Secrets to Making Perfect Pasta Every Time

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When the Sauce and Pasta are Cooked Separately...

Combine the two in a pan before serving. How many times have you been to an Italian restaurant that serves a bed of oily noodles topped with a ladle of sauce? This leaves you to do all the tossing and coating, and no matter how much effort you put into it, the sauce and the noodles never really become one. To avoid this sad scenario, keep your sauce warm in a large pan, and add the pasta cooked al dente. Toss together, and add a bit of reserved pasta water, simmering until the consistency is to your liking. If the sauce is a bit watery, you can add a pad of butter or a tablespoon of olive oil to create an emulsion. The pasta should be evenly coated when it's finished.