tu stai bene.
Yep, as a fellow Italian I do agree with everything you said, and also the amount of oil seems excessive as well (although that might just be personal preference). I usually just put enough to coat the pan so the things cooking dont burn and the pasta seems a bit overcooked, but I prefer my pasta slight more cooked than al dente. Per il resto va tutto bene, le osservazioni fatte pure quelle azzeccate.
the title of this video is actually perfect, it is in deed 15 mistakes people do when cooking pasta. the editing is beautiful. also, i must say cooking is such a vast ocean and especially when it comes to pasta , it would be impossible to have everyone agreeing . even in italy we don t agree from one village to the next. even in same families you ll find some fights about how much this or how long that... good luck everyone, and enjoy your pasta, however you like them.
Depends on the pasta. Fresh pasta, yes. It cooks a lot faster and absorbs less water so you need a lot more salt. Dry pasta, not so much. It's going to absorb a lot of water so sea salt level for dry pasta will over salt it. But I agree with always salting the water. Source: Italian.
Just measure your salt. Generally, a range from 1 to 2% of the weight of the water is good. For example, if you use 1000ml (1 liter) of water, you should add from 10g to 20g of salt. Personally, I like to use 1.3%. Give it a try!
Good stuff! The only thing I do differently is to move my pasta to my sauce about 2 minutes *before* it’s al dente (in other words, while the white layer can still be seen inside the pasta), letting it finish its cooking inside the sauce. If you wait until the pasta is cooked to perfection to then move it to the sauce and cook it for another couple of minutes, you’ll end up with overcooked pasta (which, I do realise, is what most people are used to - everyone talks about al dente, but 90% of people cook their pasta way past that point).
In reality is really easy but for any reason nobody cares to do a simple research using google translate on italian recipes. Add water. Boil. Put salt. Put pasta. Wait 10 minutes. Done.
Dio mio, Andrea, was thinking the same exact thing!!!!!! The Americanization of Italian food, (ala Mark Bitman,) makes me want to cry....like pronouncing "bruschetta" as "brusshhhetta".
A lot of his cooking techniques are rather questionable. But then, he doesn't claim to be a professional chef either, so it's whatever goes. If people want to learn proper technique, it's better to learn at a recognized culinary school or similar
@@captainguns So, we put the herbs whenever we want in a stew or a soup, cause there is water to protect, but we should wait near the end in a pan to keep the flavor. Is that good?
There’s no option to put salt in water or not... You 100% should add the salt, and it should be as salty as sea water. In other words, way more than “a few pinches”.
Diogo Brito what do you mean can't explain why? Firstly it's always good to add salt when boiling water because it lowers the boiling point temperature of the water and secondly, the pasta in this case needs a lot of salt for seasoning as well since you use quite a lot water when you boil. That's kind of a no-brainer, unless all the other components of the dish are extremely salty, then you might wanna cut down a little bit of the amount that you add in the water
@@joi1794 Yes and by very little. You need more than 100g of salt per liter of water to increase the boiling point by 1°C. Salt is just there for seasoning, which is good enough for me.
Everything right, except for the "al dente" pasta. As a italian, I can say that the first one you showed, the "not yet done" one, was perfect 😂 Also, if when almost done, the tomato is still a little to watery, you can take out the pasta a copuple of minutes earlier, and finish cook it in the sauce :)
pope88fb about the cooking, as an Italian myself, that is exactly what I thought! The first sample was perfect, considering that he meant to finish cooking in the pan...
“A few pinches of salt” My grandmother just turned in her Italian grave. You gotta use a lot of salt, it’s the only chance you get to actually season the pasta.
Yeah when you have 2-3L of water you're not going to have any effect of the salt if you only put a few pinches. Pour a lot od fine salt from a container.
Pasta water has to be heavily salted, also some of us, especially Italians, like our pasta with a little starch ring in the middle but that’s just preference :)
@@s1iznc1d34 The salted water serves several purposes: speeds up the time it takes your water to boil if you're not cold starting & seasons the pasta itself. You want the noodles to add flavor to the dish, not just get lost in the sauce.
@@RoninXDarknight Reducing the boiling point has nothing to do with cooking the pasta. In other words, salt doesn't make the water reach 100*C faster (which by the way you don't necessarily need boiling/100*C water to boil the pasta in, but this is another story).
My 3 biggest deathly sins with pasta is: 1. Not putting enough salt in the water 2. Overcooking pasta 3. Putting oil on the pasta so it doesn't stick together. Now your sauce also won't stick on the pasta anymore either...
@@crimbleland Depends. Oil in the sauce can be emulsified (meaning it combines with the watery content) and if it does it will stick to the pasta. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil and watery stuff and it will stick to whatever you spread it on. Starchy cooking water and the starch from tossing the pasta gets the sauce to emulsify if done in the right balance of course. You shouldn't overdo it with the oil in the sauce though or you may get to a point that the emulsion won't happen regardless what you do.
@@crimbleland you can just rinse the starch off of them, they won't stick together but, there's no more starch on them so your sauce won't thicken up that much so reserve that water! But if your making a béchamel sauce for example, the sauce already has a thickening agent, flour, so your better rinse off the starch because it's gonna get sticky
@@smizmar8 if it's yellow(or whatever color the original pasta you got it in) and soft, it's cooked. If it's white then it's definitely overcooked. No need to stick to the wall, it's pasta not a gecko :P
2 tricks to evaluate if the pasta is ready, depending on the shape of pasta (long or short): Long: does it bend? Then it's "al dente" and can be "mantecata" (ie tossed with the sauce while it keeps cooking); Short: cut it in half and can you see the harder "soul"? Can be "mantecata" then. Ciaoooooo from the ITALIAN FOOD BOSS! I'm Italian, not just another guy trying to show you how to cook Italian food without ever stepping foot in my beautiful country! 💪💪🇮🇹🇮🇹
Been trying to cook my whole life and have always and gave up every time because I was disappointed with the results. Thanks to this one dish breakdown series, I've finally been able to cook things that I enjoy eating, this is an amazing gift both for me personally and for my family 👍👍👍
Yeah dude nearly there! tips from italy: don't mix garlic and onions..one or the other; tomato sauce is waay to watery; little less oil please :); cook the sauce at low fire and cover it with a spoon under the cover, then turn up the fire to reduce at the end; basil must be washed gently and dried with a cloth or kitchen paper; then...noodles? that is Rigatoni :) too little sauce for that pasta..which is overcooked btw lol..Ps--- never...EVER....EVER.... add water at the end...NEVER lol: I hope it helps!!! keep up the great work dude
7:34 I've learned by an Italian that you should use a lot of salt. I mean really a lot. It should taste like salt water from the sea. Since I began doing that all my pasta has started getting a lot better.
@@QuizPubUK that's why you dont completely salt your dish until about the end. The idea behind salting the water is to season the pasta itself, and to help the flavors blend with and enhance the sauce.
In fact you don't need much salt to make it taste like seawater. Try boiling 4 litters of seawater and you'll see how much salt there is: it isn't much.
@@profilepicture828 3% is a bit much. The 1-10-100 rule is pretty common! Per 1 Liter of water take 10 grams of salt and use 100 grams of pasta. So basically make a 1% saltwater solution to get perfectly salted pasta. The taste is pretty reminiscent of sea water though but actually not as strong as actual sea water. It is definitly more salt than what this video suggests.
One tip I'd add is to add your pasta slowly to the sauce and mix it to see how the ratios are working. It's easy to make too much past and then just dump it all in the sauce and then end up with under-dressed pasta, so add it slowly until it's well coated and if you have extra pasta then save it for another dish. I'd say it's actually more likely than not you haven't made the exact right amount of either pasta or sauce to match together.
7:20 - Wait a minute.... it's a debate as to whether or not to salt your pasta water? That's your only chance to season the pasta itself. Who isn't doing this (other than people who don't know how to cook)?
My Italian momma has conniptions at even the hint of adding sugar. She says if you cook it long enough you don't need sugar - her sauce turns a dark red color. But then I've heard of other Italians who insist on it, must be a North versus South thing.
Your videos are not only well done, informative, and enjoyable.....but also very artistically put together....making them a true feast for both the eyes and tummy! Can't wait to try this pasta! Thank you for sharing.
Measure the salt you put into pasta water. Generally, a range from 1 to 2% of the weight of the water is good. For example, if you use 1000ml (1 liter) of water, you should add from 10g to 20g of salt. Personally, I like to use 1.3%. Give it a try!
Really? All I've gotten from the comments is that the dish he made isn't authentically Italian, even though he never claimed it was. I like onion and garlic. I LOVE dried oregano. No, I'm not "doing it wrong" just because I cooked MY dinner the way I like it instead of the way your grandmother made it. Sorry if this sounds mean; I'm just annoyed. Italy doesn't own "pasta covered in tomatoes."
Hey Mike. I'm a fan. I'm "the cook" among my circle of family and friends, but you've taught me a great deal and have exposed me to ingredients I've never seen (and honestly, probably wouldn't typically buy)…...but that is welcome, because I love learning something new every day. Thanks dude.
