One of the easiest and most delicious meals you can make is a simple pasta dish. Whether you choose to eat angel hair pasta, spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, or any of the other wonderful pastas that are available, following a few cooking tips can ensure the meal will turn out well.

While nothing seems easier than tossing a box of spaghetti into some boiling water, you might be surprised to know that there is actually a fine art to boiling pasta, which includes:

• Add a few pinches of Mediterranean rock salt to the pot of boiling water. This helps the pasta absorb flavor as it cooks.

• Never overcook pasta. Test the noodles every two minutes so that the pasta can be served “al dente,” or firm. Depending on the amount that you’re cooking, pasta shouldn’t need more than 8-10 minutes in the boiling water.

• Never rinse your pasta after you drain it. Rinsing strips the noodles of starch and nutrients.

• Never coat pasta with olive oil. This is a common misconception, as many people drizzle oil on freshly drained pasta to keep the noodles from sticking together. The oil actually prevents the sauce from sticking to the noodles, which makes for a bland, unbalanced dish. Properly cooked pasta will not stick.

• Before serving, return pasta to the pot and toss with 1-2 cups of sauce and a few teaspoons of the salted water that was just used for boiling. Lightly coat all noodles; this helps them absorb as much flavor as possible. Once the pasta is plated, you can spoon extra sauce over the noodles.

Cooking wonderful meals is easy in your apartment in Alachua, FL. With a spacious kitchen, glass-top stove, maple and oak cabinets, and a large pantry, our apartments provide residents with all the wonderful amenities they need to become a master chef. For more information about the other benefits of living in the One 51 Place apartment community, contact our leasing office today.