Pasta and three simple sauces

Pasta is cheap, quick and endlessly adaptable. Cook it properly, keep a cup of the cooking water and you can make three different sauces from store-cupboard basics.

Cooking pasta properly

• Use plenty of water: at least 2 litres for every 225 g of dried pasta, so it does not stick.
• Bring it to a full boil and season generously with salt. Many cooks say the water should taste like the sea.
• Do not add oil to the water: it coats the pasta and stops the sauce from clinging.
• Stir straight after adding the pasta to break up clumps.
• Start tasting a minute or two before the packet time. Drain just before it is 'al dente' (tender with a slight bite), because it keeps cooking in the sauce.
• Before draining, scoop out about a cupful (around 240 ml) of the starchy cooking water. Do not rinse the pasta.
• Portion guide: about 75 g of dried pasta per person for a main meal.

The template

• 1. Put the pasta water on to boil before you start the sauce.
• 2. Make the sauce base in a wide pan: fat (olive oil or butter) plus aromatics (onion, garlic, chilli).
• 3. Add the body of the sauce: tinned tomatoes, cream, or just pasta water and oil.
• 4. Add vegetables and protein in order of cooking time.
• 5. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce and toss over the heat with splashes of pasta water until glossy and coating every strand.
• 6. Finish with herbs, lemon zest, black pepper or cheese, and serve straight away.

Worked example: three sauces, each for 2 to 4

• Tomato sauce (serves 4 with 300 g pasta): soften half a diced onion and 4 sliced garlic cloves in 3 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add 2 tins (400 g each) of chopped tomatoes and a few basil leaves, bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Season with salt and pepper.
• Garlic and olive oil, aglio e olio (serves 2 with 225 g spaghetti): warm 60 ml olive oil over low heat with 3 thinly sliced garlic cloves and a pinch of chilli flakes until the garlic sizzles gently and just starts to turn golden. Add about 240 ml pasta water and shake the pan to combine. Toss in the drained pasta and 2 tbsp chopped parsley.
• Creamy mushroom, no wine (serves 4 with 300 g pasta): soften 1 chopped onion in 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter over low heat for 10 minutes. Add 250 g sliced mushrooms for 10 minutes, then 1 grated garlic clove for 2 minutes. Stir in 200 ml double cream, the zest of 1 lemon and grated hard cheese, and simmer gently. Toss with the pasta, loosening with about 100 ml pasta water, and add parsley.
• The original creamy mushroom recipe uses white wine; this version simply leaves it out, and the lemon zest keeps it bright.

Swap it

• Pasta shapes: long strands (spaghetti, linguine) suit oil and smooth tomato sauces; tubes and twists (penne, fusilli) hold chunky and creamy sauces.
• Vegetables: add spinach, courgette, peppers, peas, roasted aubergine or cherry tomatoes. Hard vegetables can boil in the pasta water for the last few minutes.
• Protein: tinned tuna, cooked chicken, prawns (2 to 3 minutes in the sauce), halal beef mince browned first for a ragu, or chickpeas.
• Creamy sauce swaps: use cream cheese or labneh loosened with pasta water instead of double cream for a lighter version.
• Cheese: check labels. Some hard cheeses are made with animal rennet; choose one labelled vegetarian or halal-certified if that matters to you.

Fixes and tips

• Sauce too thick or pasta dry: add pasta water a splash at a time and toss. The starch helps oil and water combine into a silky sauce.
• Sauce too thin: toss over the heat for another minute; the pasta will absorb some liquid.
• Tomato sauce too sharp: simmer longer, or add a small pinch of sugar.
• Garlic browned too fast: the heat was too high. Garlic should sizzle gently; burnt garlic is bitter.
• Pasta stuck together: not enough water or not stirred early. Use a bigger pan next time.
• Leftover sauce: cool it quickly, keep it in the fridge and eat it within 2 days (the FSA leftovers guide), or freeze it for about 2 to 3 months for best quality.