As a chef, if you want high restaurant quality sauce you have to strain out those tomatoe seeds. Nothing worse then biting into one and it releasing its bitter, oily taste. Plus it helps create a smoothness and richness to the sauce.
Several tips for cooking pasta (not noodles) that I have learned over the years: 1) [SALTYING THE WATER] There is no debate; PUT SALT IN YOUR PASTA WATER ! You may salt the pasta from the outside, but you can taste the blandness inside. Bring the water to a boil, put the salt in it, let it dissolve for a second and then butta la pasta. The water has to be quite salty, else the salt won't get into the pasta. 2) [GARLIC/ONION] I do not understand the garlic+onion thing. Put either one or the other, not both. Some things call for onion, other call for garlic (the combo onion+carrot+celery is fairly common). If you want the garlic but you do not want it to be too invasive, just put the garlic in the oil (as a whole or in half), and take it out before it burns... you will get aromatized oil. Ah, take out the "germ" inside the garlic (l'anima), if you intend to eat it. 3) [SALTYING THE SAUCE] For the sauce, you put the salt in at the end. If you put the salt at the beginning, water evaporates and the sauce concentrates over time, so it will get saltier. The pasta water one puts at the end counts too. Put less salt if your cheese is very salty. 4) [DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR PASTA] While you thicken your sauce with the pasta inside, the pasta keeps on cooking ! You have to take it before (one or two minutes) it is al dente if you intend to continue for several minutes (you have to continually taste to see if it is cooked right). If you are interested in doing other pasta dishes, I recommend you look up Alex's (French Guy Cooking) video about the "cacio e pepe". It is important to know how to make a "white" sauce, meaning with no tomato, it opens up a whole dimension of possibilities.
@@user-vq1op2zg6w Garlic and onion is more of a French thing, Garlic or onion is more an Italian thing, of course they are not mutually exclusive. Both countries share a border, the north western Italian cuisine has some similarities to the south eastern French.
jackassondo...here in the Americas we eat a shit ton of garlic..why?...because it improves our health due to our incredibly toxic environments that apparently you don't have in rome
@@cavemantero trust me Rome is one of the most polluted cities in Italy. But I'm more worried about the nuclear arms that were disposed of in the mountains of Sardinia by the US military 😤😤😤
Pasta are just Italian noodles, the same way German Klöße are a type of dumpling and French baguette is a type of bread. Just because Italians get their panties in a twist over names doesn't mean spaghetti, rigatoni and what not aren't noodles anymore.
You are an amazing inspiration to my home cooking game. I think one of the biggest reasons you are so successful is that you are not afraid to get your hands or kitchen dirty! (It's one of my drawbacks, I'm a neatnick.) I have been enjoying your videos so much over the past couple of weeks and am looking forward to making bread, which I haven't done since I was maybe 15 or so...
I would like to see jollof rice, the great west African staple. I got the flavors, but I am having trouble getting the right consistency on my rice. I like the work you are doing and your explanations are very clear and understadable. Thank you!
John G AKA the best rice known to man, however, it is very difficult to cook and takes years of practice. I’d suggest watching an african woman who cooks it often.
@@ashleykem8052 Hi, Ashley! I am so glad you mentioned Precious because she is the one I have learned the most from. Part of the reason for my request on the american cooking channels is to get more exposure for jollof rice, as it is a big part of West African food and culture. When I lived in Berlin in the late '80s and early 90s, I had a good Cameroonian friend who turned me on to jollof rice, and have been trying to scratch that itch ever since.
@@etherdog Hi John! Thank you for clarifying the intent behind your request. I'm so glad you already discovered Precious's Kitchen, she is great! I absolutely agree that west african food/culture deserves more mainstream exposure! However, my reservation come from @prohomecooks possibly not being able to add any culture context to the dishes history. As we all know America is notorious for "discovering" and not Crediting. It would crush my soul for a naive viewer to believe that jollof rice is some new American fad dish. Now if we can get both @prohomecooks and @preciouskitchen (or any other west african chef) to collab as a guest star. I am in 100% in agreeance for that video! :)
@@ashleykem8052 I am all for that collab, Ashley, or anything like it, Dan Pashman of the Sporkful podcast just did a 2 part series that was a fairly serious introduction (for white folks) of "plantation" appellations and how they make different people feel. I know he just scratched the surface of the issue, but if you look at the body of his work in the past year, he is bringing a lot of discussion about different cultures, and these last two episodes have brought more of an urgency in my thinking. Personally, I don't think there is much danger in cultural appropriation of jollof rice because 1) West Africans wouldn't let it; 2) the people who would attempt to make it are probably sensitive to the issue and would give all the credit to its origin; and 3) it is so darn good that it is a gateway food to other African dishes. Frankly, however, I don't think any american cooks on RUclips are brave enough to even attempt it :-)
As a Senior Citizen trying to eat healthy but good tasting, I really appreciate your series. Some of the best pasta I ever had was in the 1970's in Milan, Italy. It was simply spaghetti with butter! Could you please tell us what wire spatula you are using? Thanks.
My dad (an italian chef) always said "salty like the middle sea!" to describe how the pasta water should be ;) So go for more salt! Also, I don't know if you said that, but with cooked tomatoes you ALWAYS have to add some sugar to get rid of the bitterness.
thank you so much. I'm considered a great cook among friends, but this video was such a blessing & this turned out amazing. i added a package of bella mushrooms with the onions and sprinkled 1lb of meat in before i added the pasta. this is going to be part of my permanent collections. I really really appreciate this video.
If you heat it up, you don't need the best quality of olive oil. Especially for frying, it's a shame to abuse a high-quality, cold-pressed extra vergine oil. If you use it for cold dishes, just the best quality is good enough.
I find that if I cook the pasta all the way through, if I mix it in and cook it further it overcooks it. So I always take it 75% then cook it the remainder for a few mins when coating.
Couple of things: you say use the best ingredients. So use the best ingredients. Don't use diced tomatoes in a can, use whole ones - you'll get less inferior stuff that way. Apparently the preferred type of tomatoes are San Marzano tomatoes, because they have some extra sweetness, but that's probably just a personal preference, other types will be good too. Then, the reduction of the tomato sauce. It was still way too soggy when you put the pasta in, and with the added pasta water you required a whole new cycle of reduction. The end result was therefore sloppy. Also, as mentioned by others: you used so much pasta water that the ratio of starch to water was way too low, so not as effective in your reduction. Next: don't add the garlic at the same time as the onions. The onions need time to soften and caramelize, but the garlic will burn. And you could see the garlic go brown and hard. That will result in a bitter flavour. Now I'm not such a stickler for either onions or garlic, so it's fine to use both, but use it right. If you really want to get down to the true Italian approach, you should have gone soffritto: onions, carrot, sellery. No garlic. Cook and reduce, then add the tomato sauce. But that's a different choice. You made some good points, but made some basic errors yourself when making this. No matter, learn and try again!
Lemmy The Carpenter I should have said “sauté”. Easiest is first sauté the pancetta, and then add the onions, carrots and celery, and sauté more. Then add the minced meat and let it go golden, then add the concentrated tomato sauce and mix it in well. You can then add some extra tomatoes (whole but make sure they’re well crushed so they can turn so soft you won’t get their texture in the end). Then add red wine and reduce. Then add beef stock and let it simmer for an hour. Then it should be perfectly reduced.
In italy they use the fresh tomatoes because they have such great tomatoes that grow there. In many places like here in the UK it's hard to get that quality of fresh tomatoes so tinned italian tomatoes are the best substitute really.
I love how I know all about cooking pasta (and even making my own) but watching your videos. Is still good. This is a sign of great videos! Love your work!
I like using good water for pasta and rice. To me it makes such a big difference. Water is the foundational ingredient for coffee, tea, rice, water, dough, and other things
@@corywalker3425 Depends. water throughout the US is very drinkable but vary in mineral and soluble content. Well water next to filtered -> distilled -> re-added minerals tastes shockingly different. It definitely effects the chemistry. Your right though about the rest, pretty much half of europe doesn't have potable water.
Chlorine, fluoride, atrazine, mercury, there's a whole host of contaminants in our water supply worldwide. Berkey filtration is the way to go, not just for taste but for health.
@@VibeRantInc agree. and yet people wonder why they dont feel good or their general health isnt where it needs to be.. usually comes down to two things, air quality and water.
@@mohammadalikarimi8055Yes though I would argue that food quality has an even greater impact, in the main, than air quality. Air quality can change rapidly and frequently throughout a day while food quality is more habituated and can remain largely the same (if not worse) throughout a lifetime. Clean water and organic food are major keys to wellbeing.
I love these break down videos. Part 1 was actually my first video from the channel (RIP Brothers Green), and I’ve been upping my cooking game ever since. I’d love to see a one dish break down of Tacos or some other Mex/Texmex dish
I have been making sauce since way before you were born my SON is 53. I was taught by my Italian mother in law in the 60s....some great tips here eg the pasta water as a thickener that was new to ME....we can always learn something new it worked in the video so I will try it...THANKS!.
I don’t know if you read all your comments Michael, but I love your videos. I’m a visual leaner and watching your videos are so educational and I want to cook a meal with you. Much love!
