HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF DRIED PASTA

1. Use plenty of water… ‘Always have a big pot of salted water – at least five litres. Make sure it’s boiling and tastes like the sea.’

2. Cook it for three minutes less… ‘If the packet says 10 minutes, cook it for seven. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. And don’t cook too much – 125g per person is a generous portion. If you put too much pasta in the sauce, you dilute it dramatically.’

3. Save the pasta water… ‘Take the pasta out of the pan with a slotted spoon, or if it’s a long strand like spaghetti, take it out with a pair of tongs, but leave that pan of water on the stove. It’s very important you leave it on the stove because you’re going to use it to finish the sauce.’

4. End with the sauce… ‘Cook the pasta and a couple ladlefuls of the cooking water with the sauce for about three minutes. The starch will thicken the sauce, which will coat the pasta.’

5. Match the pasta to the occasion… ‘There’s nothing wrong with regular, everyday dried pasta – the kind that’s under a pound a packet. For something special, choose a bronze-die pasta: it has a coarser texture and holds the sauce better. You’ll notice the difference.’

HOW TO GET PASTA AND SAUCE IN BALANCE

1. Don’t oversauce… ‘Be super in tune with what’s happening in your pan when you’re adding the sauce. You want it to have enough that it’s a really enjoyable eating experience, but you don’t want to oversauce it.’

2. Think about shape… ‘Certain shapes cling onto sauce nicely, and other shapes are more robust. I love making salsa di noci with bucatini because the sauce gets into the hole. But bucatini soaks up more sauce than spaghetti, so you need to increase the quantity of sauce or have a little backup.’

3. Emulsify your sauce… ‘Pasta water is starchy, so it naturally has a thickening agent in it. Combine it with your choice of fat, either butter or olive oil, and add enough of everything to reach your desired consistency.’

4. Don’t forget acidity… ‘If you’ve got rounded umami flavours and natural savouriness, look for moments of acidity and lightness as well. Keeping that balance really harmonious is the key.’

5. Trust your eye… ‘When making any pesto or nut-based sauce, keep a little extra of your ingredients on hand. You can usually tell by eye when it’s a little too thick, and then you can incorporate a bit more.’

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM LASAGNE

1. Make a lot… ‘When you make lasagne, make a big batch. Because there’s lots of work involved, you don’t want to do little portions. Get 10 portions then slice, wrap in greaseproof paper or foil and keep in the fridge or freezer.’
2. Avoid soggy lasagne… ‘If you have time, cook your ragù for at least two hours. It gives you a greater richness and texture – the last thing you want is for a lasagne to be too wet. That’s also why we don’t use tomato sauce. We use tomato paste.’
3. Cook it twice… ‘Back home, we cook lasagne twice. So 165°C for 30 or 45 minutes (depending how big it is) and then take it out the oven, let it rest for an hour, and then cook it again at the same times. It sets beautifully and the pasta gets the flavour.’ 
4. Crisp it up… ‘When you finish your last layer with parmigiano reggiano or whichever cheese you are using, put melted butter on top. Then, before you take it out of the oven for the second cooking, put the grill on. You get a beautiful crispy layer on top.’ 
5. Make your own sheets… ‘Of course, you can buy pasta lasagne sheets. But why? Make your pasta! There’s work involved, but once you do it, you can keep it for a long time. Making pasta is therapeutic, too.’

HOW TO MASTER MAKING FRESH PASTA

1. Use the right flour… ‘Make sure that the packet says “pasta flour”. You have to use a pasta flour. Not any flour will do. Or you can use durum wheat semolina. Mix the two together, do half and half, or use one single flour.’

2. Let it rest… ‘Once you’ve made your dough, let it rest at least half an hour. You can put a damp cloth on top. If you put it in the fridge, wrap it in clingfilm, then bring it out of the fridge and give it 10 minutes before you start to roll it out.’

3. You don’t need a pasta machine… ‘Use a rolling pin, or a bottle of wine – just make sure it’s a good wine that you can drink afterwards.’

4. Fresh means fresh… ‘People always ask, “Can we put the pasta in the freezer and then cook it?” No – because then it becomes glue. The word fresh means you are eating fresh pasta.’

5. It doesn’t have to be perfect… ‘Don’t be afraid if your pasta is a little bit thicker or a little bit thinner, or if your shapes aren’t perfect. It doesn’t matter. This is fresh pasta and it can be made the way you like it – and you can have as much as you like. The average in Italy is 100g per person, but I eat 200g or 300g myself.’