Pasta's eco‑friendly twist: Skip the water, save the flavour
According to the packaging instructions, pasta should be cooked in hot salted water. The manufacturer specifies how long it takes to cook pasta to al dente and when it becomes softer. However, in some cases, alternative ways of cooking spaghetti yield much better results.
Pasta in cheese sauce or traditional mushroom soup with shell pasta can turn out significantly better if you slightly deviate from the manufacturer's recommendations. In these and many other cases, you can cook pasta without water. This method is not only beneficial for enhancing the flavour of the dish but is also eco-friendly and economical.
How to cook pasta without water?
In certain instances, you can add dry pasta directly into the prepared dish. It will become just as soft in hot sauce or soup as it would in water. Additionally, the starch that would normally dissolve in water will thicken the dish, giving it a pleasant texture.
This method may seem unconventional, but it often works—especially with dishes that have a lot of sauce or are watery vegetable soups, particularly those lacking in flavour. Furthermore, by adding pasta directly to the sauce or soup, there's no need to use flour.
Will pasta without water work in every dish?
Cooking pasta in sauce or soup offers significant savings in water and energy. An added advantage is that you don't have to figure out what to do with the pasta water. However, this method does not work in every case. To make the pasta soft, it still requires ample liquid to absorb. If the sauce is already thick, cooking pasta in it might leave only a bland aroma.
The importance of cooking time for pasta
The cooking time for pasta without water is the same as in the standard procedure. Once you exceed this time, the pasta will become increasingly softer and absorb more liquid, until the dish turns into an unappealing mush.
Pasta left in soup or sauce will continue to swell even after it's removed from the stove and placed in the refrigerator. Therefore, this method works best if you do not plan on having leftovers for the next day.