I live for this Chanel. I went from a total noob to being the best chef in the house without ever using a recipe ! All thanks to you bro’s, showing us tips and tricks to cook with what you have !
Add a couple of pinches of sugar to the sauce to offset the bitterness of the tomatoes. Also, whisk in another Tbs or 2 of olive oil, and chop the basil.
To make a simple, weekday, tomato sauce you don’t need so many onions and garlic, most of us in italy use one clove of garlic a little bit smashed and then we take it out at the end (somehow abroad you think we are just mad on garlic while we actually aren’t in most cases) Also you ALWAYS add rock salt to the water, otherwise it will always turn out bland. If you want to add greens broccoli or cime di rapa go extremely well with tomato sauce
cor j yes that is, in most cases true. Garlic and onions are both strong flavoring agents so when making a simple sauce you just need one or they will just overwhelm the tomatoes. If your doing something like roasted piece of meat instead you can easily use both as you really want to season and give flavor to the piece of meat. In fact you will also probably use other things like carrots, celery, herbs and spices...
Guys, in Italy "al dente" is when pasta is a little bit hard but it not sticks to your teeths (resulting annoying). Same is for risotto. Crunchy but not sticky.
grew up despising pasta, went to tons of Italian restaurants and always felt like it was just a weird tasteless wet mess. All kinds of pasta too, not just one in particular. I never liked pasta. Then I started cooking pasta at home, making pasta from people's personal recipes instead of generic recipes. using fresh pasta And now I fully understand why pasta makes people so emotional, pasta is a beautiful thing. It only took me like 20 years to get there. LOL. God bless
For the salt: 10gr for every liter of water .. but bruh! Wtf !!! The garlic!!! This is the real problem! What's wrong with you Americans!🤦♂️ we put the whole clove just to get the flavour in the oil and put it out when is light gold, absolutely not golden brown! And btw onion or garlic choose one! Check Italia Squisita on Yt
Love your vids. Learned a ton from you. Thank you. For this one dish, I would humbly suggest... 1. ) Transfer pasta sooner and cook in sauce longer. Startch will release into sauce. 2.) IMO you used too much pasta, you did not need to transfer it all. Only transfer amount appropriate to sauce amount and pot size. Pot was also too small. 3.) Add cheese and small pieces basil to each dish after pasta is plated.
If you want a simple "pasta al pomodoro" use only garlic, there's no need for onions. Onions are good for "soffritto". And add the salt in the water before putting pasta in it, there's no debate on that.
I had a dear Italian friend and decided to make pasta for him, well the look on his face when he saw that I broke the spaghetti in half to boil it was enough for me to dump in the bin and start over. Finally he took over and salted the water to the extreme and then tested if it was ready by throwing a strand on the wall, if it stuck ready to go. The tomato sauce took a very long time and he put some wine and brown sugar in it.... that was delicious.
You generally make great videos. In this one, you got a few things incorrect. 1. You should add a lot more salt to the pasta water. 2. You overcooked the pasta. If you finish off the pasta cooking process in the pan, you should take the pasta out of the water two minutes before it's done. 3. You should use less basil. Basil can also be overpowering.
I think the onion, dried oregano, and spinach were also a mistake. Not that this sauce would taste bad necessarily. I’m sure it would still taste pretty good, but it seemed like he was aiming for authenticity here.
add salt in the water when it start to boil. So it reach the boiling temp faster. With the salt earlier it's going to slow done the process quite a lot.
I enjoyed watching your video, it was entertaining, you have great energy that comes across and you're kinda pleasant to the eye (blush). But, too many things are not right, many are brought up in the 1046 comments below. Keep it up! @ over 1.5 million subscribers you are doing something right.
Maybe do a savory squash soup? I'm not fond of "pumpkin-type" spices that are more often found in desserts. For example, a potato-rosemary mix, or a spaghetti-garlic, etc. TY for sharing your love of great food 💓
My savoury pumpkin/squash soup focuses on baking the squash in a frying pan for a good 5-8 minutes till brown, add garlic (plenty!), rosemary and thyme. Move the mix to a big pot and add Crème fraîche, some beef or veggie stock and chilis if you want. Stir and blend it up with a bar blender. Letting the flavours mingle off the heat makes it even better of course. You can also try a more indian/ SE Asia style with lime, cumin and coriander seeds but I don't know that recipe by heart.
Totally true. The most difficult pasta dishes are the simplest ones, since you have to nail execution and they’re not as forgiving if you mess something during the process . The most difficult pasta that I know of is aglio e olio, which is basically garlic and oil. Same with rice. Most sushi chefs will tell you rice is the most important part in sushi, even to 80%. Making ok pasta and rice is easy. Making great simple pasta and rice is very difficult. Only advise I can give is watch videos (Italian if possible), and practice practice practice.
@@s1iznc1d34 I'll could make an effort on telling why you're wrong in some stuff you said, but I don't think it's worthy of my time if you talk to me with this atitude.
@@s1iznc1d34 I've tried to talk with too many people who use "lol" on the end of sentence to not know how futile is to talk with them. But feel free to think what you want
@@joshistyping hmmm Fried chicken ?? Fried fish or shrimp ??? Fried onions, mozza sticks green beans and okra ?! Even fried butter stick. So compared to other countries American are eating a lot more fried stuff !!!
Some in the health conscious community in USA avoid fat. For years fat was considered what made people gain weight (often supported by sugar companies). Now most in that community know there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats. That being said some in the US (not just USA but eh 🤷) have taken it too far with a keto diet which is all fat. Often diets of different classes and regions differ. Southern states are where most of the fried food originated from and lots of poor in US struggle to get healthier fresher food and thus eat out or fry food.
Its usually people who cook at home who are scared of fat. American fast food places and restaurants tend to use a lot of fat and people do not care. But there is a good sized portion of the U.S. that doesnt eat out that often and is more health conscious when they are cooking from home.
Controversy for salting your pasta water, just remember no matter what. Boiling your pasta is your only time to season your pasta, do everyone a favor. Salt your pasta water, not quite salty as the sea. Also, some pasta sauces (creamier sauces, spaghetti, Alfredo, ect.) benefit so much by saving a little and adding a little pasta water to the sauce when adding the pasta. I know it's water, but the water is starchy it will help in being your pasta and sauce marry. And he does an amazing job going over that, but it's super helpful. Happy cooking!!
Depends on the sauce! I put red wine in rich meat sauces because it has nice body to stand up to the richness and the acidity cuts through the fatty flavours of beef. I might add cream to a sauce like the one in this video, especially if I didn't add enough oil so the acidity of the tomato doesn't overpower everything. Lots of people add dry white wine to their meats sauces as well, and I think it can fit into creamy sauces (branching out of tomato sauces at this point). Sugar isn't traditional, but it works well to distract you from acidity through the flavour (though I don't think it actually changes the PH the way cream would). Milk works like cream, but because it's lower fat, it's not as effective.
Always useful to have a bottle of white wine around the house. Every time you cook onion you can basically deglaze with wine, adding some nice flavours. Be careful on the wine you pic, it should be a standard table wine, one you would actually drink. Also some wine are pretty acidic so choose wisely (it's usually written on the bottle).
Personalmente tutte le persone che conosco non mettono aglio in questa quantità e cipolla insieme. Chiaramente la pasta si può cucinare davvero in qualsiasi modo, seguendo i propri gusti. Però boh la pasta con la salsa di pomodoro si fa o solo con cipolle, oppure cuocendola con l’aglio diviso a metà (comunque pezzi grossi) e poi aggiungendo il basilico e l’olio crudo alla fine
Ma infatti si mette solo l'aglio se si vuole fare una salsa al pomodoro. Se si vuole fare un sugo che richiede il soffritto o altri ingredienti oltre al pomodoro allora la cipolla va benissimo. Ma aglio e cipolla per solo una pasta al pomodoro proprio non la capisco. Poi chiaro son gusti, però non è che ci voglia tanto ad andare su google e guardarsi qualche ricetta in Italiano e vedere cosa noi italiani mettiamo nei sughi, prima di farci video sopra. Se posso farlo io con video e ricette inglesi non vedo perchè altri non possano fare lo stesso.
Ivolol si infatti, penso che fra l’altro non ha senso fare una cosa da chef. La pasta al pomodoro è pasta al pomodoro, proprio la sua semplicità la rende buona. Che senso ha mettere dei buoni pomodori se poi aggiungi chili di aglio e cipolla?
@@deb0rs58 C'è però da dire che per noi italiani preparare un piatto di pasta è una cosa semplice e super economica, pur non rinunciando ad ingredienti di buona qualità. In altri paesi non hai la stessa facilità nel trovare i prodotti a cui siamo abituati (una buona pasta secca, un buon pomodoro per sugo, un buon olio extravergine d’oliva, giusto per rimaniamo sui principali) e se li trovi... i prezzi sono esorbitanti. Forse è per questo che tendono ad esagerare con i condimenti, sia in quantità che nel numero di combinazioni in una stessa preparazione, il tutto per riuscire ad estrarre un qualcosa di saporito, ma ottenendo alla fine un sapore confuso.
