Rigatoni

Cooking with rigatoni pasta can be an easy task once you get the hang of it. As they are a versatile ingredient, they can be paired with many different sauces. Where most people go wrong is undercooking or overcooking them. Rigatoni textures should be al dente i.e., it should be cooked to be firm to the bite. Cooking time generally ranges from 11-13 minutes. Slightly undercooked pasta will absorb more sauce and offer better flavor than overcooked pasta. To avoid sticky pasta, don't add oil in the pot leading to prevent the sauce from adhering to the pasta. To prevent the pasta from sticking together , make sure to stir them occasionally. Never rinse the pasta after draining, unless you're making a cold pasta salad in which the pasta will cool down too quickly, creating a gloppy texture. One trick to get the most of the flavor out of rigatoni is to finish cooking it in the sauce for the last two minutes. This allows the pasta to absorb the flavor of the sauce. Another less known tip is that rigatoni is also perfect for baking. As the filling in dishes like rigatoni pie, the ridges on the outside help to hold onto the sauce, and the wide tubes allow it to be easily stuffed with filling. Moreover, always use a large pot with plenty of boiling water when cooking pasta to stop it sticking together. Seasoning the cooking water with salt enhances the flavor, the dish doesn’t become overly salty, because pasta absorbs the salt and your sauce will too.