Pasta Clock Pasta Cooking
Technical Advice & Recipes

Cook pasta for how many minutes:

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Cooking Pasta

1. If you can use a big pot so there is room for the pasta to move around in the water. Bring the water to boiling point before adding salt or pasta. Add a punch of salt (one tablespoon), look at the recommended cooking time on the pasta package and click on the corresponding number above for a helpful timer. Then run to the stove and drop all the pasta in the water at once.
2. Stir the pasta pronto to prevent it from sticking together or to the pot and to make sure long strangers are submerged. Don’t break long pasta to fit it into the pot or Jimmy will shoot you. Cover the pot until the pasta begins boiling again, then uncover.
3. Stir the pasta periodically and taste to check if it is al dente (firm to bite, but not too dry or crunchysome in the middle). This should happen around 30 seconds before the end of recommended cooking time (a big yellow smile appears on the screen to give you the good news) and at this point the pasta is DONE, so get it OFF the heat PRONTO and…
4. …Immediately drain the water away from the pasta using a colander (a bowl with a bunch of small-caliber bullet holes in it) and shake it like a boss shaking an uncooperative person so excesso water flows off. Don’t rinse the pasta under the tap because doing so removes the coat of starch which helps it to absorb the sauce; rinsing also makes it cold which makes people disappointed and unhappy.
5. Mix in the sauce you have prepared and toss well. Serve pronto.

Technical Advice

1. Always taste the pasta before taking it out of the water — it’s the only way to know for sure if it’s ready. The pasta clock is not magic. It helps you approximate the correct time. Ideally the pasta should be al dente — firm to the bite yet chewable. Just taste it for Frankie’s sake!
2. When the pasta is dropped into the boiling water the water stops boiling and it takes time for it to return to boiling point. The larger the pot, and the more water in it, the quicker the boil will return. Using smaller pots can add minutes to the cooking time. Time is precious, and so is good food, which needs to be cooked carefully. This table contains recommended water-to-pasta rationales for cooking pasta in an ideal world:

   Pasta	Water	Salt
   250g (0.5 packet)	3 liters (5 pints)	Half a punch
   500g (1 packet)	4 liters (7 pints)	1 punch
   750g (1.5 packet)	5 liters (9 pints)	1.5 punch
   1kg (2 packets)	Use two pots	2 punches

3. Certain pasta dishes need the pasta to be cooked molto al dente or 'very firm', like Jimmy is to clowns. An example is Spaghetti alle Vongole Veraci, where the molto al dente pasta is mixed with the vongole and absorbs their beautiful taste while it finishes cooking in the pan with them.

Recipes

Pomodoro Classico

(For 2 to 4 people)

• 2 to 3 glugs* of olive oil
• 1 big or 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 can of pomodori pelati (whole peeled tomatoes), 500g
• salt, pepper, basil (if you want), a touch of sugar if the sauce is too acidic

1. Pour olive oil into saucepan on medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until before the color begins to turn tan.
2. Dump in the can of tomatoes. Add a couple pinches of salt and pepper to taste. Throw in some hand tore pieces of fresh basil if you like. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes at a simmer.
3. Add pasta when it’s done. Serve. Eat.

Best Pasta: Spaghetti #5, almost anything.

Arrabbiata

(For 2 to 4 people)

• 2 to 3 glugs* of olive oil
• 1 big or 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 can of pomodori pelati (whole peeled tomatoes), 500g
• salt, pepper, a couple pinches of crushed chillies (pepperoncini) depending on your taste for spice

1. Pour olive oil into a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until right before it turns tan. Throw in the chillies about mid-way through so that they too can simmer a bit with the oil.
2. Dump in the can of tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes at a simmer.
3. Add pasta. Stir. Serve. Eat.

Best Pasta: Penne.

Aglio Olio

(For 2 people)

• 4 to 5 glugs of olive oil
• 1 big or 2 small cloves of garlic
• Some sprigs of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• A pinch of chillies and (optional) a couple teaspoons of anchovy paste

1. Pour olive oil into a pan at medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until it just begins to color.
2. Add parsley and any of the optional ingredients that you would like. Stir well. Remove from heat.
3. When the pasta is done (VERY al dente) turn the sauce back on to low heat. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir until it is all covered. Taste. Serve. Eat.

Best Pasta: #1 Spaghettini, #2 Spaghetti.

Carbonara

(For 2 people)

• 2 glugs of olive oil
• 1 strip of pancetta, cut into thin strips
• 3 to 4 tablespoons white wine
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons grated parmigiano-reggiano
• 1 tablespoon grated pecorino romano
• A couple sprigs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Salt, pepper

1. Pour olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until browned but not crisped. Pour in the white wine and cook some more, until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
2. In a bowl big enough for the pasta, beat the egg yolks with the cheeses, parsley and a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper.
3. When the pasta is finished cooking, very al dente, drain it and add it to the yolk/cheese sauce. Turn the pancetta back on to high heat. Stir the pasta with the sauce until well coated and yellow. Add in the hot pancetta. Stir some more. Serve and eat.

Best Pasta: Spaghetti or Rigatone.

Pasta Clock is brought to you by Jimmy Boss in association with Simon Griffee. Jimmy has a computer in the kitchen and hates overcooked pasta. Jimmy thanks Amber Paulen for the recipes, Simon Willison for keeping the time, Scott Schiller for managing the sound, Giuliano Hazan for loving pasta, Joe Pesci for staying calm at 404 and Sylvester Stallone for running.