Le cause possono essere anche altre (oltre ad una cottura eccessiva): qualità della pasta mediocre: una buona pasta secca dovrebbe essere sempre fatta col 100% di semola di grano duro; maltrattamento quando viene condita col sugo, in effetti non la sta girando granchè bene.
He futzed with it too much, you can't overhandle the pasta or it will get gummy and break . You gotta leave it alone a bit. I always take a cup of the pasta water and add some of that to the sauce to thicken it and I can stir as much as I want to get it thicker THEN You can drop the pasta in and serve pretty quick, no need to keep stirring and tossing so much y'know?
His pot was too small and his utensil was to stiff. I hate seeing these RUclips “chefs” finish like 6 servings of pasta in one dish. You just can’t do it effectively
Hello Fresh is a great way to get into cooking if you don't have many skills. I did it for a while as a way to amp up some weekday easy recepies and I loved it. Even luving alone it was cost efficient cause I has next day's lunch and nothing went to waste. Great job with your video, awesome ideas!
A perfect dish! I use 2 bell pepper dice, onion, lots of garlic, Cento peeled tomatoes 32 oz, small can petite diced tomatoes for my sauce. The star of the show is baking my garden tomatoes which are of a 1 to 2 inch size halved on a large baking sheet on parchment paper. Load the whole baking sheet. Halve them, drizzle olive oil, top with Panko bread crumbs and bake 400* for 30-35 minutes. After topping pasta with the baked garden tomatoes I drain a can of minced clams to warm on the baking sheet for a few minutes to round out the dish. Out of this world! McCormick chipotle chili powder, Tabasco and 1 tea spoon instant coffee optional.
This is the first video from this guy where I see everyone debating everything he did. Pasta is a sensitive subject
I feel like the saying that it’s not polite to speak about politics or religion should include pasta 😳 Risking being impolite I’ll share that I’m married to an Italian with a set way of doing things but he doesn’t complain when I follow a new technique thank goodness. With new tools and new science I believe food evolves not to mention the traditions were made based on local farming whereas that isn’t really a limit anymore.
If t you're talking about pasta and pizza, anyone slightly related to Italy, be it a pure Italian mamma or your pal who went in Italy for a school exchange 12 years ago, will c come and tell you you're doing it wrong.
the secret of Italian cuisine is, the only right way is mama's way so it ceases to be the right one once you leave the house walls.
This rule works all around the Mediterranean sea, try to talk about the '' true'' falafel or hummus recipe with anyone from Greece to Egypt 😂
My Italian family will tell you to always add salt to the pasta water....no question about it. Otherwise you will have bland pasta.
Im Italian American and my family always told me to only be generous with salting the water if you were making sauce but if you bought sauce in jars to go light because the sauce would have a pretty high salt level to preserve it. I’m curious if you think that could be true or if it should be lots of salt always
Hello, I'm Italian and I can guarantee you that if you're cooking pasta you will put salt in it. There's not a single Italian who won't salt pasta water. Then all the tomato sliced or sauce have just tomato in it, no salt, I don't know if it's different in the US
@@darden1987 già
@@darden1987 Ma tanto gli americani mettono sale, ovunque e troppo, parola ci carlo cracco ahahha
Well no shit sherlock
why didnt you add the last 3 noodles in that bag, driving me crazy
I saw that too
It's pasta calorie guilt, it's kind of like eating an apple after an apple pie, it's supposed to cancel it out.
Amateur...
#metoo
Me too!!
Hi! In the spirit of your commendable effort, allow me clarify a couple things from an Italian's prospective! 1- Italians NEVER use that amount of onion (unless they are going for a so called"cipollata"). 2- Less water is required, as to allow your starching agent to be effective. 3- The pasta water should taste "come il mare" (like the sea), hence way more salt in the pasta and WAY LESS in the sauce. 4- Italians hardly ever mix onion and garlic in one dish. 5- Oregano is hardly ever used for tomato sauces, unless you are going for a puttanesca sauce or for a marinara pizza topping. 6- Last but not least: Spadellare! The mantecatura (stirring) of the pasta at the very end needs to be quick and energetic or your pasta will end up breaking (as does in the last bits of your video). Thanks for going the extra mile to spread passion for the Italian cuisine!
1hellaN1 Daman Ciao! I LOVE your answer! TROPPO ITALIANO. This is 100% correct. I am not italian but am a chef for over 20 years. He does need more salt in water and less in sauce. Dry oregano? NEVER. That is American-Italian. Onions? Seldom used in a basic marinara. I use red onion when I make penne all’ arabbiata but only then! You know what kills me? In US it’s almost impossible to find guanciale! Unless you live in a big city. Chicago, New York. Yes we can use bacon but it’s not the same! Ciao!
Sea water is too salty (approx. 3.5%). About 1% is good, which is a lot more than he added www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/how-salty-should-pasta-water-be.html
Ah, so good to read a proper Italian explanation at last! My Nonna would be proud of you! Yes, one of my fist thoughts was 'what a ridiculous amount of onion used here'! My Old Mamma uses the rule of same physical amount of chopped onion to chopped garlic (at most), to take a little acid out when making a slow cook sugo or ragu. If making a quick salsa with fresh chopped tomatoes, no onion required. Oregano - dried oregano is disgusting when applied in excess but many cooks not well versed in the nuances of Italian cooking seem to equate this very heavy flavour with all things Italian. Wrong! Nevertheless, I enjoyed this video - better than most - but if he described pasta as noodles one more time I was ready to lose it. Semolina flour based pasta is derived from Chinese wheat flour or rice based noodles. Good on the Chinese! They are not the same thing, though. Like Spam is not the same thing as lovely, lovely, lovely mortadella. Grazie Mille, 1hellaN1 Daman. Spero tu stai bene.
Just because italians cook in a way doesnt mean it's the only way, keep your traditions to yourself and let the food evolve.
Yep, as a fellow Italian I do agree with everything you said, and also the amount of oil seems excessive as well (although that might just be personal preference). I usually just put enough to coat the pan so the things cooking dont burn and the pasta seems a bit overcooked, but I prefer my pasta slight more cooked than al dente. Per il resto va tutto bene, le osservazioni fatte pure quelle azzeccate.
the title of this video is actually perfect, it is in deed 15 mistakes people do when cooking pasta. the editing is beautiful. also, i must say cooking is such a vast ocean and especially when it comes to pasta , it would be impossible to have everyone agreeing . even in italy we don t agree from one village to the next. even in same families you ll find some fights about how much this or how long that... good luck everyone, and enjoy your pasta, however you like them.
Literally no Italian ever will debate salting the water. You make it salty as the sea, no if ands or buts!
Depends on the pasta. Fresh pasta, yes. It cooks a lot faster and absorbs less water so you need a lot more salt. Dry pasta, not so much. It's going to absorb a lot of water so sea salt level for dry pasta will over salt it. But I agree with always salting the water. Source: Italian.
Could I just cook with literal seawater actually?
Just measure your salt. Generally, a range from 1 to 2% of the weight of the water is good. For example, if you use 1000ml (1 liter) of water, you should add from 10g to 20g of salt. Personally, I like to use 1.3%. Give it a try!
This is wrong. There's a video on this and exactly how much to put depending on the amount of water
Good stuff!
The only thing I do differently is to move my pasta to my sauce about 2 minutes *before* it’s al dente (in other words, while the white layer can still be seen inside the pasta), letting it finish its cooking inside the sauce.
If you wait until the pasta is cooked to perfection to then move it to the sauce and cook it for another couple of minutes, you’ll end up with overcooked pasta (which, I do realise, is what most people are used to - everyone talks about al dente, but 90% of people cook their pasta way past that point).
Nah 1 minute before the written time on the box then go to the sauce with it.
True and Napolitans would throw the pasta basically half cooked into the sauce :P
the firmer pasta the better!
How to properly make pasta is basically a political topic.
i would go as far as to say religious :)
Next from Buzzfeed: "Is pasta racist?"
Isn't pasta egg yolk flour base ingredient I have a steak kidney vegetables steak black bean sauce receipe video
In reality is really easy but for any reason nobody cares to do a simple research using google translate on italian recipes.
Add water.
Boil.
Put salt.
Put pasta.
Wait 10 minutes.
Done.
@@seileen1234 I appreciate your duty of care & your sincerity
Came here to see if, as an italian, there was still something I had to learn.
I learnt that US americans don't salt their water.
Yes we do. C’mon broski considered using CANNED tomatoes. He doesn’t know things
@@Wealllovekaira that comforts me 😄♥
Yes, we do salt our water plenty.
My pasta water is as salty as the sea. That’s how I was taught.
canned tomatoes are the best wdym?
every time you say "noodle" instead of pasta, an Italian dies.
help
Then in Asia, everything is noodles
Dio mio, Andrea, was thinking the same exact thing!!!!!! The Americanization of Italian food, (ala Mark Bitman,) makes me want to cry....like pronouncing "bruschetta" as "brusshhhetta".
@@luciennedespota909 still. I don't wanna die...
Get over it. Italians didn't even come up with pasta.
Mistake number 16: combining pasta and sauce in a pan so small that it doesnt allow you to toss the pasta and oat it with the sauce.
