If anyone knows how to cook pasta, it’s celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis. I mean, the girl was born in Italy, which basically means she was born with an inherent understanding of how to make some kick butt pasta. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t born with an inherent knowledge of spaghetti, but the girl does know what she’s doing when it comes to making a delicious pasta dish.
In addition to being from the land of pasta, she learned the skills of pasta-making at the famous culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu, and has multiple shows on the Food Network, where hundreds of her famous pasta recipes have come to be.
If that’s not enough to convince you that Giada is basically the queen of pasta, maybe her pasta-only cookbook, Everyday Pasta, which is dedicated solely to the versatile dish, will.
So yeah, homegirl knows her pasta.
If you’re looking to up your pasta game, all you need to do is add these three pasta dish necessities that Giada always puts in her pasta.
1. Pasta Water
“You should always add pasta water, for sure,” Giada told Popsugar, “And make sure it’s pasta water seasoned very well with salt, because otherwise it doesn’t taste like anything.”
By keeping some of the flavored leftover pasta water before draining the excess, you will be left with a salty, starchy mixture that when added to your pasta will help it cling to its sauce, increasing the overall flavor of the dish.
2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In the same interview with Popsugar, Giada said she finishes every dish with extra virgin olive oil. By drizzling your favorite olive oil over your pasta, you ensure an added richness and flavor to the dish.
3. Freshly Grated Parmesan
And finally, Giada’s last crucial ingredient: freshly grated Parmesan. By sprinkling Parmesan cheese over your pasta, you will take the flavor of your dish to a whole other level.
These are the three pasta must-haves that Giada swears by. So no matter what type of pasta dish you’re making, from spaghetti to carbonara cacio e pepe, these Giada-approved tips will ensure you never eat an underwhelming plate of pasta ever again.
So get your pasta (and its water), your extra virgin olive oil, and your freshly grated Parmesan and Giada De Laurentiis the ish out of your next plate of pasta.