@arklytte

1 month ago

Chef trick: With the pasta, only cook it about 2/3 of the way done, immediately drain, then drop it in an ice bath to stop it cooking. Leave it there for 15-20 seconds, then drain again, mix in a bit of oil, give it a stir, then portion it out into either sandwich bags (for individual portions) or containers (for family portions).

When you're ready to eat, get a pot of water boiling while you heat up/make your sauce. When the sauce/sides are ready, toss the pasta into water at a rolling boil for about 1 minute. Drain, mix with sauce, enjoy perfectly cooked fresh, hot pasta.

Source: I'm a retired chef

NOTE: This may require a bit of experimentation with the initial cooking time. I suggest trying small batches just to make sure it's not over/under cooked when you actually make the final dish. Bit once you get the timing down, you'll never go back to doing it the old way.

EDIT: WOW! Thanks for all the Likes and all the Thanks! Who'd have thought just sharing a couple of old restaurant tricks would make people so happy. 😁

EDIT THE SECOND: Some people in the thread have pointed out that, rather than reheating the par-cooked pasta in boiling water, you could just throw it right in the sauce and let it heat/finish that way.

I went ahead and tried it with both jarred sauce (Ragu Simply Roasted Garlic...yes, I'm a bit of a Basic Bitch when it comes to jarred sauce, but the Simply line has the minimal ingredients needed (and NO High Fructose Corn Syrup), and had very decent flavor, though I admit I jazz it up with extra garlic and a bit of fresh basil), as well as some of my homemade sauce (I make a couple gallons of red sauce every couple months and freeze it in family sized portions (about 2 cups). Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then reheat it low and slow.

Both worked excellently, though I had to add about a tablespoon of chicken stock to the homemade sauce, because it got a touch too thick

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