And he put so much emphasis on selecting the right sized pan, and he still used one too small/cooked too much pasta
I've actually found a mistake or two in each of his videos.
Also cooking herbs vaporises the taste. Add them afterwards when the pan is off the heat.
A lot of his cooking techniques are rather questionable. But then, he doesn't claim to be a professional chef either, so it's whatever goes. If people want to learn proper technique, it's better to learn at a recognized culinary school or similar
@@captainguns
So, we put the herbs whenever we want in a stew or a soup, cause there is water to protect, but we should wait near the end in a pan to keep the flavor.
Is that good?
There’s no option to put salt in water or not... You 100% should add the salt, and it should be as salty as sea water. In other words, way more than “a few pinches”.
You can't explain why, can you? You just hear sea water and it just sounds perfect but it can be totally optional.
@@diogonpbrito Of course he can explain why. Well seasoned pasta is better than bland pasta.
Diogo Brito what do you mean can't explain why? Firstly it's always good to add salt when boiling water because it lowers the boiling point temperature of the water and secondly, the pasta in this case needs a lot of salt for seasoning as well since you use quite a lot water when you boil. That's kind of a no-brainer, unless all the other components of the dish are extremely salty, then you might wanna cut down a little bit of the amount that you add in the water
@@mikehawk2148 salt doesnt lower the boiling point temperature of water but increases it.
@@joi1794 Yes and by very little. You need more than 100g of salt per liter of water to increase the boiling point by 1°C. Salt is just there for seasoning, which is good enough for me.
7:20 - No debate in my mind! If you aren't adding salt to your pasta water, you aren't making pasta. Solid tips in this one Mike.
This video isn't totally useless. It just gave me opportunity to discover your awesome channel
Everything right, except for the "al dente" pasta. As a italian, I can say that the first one you showed, the "not yet done" one, was perfect 😂
Also, if when almost done, the tomato is still a little to watery, you can take out the pasta a copuple of minutes earlier, and finish cook it in the sauce :)
pope88fb about the cooking, as an Italian myself, that is exactly what I thought! The first sample was perfect, considering that he meant to finish cooking in the pan...
You cant say this is "right" when he's not even making his own sauce OR his own pasta! It's sacrilegious! Joking/not joking
He called em noodles as well. Do not trust this man.
My thoughts exactly.
“A few pinches of salt”
My grandmother just turned in her Italian grave. You gotta use a lot of salt, it’s the only chance you get to actually season the pasta.
The water should taste like the ocean
Yeah when you have 2-3L of water you're not going to have any effect of the salt if you only put a few pinches. Pour a lot od fine salt from a container.
Depends on what kind of salt he was using, if it's a compressed salt like Morton's, that amount might even be too much.
Idk which one is the best way to do it I just wanna eat all the pasta in the world
As salted as the mediterrannean sea they say.
Pasta water has to be heavily salted, also some of us, especially Italians, like our pasta with a little starch ring in the middle but that’s just preference :)
peter petersberg thank you
@@s1iznc1d34 The salted water serves several purposes: speeds up the time it takes your water to boil if you're not cold starting & seasons the pasta itself. You want the noodles to add flavor to the dish, not just get lost in the sauce.
@@RoninXDarknight Reducing the boiling point has nothing to do with cooking the pasta. In other words, salt doesn't make the water reach 100*C faster (which by the way you don't necessarily need boiling/100*C water to boil the pasta in, but this is another story).
If your pasta has a white ring inside, it's undercooked. Al dente and undercooked are not same.
Sümer Güven i didn’t claim that’s al dente I just say hella people prefer it that way
My 3 biggest deathly sins with pasta is:
1. Not putting enough salt in the water
2. Overcooking pasta
3. Putting oil on the pasta so it doesn't stick together. Now your sauce also won't stick on the pasta anymore either...
Honestly, if I'm using that water in a sauce, I don't over salt my pasta water..... unless I only want to taste salt.
Salt kills you. slowly. Don't add salt. Add MSG instead
I NEVER KNEW THE LAST ONE
@@crimbleland Depends. Oil in the sauce can be emulsified (meaning it combines with the watery content) and if it does it will stick to the pasta. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil and watery stuff and it will stick to whatever you spread it on.
Starchy cooking water and the starch from tossing the pasta gets the sauce to emulsify if done in the right balance of course. You shouldn't overdo it with the oil in the sauce though or you may get to a point that the emulsion won't happen regardless what you do.
@@crimbleland you can just rinse the starch off of them, they won't stick together but, there's no more starch on them so your sauce won't thicken up that much so reserve that water! But if your making a béchamel sauce for example, the sauce already has a thickening agent, flour, so your better rinse off the starch because it's gonna get sticky
If your pasta falls apart when tossing it through your sauce, then it was definitely overcooked...
@@smizmar8 if it's yellow(or whatever color the original pasta you got it in) and soft, it's cooked. If it's white then it's definitely overcooked. No need to stick to the wall, it's pasta not a gecko :P
2 tricks to evaluate if the pasta is ready, depending on the shape of pasta (long or short):
Long: does it bend? Then it's "al dente" and can be "mantecata" (ie tossed with the sauce while it keeps cooking);
Short: cut it in half and can you see the harder "soul"? Can be "mantecata" then.
Ciaoooooo from the ITALIAN FOOD BOSS! I'm Italian, not just another guy trying to show you how to cook Italian food without ever stepping foot in my beautiful country!
💪💪🇮🇹🇮🇹
smizmar8 me too!!
Also if all the water evaporates and the pan start burning and burn the house down, it's also overcooked
The pasta wasn't overcooked. The pan was too small and he ended up mashing the pasta because he had to stir it too much.
Been trying to cook my whole life and have always and gave up every time because I was disappointed with the results.
Thanks to this one dish breakdown series, I've finally been able to cook things that I enjoy eating, this is an amazing gift both for me personally and for my family 👍👍👍
Yeah dude nearly there! tips from italy: don't mix garlic and onions..one or the other; tomato sauce is waay to watery; little less oil please :); cook the sauce at low fire and cover it with a spoon under the cover, then turn up the fire to reduce at the end; basil must be washed gently and dried with a cloth or kitchen paper; then...noodles? that is Rigatoni :) too little sauce for that pasta..which is overcooked btw lol..Ps--- never...EVER....EVER.... add water at the end...NEVER lol:
I hope it helps!!! keep up the great work dude
7:34 I've learned by an Italian that you should use a lot of salt. I mean really a lot. It should taste like salt water from the sea. Since I began doing that all my pasta has started getting a lot better.
@@QuizPubUK and your talking-out-of-your-ass is at peak-level
@@QuizPubUK that's why you dont completely salt your dish until about the end. The idea behind salting the water is to season the pasta itself, and to help the flavors blend with and enhance the sauce.
In fact you don't need much salt to make it taste like seawater. Try boiling 4 litters of seawater and you'll see how much salt there is: it isn't much.
@@QuizPubUK yeah maybe if you drink the water but I don't know why you would do that.
Pasta water should taste like sea water. You have to add a bunch of salt to get there. Pinch of salt ain't even close :>
mijles salt water is 3% salt, unless it’s the Dead Sea
@@profilepicture828 I think thats what he meant.
That guideline is BS. It's only American chefs that salt to their water like there's no tomorrow.
Mohammad Ali Karimi ik
@@profilepicture828 3% is a bit much. The 1-10-100 rule is pretty common! Per 1 Liter of water take 10 grams of salt and use 100 grams of pasta. So basically make a 1% saltwater solution to get perfectly salted pasta. The taste is pretty reminiscent of sea water though but actually not as strong as actual sea water. It is definitly more salt than what this video suggests.
One tip I'd add is to add your pasta slowly to the sauce and mix it to see how the ratios are working. It's easy to make too much past and then just dump it all in the sauce and then end up with under-dressed pasta, so add it slowly until it's well coated and if you have extra pasta then save it for another dish. I'd say it's actually more likely than not you haven't made the exact right amount of either pasta or sauce to match together.
7:20 - Wait a minute.... it's a debate as to whether or not to salt your pasta water? That's your only chance to season the pasta itself. Who isn't doing this (other than people who don't know how to cook)?
Adding a carrot or some sugar helps reduce the acidness of the sauce.
Gabifuertes Baking soda.
True but the sauce should tase a bit too strong because it will all be diluted by the pasta and toppings
Two words. Bay. Leaf.
My Italian momma has conniptions at even the hint of adding sugar. She says if you cook it long enough you don't need sugar - her sauce turns a dark red color.
But then I've heard of other Italians who insist on it, must be a North versus South thing.
Your videos are not only well done, informative, and enjoyable.....but also very artistically put together....making them a true feast for both the eyes and tummy! Can't wait to try this pasta! Thank you for sharing.
I'm just here reading the comments for helpful tips
Cristian Baeza you’re giving RUclips the wrong idea
Measure the salt you put into pasta water. Generally, a range from 1 to 2% of the weight of the water is good. For example, if you use 1000ml (1 liter) of water, you should add from 10g to 20g of salt. Personally, I like to use 1.3%. Give it a try!
