Why You Should Never Serve Pasta Noodles and Sauce Separately, According to an Italian Chef
Don't be fooled by the pasta emoji; never serve your pasta with the sauce on top — mix it in with the ages-old technique from Italian kitchens.
Nothing makes my pasta-loving Italian heart cringe more than seeing a plate of sad, naked pasta with a big glob of sauce sitting on top. If you've ever drained some pasta and waited a few minutes, you know it quickly turns into a gloopy, stuck-together mess, so serving it with the sauce on top ensures it stays just that.
It may seem like a fussy extra step, but mixing your pasta with your sauce is the easiest way to level up your dinner. But how do restaurants get pasta sauce so smooth and delicious? The answer is simple — mantecare.
What is Mantecare?
Mantecare most often used to describe the process of making risotto; the long and careful process of stirring a rice mixture to agitate the grains and coax them into giving up their starch, paired with the steady inclusion of liquid, finished with a healthy knob of butter and a handful of cheese. In terms of pasta, mantecare is the magical combination of starchy pasta water, fat, and cheese; energetically mixed to create a sauce.
Related: 15 Essential Pasta Recipes That Everyone Should Know How to Make
The Starch
Mantecare relies on the secret ingredient in Italian cooking: pasta water. The starch in the water creates a consistency like no other, essentially thickening the water and adding body to the dish. Italians are all about the marriage of ingredients– naked pasta with sauce on top is not a happy marriage. Using the starch as a glue allows the pasta, sauce, and fats to meld together into a cohesive dish.
Adding in this pasta water is also a vital part of finishing cooking pasta. Drain it a few minutes before the package directions (reserving a cup or so of the water), and allow it to finish in the sauce so the starch is released right into the sauce. Finishing your pasta for the last couple minutes in the sauce allows the pasta to absorb the flavors, leading to a rich and unified dish.
The Mixing
The other vital part of mantecare is the vigorous mixing. Not only does this help the emulsion form between the fat and pasta water, but it loosens and distributes the starch still clinging to the outside of the pasta. Aggressive mixing frees some of this starch and homogenizes it into your sauce.
Related: How to Make Homemade Pasta
It can take a few times to get the hang of this thoroughly, but mix like you've never mixed before. Start with a splash of your pasta water, then turn the heat off and take the pan off the burner before adding in the butter and cheese. While mixing, grab the pan's handle and scooch it back and forth to add even more force to your mixing. A wooden spoon is a common tool but metal tongs also work great since they have two contact points and can mix twice as much.
The Fat
The final part of the equation is fat. When it comes to pasta dishes, this is usually in the form of butter and cheese, usually grated Parmesan or pecorino. The hot, starchy pasta water melts the butter and cheese while the lively mixing quickly incorporates it into the sauce.
The trickiest part of this technique is effectively mixing the fat into the pasta water to form an emulsion. This, coupled with the thick, starchy water, gives the sauce its silky texture. As soon as you add the butter, begin furiously mixing. Once that's incorporated, go in with your grated cheese and quickly incorporate that as well.
