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So you guys know by now that I’m a foodie turned health nut. Don’t worry this blog will never focus on kale and quinoa (though I do love enjoying both of those ingredients on a regular basis). However, from time to time I may share some fun chef tricks that don’t include adding more butter, oil, or sugar. Like today! I am going to share a cooking hack with you that will make every pasta dish you ever prepare taste even more decadent and lush and it all starts with the water.

For those of you who cook a lot, you may already use some pasta hacks to improve the dish like tossing noodles with just enough sauce to lightly coat them or even adding some pasta water into that toss to improve the texture of the dish. Side note, writing this reminded me of when my fiancé and I were in college and he would boil a pound of pasta, drain it, and then just dump a full jar of unheated vodka sauce on top. Oh, the humanity! Anyway, back to today’s tip.

People add some pasta water back into their noodles because it’s the starch in the water that helps enrich the texture of the sauce. It makes it silky and helps it cling to the pasta a bit more. You can take it up another notch and enrich the sauce even further by increasing the starchiness of the pasta water just a touch more. How, you ask? Drop a handful of semolina flour into the pot of water just before you add in the pasta. Semolina flour is the same type of flour that dried pasta is made from and it will take the starchiness of the water up a level, thus improving your sauce even more in those final stages of prep.

And before you ask, the answer is yes, you can use this trick with any type of sauce from classic tomato to cheesy alfredo (rhyming not intentional). Seriously, it’s that versatile and that easy. Just remember to save about a half cup of the water before you drain the noodles.

Here’s a full recap of what you need to do:

1. Add semolina flour into the pot of water before you add pasta
2. Bring pasta to a boil and cook to just shy of al-dente
3. Reserve ½ cup of water and drain your pasta
4. Add pasta, sauce, and pasta water into a skillet and let it simmer while you toss everything together

I’m sorry if you were expecting something more advanced but I’ll let ya in on a secret … the BEST foods are simple foods. Now hurry up and go make some pasta!

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

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