@@evertonm.junior31 Stop preaching. Tossing a good amount in is the way to go. You can get pasta to taste too salty.
Really? All I've gotten from the comments is that the dish he made isn't authentically Italian, even though he never claimed it was. I like onion and garlic. I LOVE dried oregano. No, I'm not "doing it wrong" just because I cooked MY dinner the way I like it instead of the way your grandmother made it.
Sorry if this sounds mean; I'm just annoyed. Italy doesn't own "pasta covered in tomatoes."
Best and simplest way to blanch spinach is to put it in a colander and pour over a kettle full of boiling water.
Can you do that with hot water from a faucet?
@@chudzy Hot water faucets are rather common, actually
Hey Mike. I'm a fan. I'm "the cook" among my circle of family and friends, but you've taught me a great deal and have exposed me to ingredients I've never seen (and honestly, probably wouldn't typically buy)…...but that is welcome, because I love learning something new every day. Thanks dude.
As a chef, if you want high restaurant quality sauce you have to strain out those tomatoe seeds. Nothing worse then biting into one and it releasing its bitter, oily taste. Plus it helps create a smoothness and richness to the sauce.
Several tips for cooking pasta (not noodles) that I have learned over the years:
1) [SALTYING THE WATER] There is no debate; PUT SALT IN YOUR PASTA WATER ! You may salt the pasta from the outside, but you can taste the blandness inside. Bring the water to a boil, put the salt in it, let it dissolve for a second and then butta la pasta. The water has to be quite salty, else the salt won't get into the pasta.
2) [GARLIC/ONION] I do not understand the garlic+onion thing. Put either one or the other, not both. Some things call for onion, other call for garlic (the combo onion+carrot+celery is fairly common). If you want the garlic but you do not want it to be too invasive, just put the garlic in the oil (as a whole or in half), and take it out before it burns... you will get aromatized oil. Ah, take out the "germ" inside the garlic (l'anima), if you intend to eat it.
3) [SALTYING THE SAUCE] For the sauce, you put the salt in at the end. If you put the salt at the beginning, water evaporates and the sauce concentrates over time, so it will get saltier. The pasta water one puts at the end counts too. Put less salt if your cheese is very salty.
4) [DO NOT OVERCOOK YOUR PASTA] While you thicken your sauce with the pasta inside, the pasta keeps on cooking ! You have to take it before (one or two minutes) it is al dente if you intend to continue for several minutes (you have to continually taste to see if it is cooked right).
If you are interested in doing other pasta dishes, I recommend you look up Alex's (French Guy Cooking) video about the "cacio e pepe". It is important to know how to make a "white" sauce, meaning with no tomato, it opens up a whole dimension of possibilities.
@@user-vq1op2zg6w Garlic and onion is more of a French thing, Garlic or onion is more an Italian thing, of course they are not mutually exclusive. Both countries share a border, the north western Italian cuisine has some similarities to the south eastern French.
jackassondo...here in the Americas we eat a shit ton of garlic..why?...because it improves our health due to our incredibly toxic environments that apparently you don't have in rome
Bravo Pablo! Finalmente qualcuno che capisce di cosa si sta parlando.
Bravo Pablo! Finally someone who understands what you're talking about.
@@cavemantero trust me Rome is one of the most polluted cities in Italy. But I'm more worried about the nuclear arms that were disposed of in the mountains of Sardinia by the US military 😤😤😤
Great video, but "noodles"!? No, it is rigatoni, spaghetti, linguini, etc. Never "noodles:.
Pasta are just Italian noodles, the same way German Klöße are a type of dumpling and French baguette is a type of bread. Just because Italians get their panties in a twist over names doesn't mean spaghetti, rigatoni and what not aren't noodles anymore.
Marco
Polo
I hate it so much
Tip 15: Clean the sauce pan out by throwing the pasta water in it. Boom. Quick cleaning.
You are an amazing inspiration to my home cooking game. I think one of the biggest reasons you are so successful is that you are not afraid to get your hands or kitchen dirty! (It's one of my drawbacks, I'm a neatnick.) I have been enjoying your videos so much over the past couple of weeks and am looking forward to making bread, which I haven't done since I was maybe 15 or so...
I followed these tips and my pasta is so much better! Had no idea something as simple as pasta and marinara sauce could be improved. Great content.
I would like to see jollof rice, the great west African staple. I got the flavors, but I am having trouble getting the right consistency on my rice. I like the work you are doing and your explanations are very clear and understadable. Thank you!
John G AKA the best rice known to man, however, it is very difficult to cook and takes years of practice. I’d suggest watching an african woman who cooks it often.
I would also suggest going to the source I reccomend precious kitchen on yt for the camerronian perspective.
@@ashleykem8052 Hi, Ashley! I am so glad you mentioned Precious because she is the one I have learned the most from. Part of the reason for my request on the american cooking channels is to get more exposure for jollof rice, as it is a big part of West African food and culture. When I lived in Berlin in the late '80s and early 90s, I had a good Cameroonian friend who turned me on to jollof rice, and have been trying to scratch that itch ever since.
@@etherdog Hi John! Thank you for clarifying the intent behind your request. I'm so glad you already discovered Precious's Kitchen, she is great! I absolutely agree that west african food/culture deserves more mainstream exposure! However, my reservation come from @prohomecooks possibly not being able to add any culture context to the dishes history. As we all know America is notorious for "discovering" and not Crediting. It would crush my soul for a naive viewer to believe that jollof rice is some new American fad dish. Now if we can get both @prohomecooks and @preciouskitchen (or any other west african chef) to collab as a guest star. I am in 100% in agreeance for that video! :)
@@ashleykem8052 I am all for that collab, Ashley, or anything like it, Dan Pashman of the Sporkful podcast just did a 2 part series that was a fairly serious introduction (for white folks) of "plantation" appellations and how they make different people feel. I know he just scratched the surface of the issue, but if you look at the body of his work in the past year, he is bringing a lot of discussion about different cultures, and these last two episodes have brought more of an urgency in my thinking. Personally, I don't think there is much danger in cultural appropriation of jollof rice because 1) West Africans wouldn't let it; 2) the people who would attempt to make it are probably sensitive to the issue and would give all the credit to its origin; and 3) it is so darn good that it is a gateway food to other African dishes. Frankly, however, I don't think any american cooks on RUclips are brave enough to even attempt it :-)
As a Senior Citizen trying to eat healthy but good tasting, I really appreciate your series. Some of the best pasta I ever had was in the 1970's in Milan, Italy. It was simply spaghetti with butter! Could you please tell us what wire spatula you are using? Thanks.
My dad (an italian chef) always said "salty like the middle sea!" to describe how the pasta water should be ;) So go for more salt!
Also, I don't know if you said that, but with cooked tomatoes you ALWAYS have to add some sugar to get rid of the bitterness.
This video was amazing. AMAZING. Before, I was tossing some passata and spices on pasta, but this was incredible. Best pasta I’ve ever tasted.
thank you so much. I'm considered a great cook among friends, but this video was such a blessing & this turned out amazing. i added a package of bella mushrooms with the onions and sprinkled 1lb of meat in before i added the pasta. this is going to be part of my permanent collections. I really really appreciate this video.
I don't skimp on the olive oil because I'm worried about my health, I do it because good olive oil is expensive!!
If you heat it up, you don't need the best quality of olive oil. Especially for frying, it's a shame to abuse a high-quality, cold-pressed extra vergine oil. If you use it for cold dishes, just the best quality is good enough.
@@ruthenium_dude that still like 6 dollars a bottle! Who do I look like? Warren Buffet!
Olive oil is good for you. It's dumb to avoid ti for health reasons
The cheap stuff is not as healthy. The process that is used to remove the oil from the olive destroys a lot of the nutrients in cheap olive oil.
@@ruthenium_dude Exactly. After heating, most of the flavor of the olive oil is gone.
I find that if I cook the pasta all the way through, if I mix it in and cook it further it overcooks it. So I always take it 75% then cook it the remainder for a few mins when coating.
Couple of things: you say use the best ingredients. So use the best ingredients. Don't use diced tomatoes in a can, use whole ones - you'll get less inferior stuff that way. Apparently the preferred type of tomatoes are San Marzano tomatoes, because they have some extra sweetness, but that's probably just a personal preference, other types will be good too.
Then, the reduction of the tomato sauce. It was still way too soggy when you put the pasta in, and with the added pasta water you required a whole new cycle of reduction. The end result was therefore sloppy. Also, as mentioned by others: you used so much pasta water that the ratio of starch to water was way too low, so not as effective in your reduction.
Next: don't add the garlic at the same time as the onions. The onions need time to soften and caramelize, but the garlic will burn. And you could see the garlic go brown and hard. That will result in a bitter flavour. Now I'm not such a stickler for either onions or garlic, so it's fine to use both, but use it right. If you really want to get down to the true Italian approach, you should have gone soffritto: onions, carrot, sellery. No garlic. Cook and reduce, then add the tomato sauce. But that's a different choice.
You made some good points, but made some basic errors yourself when making this. No matter, learn and try again!
When you say cook celery and carrots do you mean cook as in water or fry on oil in the pan?
