Jamie Oliver has revealed some of his best tips for cooking pasta. Expert Jamie took to his YouTube channel for some ‘simple’ and ‘basic’ cooking hacks for an easy meal
Trusted chef and food guru Jamie Oliver is back with some great tips for people to cook “delicate and delicious” pasta.
On YouTube, Jamie shared his “simple” and “basic” pasta cooking tips. To begin with, Jamie advised boiling water in a kettle before adding it to a large pan. Seasoning the water with salt is vital, Jamie said. To do this, make sure you can just detect the salt in the water when you taste it.
“Remember most of this salt is going down the drain when you drain the pasta,” Jamie said, adding that with longer pasta like linguini, spaghetti and spaghettini, people should twist the pasta in both hands before adding to the pan to stop it from sticking too much. Put a lid on the pan and cook the pasta for 30 seconds to a minute and let the water come back to the boil.
Give the pasta a stir after lifting the lid. Jamie said that olive oil in the pasta is not necessary, but it is up to personal preferences. Jamie did not recommend using olive oil with ravioli, however.
Another great tip from Jamie involves saving some of the starchy water left over. This will help loosen pasta and pasta sauce when used. When serving, do not pour all of the water down the sink and let it sit in the colander for a few minutes.
Jamie, meanwhile, warned his followers on social media of “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap” after a London-based manufacturer had more than 22 tonnes of cheddar stolen by scammers.
Neal’s Yard Dairy said it delivered more than 950 wheels of cheddar to the alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer before realising what had happened.
In a post on Instagram, Mr Oliver told his 10.5 million followers: “There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen.”
He described it as a “real shame”, adding: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.
“So if anyone hears anything about lorryloads of posh cheese, I mean I don’t know what they are going to do with it, really. Are they going to unpeel it from the cloth, and cut it and grate it and get rid of it in the fast food industry, in the commercial industry? I don’t know – it feels like a really weird thing to nick.”
Neal’s Yard confirmed it still paid Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork, the producers of the cheese, so they would not have to bear the cost “despite the significant financial blow”. In a statement posted on its Instagram page, the company also said: “To everyone who has rallied to support us in the last few days – thank you.
“Since sharing the news of our theft, we have received an overwhelming number of calls, messages and visits. We are truly touched that so many people in the artisan cheese community and beyond are standing with us. It’s a reminder of why we love the work we do.
“Many of you have asked how you can help. To that, we say: continue to support British and Irish cheese. Hafod, Pitchfork and Westcombe are special examples of farmhouse cheddar. Eat them. Celebrate them.”
The Met Police said no arrests have been made related to the alleged theft. The Met said in a statement: “On Monday October 21 we received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark. Inquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.”