You've been cooking pasta WRONG your whole life

16 April 2019, 15:53 | Updated: 16 April 2019, 15:58

An expert has claimed that the best method of cooking pasta is completely different to how most of us thought...

For most of us, pasta is the perfect easy dish that everyone - regardless of culinary prowess - knows how to cook perfectly. Or so we thought. Because a pasta expert (great title) has claimed that the majority of us are actually doing it wrong.

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Giovanni Rana, a pasta maker and founder of the Giovanni Rana brand, and his daughter Antonella, have revealed their top tips for creating the perfect plate of pasta.

And, when it comes to perfect boiling time, amount of sauce and seasoning, it turns out many of us have been getting it wrong.

Antonella told the Mail Online: "There are a lot of urban legends about al dente pasta but in Italy not everybody loves al dente pasta.

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"... Fresh pasta is the quickest. We’re talking about just two minutes.

"I personally love to drain the pasta 15 seconds before the full cooking time... this way you don't overcook [it]."

And when it comes to flavouring the pasta, she recommended drizzling it with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and just a sprinkle of Parmigiana Reggiano.

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She also said that you should add no more than a spoonful of sauce.

"As Italians, we try not to cover it too much with the sauce, she added.

"The queen is the pasta and the sauce is the tool."

And when it comes to seasoning, she said: "The last basic is fresh herbs such as basil, thyme and chive.

"I believe that when you cook with fresh herbs, [washed and chopped] roughly, your dish is already king."