Lemmy The Carpenter I should have said “sauté”. Easiest is first sauté the pancetta, and then add the onions, carrots and celery, and sauté more. Then add the minced meat and let it go golden, then add the concentrated tomato sauce and mix it in well. You can then add some extra tomatoes (whole but make sure they’re well crushed so they can turn so soft you won’t get their texture in the end). Then add red wine and reduce. Then add beef stock and let it simmer for an hour.
Then it should be perfectly reduced.
@@KryzMasta thanks sir will try it!
In italy they use the fresh tomatoes because they have such great tomatoes that grow there. In many places like here in the UK it's hard to get that quality of fresh tomatoes so tinned italian tomatoes are the best substitute really.
J T Even in Italy they use tinned whole tomatoes. Key is: San Marzano. Sweet and flavorful.
You videos are perfect! Not too long, straight to the point. Very informational. Thank you always!
I love how I know all about cooking pasta (and even making my own) but watching your videos. Is still good. This is a sign of great videos! Love your work!
keep the head of the onion, that’s what holds the onion together while you’re slicing it
It's kinda irritating he doesn't know that. Did he never watch Gordon Ramsey?
@3:36 Famous Scottish footballer.
Giovanna Iorio i mean he also doesn‘t use that technique literally every pro chef i‘ve ever seen does to not slice off their fingers
I like using good water for pasta and rice. To me it makes such a big difference. Water is the foundational ingredient for coffee, tea, rice, water, dough, and other things
@@corywalker3425 Depends. water throughout the US is very drinkable but vary in mineral and soluble content. Well water next to filtered -> distilled -> re-added minerals tastes shockingly different. It definitely effects the chemistry. Your right though about the rest, pretty much half of europe doesn't have potable water.
Chlorine, fluoride, atrazine, mercury, there's a whole host of contaminants in our water supply worldwide. Berkey filtration is the way to go, not just for taste but for health.
@@VibeRantInc agree. and yet people wonder why they dont feel good or their general health isnt where it needs to be.. usually comes down to two things, air quality and water.
@@corywalker3425 Literally everything you wrote about water was incorrect. It's also convenient that I'm not interested in your ill formed opinions.
@@mohammadalikarimi8055Yes though I would argue that food quality has an even greater impact, in the main, than air quality. Air quality can change rapidly and frequently throughout a day while food quality is more habituated and can remain largely the same (if not worse) throughout a lifetime. Clean water and organic food are major keys to wellbeing.
I love these break down videos. Part 1 was actually my first video from the channel (RIP Brothers Green), and I’ve been upping my cooking game ever since. I’d love to see a one dish break down of Tacos or some other Mex/Texmex dish
I have been making sauce since way before you were born my SON is 53. I was taught by my Italian mother in law in the 60s....some great tips here eg the pasta water as a thickener that was new to ME....we can always learn something new it worked in the video so I will try it...THANKS!.
I don’t know if you read all your comments Michael, but I love your videos. I’m a visual leaner and watching your videos are so educational and I want to cook a meal with you. Much love!
if your pasta is breaking up and not holding it's shape - it's overcooked dude.
@@karlcx A limp noodle!
10:25 why would you leave like 3-4 in the package?! you are killing me!
In the debate about adding salt to the pasta water the sides are:
1. People that add salt to the pasta water
2. People that are wrong
I live for this Chanel. I went from a total noob to being the best chef in the house without ever using a recipe ! All thanks to you bro’s, showing us tips and tricks to cook with what you have !
Add a couple of pinches of sugar to the sauce to offset the bitterness of the tomatoes. Also, whisk in another Tbs or 2 of olive oil, and chop the basil.
To make a simple, weekday, tomato sauce you don’t need so many onions and garlic, most of us in italy use one clove of garlic a little bit smashed and then we take it out at the end (somehow abroad you think we are just mad on garlic while we actually aren’t in most cases)
Also you ALWAYS add rock salt to the water, otherwise it will always turn out bland.
If you want to add greens broccoli or cime di rapa go extremely well with tomato sauce
Beppe yes and I heard you don’t really use onions and garlic at the same time either?
cor j yes that is, in most cases true. Garlic and onions are both strong flavoring agents so when making a simple sauce you just need one or they will just overwhelm the tomatoes.
If your doing something like roasted piece of meat instead you can easily use both as you really want to season and give flavor to the piece of meat.
In fact you will also probably use other things like carrots, celery, herbs and spices...
Americans a crazy about garlic. Specially in Italian food. They load up on it. Many restaurants also load up garlic on their dishes.
@@marcelobarros5729 because the quality of the tomatoes are trash compared to medi
The pasta is really over cooked
Guys, in Italy "al dente" is when pasta is a little bit hard but it not sticks to your teeths (resulting annoying). Same is for risotto. Crunchy but not sticky.
Done. 1-15. Moving on to next video. Keep em coming chef. Love it absolutely love it.
grew up despising pasta, went to tons of Italian restaurants and always felt like it was just a weird tasteless wet mess. All kinds of pasta too, not just one in particular. I never liked pasta. Then I started cooking pasta at home, making pasta from people's personal recipes instead of generic recipes. using fresh pasta And now I fully understand why pasta makes people so emotional, pasta is a beautiful thing. It only took me like 20 years to get there. LOL. God bless
For the salt: 10gr for every liter of water .. but bruh! Wtf !!! The garlic!!! This is the real problem! What's wrong with you Americans!🤦♂️ we put the whole clove just to get the flavour in the oil and put it out when is light gold, absolutely not golden brown! And btw onion or garlic choose one! Check Italia Squisita on Yt
Sporcacionne
cuz we aint vampires asshole...and garlic and onion actually go well with each other
The Golden Equation in Italian cooking is: simple + fresh = delicious.
No layers.
And nine ingredients is at least 3 too many.
I just started cooking from a complete rookie level and your channel helps me so much! You explain it really intuitively and simple! Thanks :)
thats great news, you getting to Pro Home Cook status?
@@LifebyMikeG Give me some time and your videos and I will be there in no time ;)
I think this is the best most simple well edited pasta video ever.
Love your vids. Learned a ton from you. Thank you. For this one dish, I would humbly suggest...
1. ) Transfer pasta sooner and cook in sauce longer. Startch will release into sauce.
2.) IMO you used too much pasta, you did not need to transfer it all. Only transfer amount appropriate to sauce amount and pot size. Pot was also too small.
3.) Add cheese and small pieces basil to each dish after pasta is plated.
If you want a simple "pasta al pomodoro" use only garlic, there's no need for onions.
Onions are good for "soffritto".
And add the salt in the water before putting pasta in it, there's no debate on that.
Tip for the chef: use a deeper pot to cook the pasta sauce. Less risk dropping the noodles, less risk for mess.
Noodles? You call yourself a chef?
Oh man, you're telling people how to not make mistakes, doing only mistakes. A kiss from Italy ahahahah
haha.
I had a dear Italian friend and decided to make pasta for him, well the look on his face when he saw that I broke the spaghetti in half to boil it was enough for me to dump in the bin and start over. Finally he took over and salted the water to the extreme and then tested if it was ready by throwing a strand on the wall, if it stuck ready to go. The tomato sauce took a very long time and he put some wine and brown sugar in it.... that was delicious.
Brilliant video. I learned so many new things by cooking this food.
You generally make great videos. In this one, you got a few things incorrect.
1. You should add a lot more salt to the pasta water.
2. You overcooked the pasta. If you finish off the pasta cooking process in the pan, you should take the pasta out of the water two minutes before it's done.
3. You should use less basil. Basil can also be overpowering.
I think the onion, dried oregano, and spinach were also a mistake. Not that this sauce would taste bad necessarily. I’m sure it would still taste pretty good, but it seemed like he was aiming for authenticity here.
add salt in the water when it start to boil. So it reach the boiling temp faster.
With the salt earlier it's going to slow done the process quite a lot.
Protip: Never watch this before going to bed.
(was about to fall asleep but as the episode progressed i just got more and more hungry)
jhonny criollo so I’m not the only one with an hangry belly in bed
I saw your comment after watching the video and i am regretting.
Agreed and also mad about the noodles crap
That is a great video. After seeing this I never toss out the pasta water but use the starchy water to improve the sauce.
Tip 16 = Start Innerbloom by Rufus when you put the noodles in. When the song ends, perfect al dente pasta every time
loved the editing! And great recipe as always :)
;)
I enjoyed watching your video, it was entertaining, you have great energy that comes across and you're kinda pleasant to the eye (blush). But, too many things are not right, many are brought up in the 1046 comments below. Keep it up! @ over 1.5 million subscribers you are doing something right.
Maybe do a savory squash soup? I'm not fond of "pumpkin-type" spices that are more often found in desserts.
For example, a potato-rosemary mix, or a spaghetti-garlic, etc. TY for sharing your love of great food 💓
My savoury pumpkin/squash soup focuses on baking the squash in a frying pan for a good 5-8 minutes till brown, add garlic (plenty!), rosemary and thyme. Move the mix to a big pot and add Crème fraîche, some beef or veggie stock and chilis if you want. Stir and blend it up with a bar blender. Letting the flavours mingle off the heat makes it even better of course.
