1. Start with the good stuff

Poor quality pasta can end up soggy and sticky when cooked, undoing all your hard work, so save yourself the heartache and start with the good stuff. Look out for pasta that is made from durum wheat semolina (often called pasta de semola di grano duro in Italian) for a silky pasta that will keep its shape when done.

Pasta from scratch:

2. Pull out you biggest pot

Pasta needs plenty of room to expand in the pot, so pull out your biggest pot to ensure it’s given the right amount of room. If you try cramming too much pasta into the wrong-sized pot it will stick together and won’t cook evenly.

3. Let it boil

Before adding the pasta, make sure the water is at a fierce boil. Once the pasta is added, the water temperature will drop and will take a little time to recover so having it at the boil first is vital to ensure it’s evenly cooked.

4. Add salt

While the water is coming to the boil add a good teaspoon of salt to the pot. Adding salt is an important step to ensure the pasta cooks well, and tastes its best. The salt will also increase the boiling point of the water, quickly getting it up to that fast and furious boil that you need.

5. Don’t add oil

Despite what you may have been told, don’t add oil to the pot. If you do, it will simply float on the top and won’t help the pasta during cooking. Once done, it will coat the pasta strands and prevent the sauce from clinging to the strands.

6. Cook until al dente

We’ve all heard that pasta should be cooked until al dente, but what does that mean? Basically, you’re looking to cook it until it’s soft, but still retains a little of its bite in the middle. Some swear by throwing a piece against the wall, and if it sticks, it’s done. By all means try that if you’d like; however, tasting a piece should also tell you how much longer you need to cook it for.

7. Drain but don’t rinse

Tip the pot of cooked pasta into a colander and allow it to drain. Try to keep some of the cooking water on the pasta – or remove 1/2 cup to add back later – as the starch in the water will help keep the pasta glossy and stop it from drying out and turning gluggy. Don’t rinse the pasta as this will remove too much of the starch from the surface, and you need the starch to help it soak up the sauce.

8. Add the sauce

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and cook together for 1-2 minutes to allow the pasta to soak up the sauce. Alternatively, toss the hot pasta with the sauce for 30 seconds to ensure each piece is well-coated and flavourful.