You can also try a more indian/ SE Asia style with lime, cumin and coriander seeds but I don't know that recipe by heart.
@@Tinky1rs wow! Tyvm! 💓 You have given me some tasty ideas.xoxo 💓
I tried these tips and my friends loved my pasta.
I love your kitchen
The easiest dishes scare me the most: pasta, rice, tea, water. It‘s all about the details....
I feel you Martin, water is truly the scariest of dishes!
No matter how much hydrogen, oxygen, and the number 2 - I mix, I just cant seem to find the right recipe.
Totally true. The most difficult pasta dishes are the simplest ones, since you have to nail execution and they’re not as forgiving if you mess something during the process . The most difficult pasta that I know of is aglio e olio, which is basically garlic and oil. Same with rice. Most sushi chefs will tell you rice is the most important part in sushi, even to 80%. Making ok pasta and rice is easy. Making great simple pasta and rice is very difficult. Only advise I can give is watch videos (Italian if possible), and practice practice practice.
@@s1iznc1d34 I'll could make an effort on telling why you're wrong in some stuff you said, but I don't think it's worthy of my time if you talk to me with this atitude.
@@s1iznc1d34 I've tried to talk with too many people who use "lol" on the end of sentence to not know how futile is to talk with them. But feel free to think what you want
I'm still wondering why you blanched the greens...? Throw it in at the very end and the residual heat softens them.
Take it from an Italian, and I do not mean Italian-American, I mean Italian from Italy. That's too much oil. The pasta is going to taste greasy.
Italian "from Italy" means nothing when your regions are in a food civil war on how to cook things properly. ;)
Wow! I bought the right pasta and cooked it this way. Game changer! Thank you.
Tip 16... taste as you go. Seasoning in layers is awesome but you should be tasting each time you put salt into your dish! Great video!!
"We have that things in the US where we are scared of fat"
Hmmm.. then why most of american food is fried ?
It's not. The average amount of fried food in a meal, other than French fries, is rare.
@@joshistyping hmmm Fried chicken ?? Fried fish or shrimp ??? Fried onions, mozza sticks green beans and okra ?! Even fried butter stick. So compared to other countries American are eating a lot more fried stuff !!!
Some in the health conscious community in USA avoid fat. For years fat was considered what made people gain weight (often supported by sugar companies). Now most in that community know there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats. That being said some in the US (not just USA but eh 🤷) have taken it too far with a keto diet which is all fat. Often diets of different classes and regions differ. Southern states are where most of the fried food originated from and lots of poor in US struggle to get healthier fresher food and thus eat out or fry food.
Joshua Blume to be fair deep frying is waaayyy more common that in europe and asia even, obviously not all the food is fried
Its usually people who cook at home who are scared of fat. American fast food places and restaurants tend to use a lot of fat and people do not care. But there is a good sized portion of the U.S. that doesnt eat out that often and is more health conscious when they are cooking from home.
That was not nearly enough salt in the pasta water. "Until it tastes of the sea and no less."
Can people stop calling pasta ”noodles”
YES! It gets me so mad when they call pasta "noodles"
Noods n saus :P
Morgan Thisted Noodles is asian pasta to me. You don’t say “wok past” but “wok noodle”.
From the OED: noodle = a strip, ring, or tube of pasta or a similar dough, typically made with egg and usually eaten with a sauce or in a soup.
There are pasta shapes that are noodles, and noodles that arent pasta.
Controversy for salting your pasta water, just remember no matter what. Boiling your pasta is your only time to season your pasta, do everyone a favor. Salt your pasta water, not quite salty as the sea. Also, some pasta sauces (creamier sauces, spaghetti, Alfredo, ect.) benefit so much by saving a little and adding a little pasta water to the sauce when adding the pasta. I know it's water, but the water is starchy it will help in being your pasta and sauce marry. And he does an amazing job going over that, but it's super helpful. Happy cooking!!
Keeping it simple is sometimes the best way! I’ve used this recipe so many times since watching!
Hey, would really love to hear your thoughts on extras like adding wine or sugar in the sauce or even milk. Or is it more for a ragout kind of thing?
Depends on the sauce! I put red wine in rich meat sauces because it has nice body to stand up to the richness and the acidity cuts through the fatty flavours of beef. I might add cream to a sauce like the one in this video, especially if I didn't add enough oil so the acidity of the tomato doesn't overpower everything.
Lots of people add dry white wine to their meats sauces as well, and I think it can fit into creamy sauces (branching out of tomato sauces at this point).
Sugar isn't traditional, but it works well to distract you from acidity through the flavour (though I don't think it actually changes the PH the way cream would).
Milk works like cream, but because it's lower fat, it's not as effective.
Brown sugar is great in any tomato based dish such as sauce, soup etc.
Always useful to have a bottle of white wine around the house. Every time you cook onion you can basically deglaze with wine, adding some nice flavours.
Be careful on the wine you pic, it should be a standard table wine, one you would actually drink. Also some wine are pretty acidic so choose wisely (it's usually written on the bottle).
Nice info here, thanks. Little bit of wine for the sauce, little bit of wine for meee
potato canvas Also be careful to not pick sweet white wine unless the recipe asks for it
Personalmente tutte le persone che conosco non mettono aglio in questa quantità e cipolla insieme.
Chiaramente la pasta si può cucinare davvero in qualsiasi modo, seguendo i propri gusti.
Però boh la pasta con la salsa di pomodoro si fa o solo con cipolle, oppure cuocendola con l’aglio diviso a metà (comunque pezzi grossi) e poi aggiungendo il basilico e l’olio crudo alla fine
Ma infatti si mette solo l'aglio se si vuole fare una salsa al pomodoro.
Se si vuole fare un sugo che richiede il soffritto o altri ingredienti oltre al pomodoro allora la cipolla va benissimo.
Ma aglio e cipolla per solo una pasta al pomodoro proprio non la capisco.
Poi chiaro son gusti, però non è che ci voglia tanto ad andare su google e guardarsi qualche ricetta in Italiano e vedere cosa noi italiani mettiamo nei sughi, prima di farci video sopra.
Se posso farlo io con video e ricette inglesi non vedo perchè altri non possano fare lo stesso.
Ivolol si infatti, penso che fra l’altro non ha senso fare una cosa da chef. La pasta al pomodoro è pasta al pomodoro, proprio la sua semplicità la rende buona. Che senso ha mettere dei buoni pomodori se poi aggiungi chili di aglio e cipolla?
@@deb0rs58 C'è però da dire che per noi italiani preparare un piatto di pasta è una cosa semplice e super economica, pur non rinunciando ad ingredienti di buona qualità. In altri paesi non hai la stessa facilità nel trovare i prodotti a cui siamo abituati (una buona pasta secca, un buon pomodoro per sugo, un buon olio extravergine d’oliva, giusto per rimaniamo sui principali) e se li trovi... i prezzi sono esorbitanti. Forse è per questo che tendono ad esagerare con i condimenti, sia in quantità che nel numero di combinazioni in una stessa preparazione, il tutto per riuscire ad estrarre un qualcosa di saporito, ma ottenendo alla fine un sapore confuso.
Italian visual opinion: you cooked the pasta too much because there are too many broken rigatoni. I am sorry.
But nice try. 😍
Le cause possono essere anche altre (oltre ad una cottura eccessiva): qualità della pasta mediocre: una buona pasta secca dovrebbe essere sempre fatta col 100% di semola di grano duro; maltrattamento quando viene condita col sugo, in effetti non la sta girando granchè bene.
He futzed with it too much, you can't overhandle the pasta or it will get gummy and break . You gotta leave it alone a bit. I always take a cup of the pasta water and add some of that to the sauce to thicken it and I can stir as much as I want to get it thicker THEN You can drop the pasta in and serve pretty quick, no need to keep stirring and tossing so much y'know?
His pot was too small and his utensil was to stiff. I hate seeing these RUclips “chefs” finish like 6 servings of pasta in one dish. You just can’t do it effectively
Hello Fresh is a great way to get into cooking if you don't have many skills. I did it for a while as a way to amp up some weekday easy recepies and I loved it. Even luving alone it was cost efficient cause I has next day's lunch and nothing went to waste. Great job with your video, awesome ideas!
First recipe I'm going to try making, thank you!
We italians don't use so much garlic as you may think
Did you called the rigatoni noddle? 😂
2:20 if you want to skip the ‘short ad’ and intro :))))))))))))))))))))
This is the best pasta video I've seen yet!!
A perfect dish! I use 2 bell pepper dice, onion, lots of garlic, Cento peeled tomatoes 32 oz, small can petite diced tomatoes for my sauce. The star of the show is baking my garden tomatoes which are of a 1 to 2 inch size halved on a large baking sheet on parchment paper. Load the whole baking sheet. Halve them, drizzle olive oil, top with Panko bread crumbs and bake 400* for 30-35 minutes. After topping pasta with the baked garden tomatoes I drain a can of minced clams to warm on the baking sheet for a few minutes to round out the dish. Out of this world! McCormick chipotle chili powder, Tabasco and 1 tea spoon instant coffee optional.