Absorption Cooking, or Cooking Pasta Without Boiling Water

Have You Ever Boiled Pasta Without Using Water?

August 2, 2010

Homemade ravioli is only part of my recent fixation with expanding my pasta know-how. I've read many times that boiling pasta directly in sauce (that is, without using any water) is one way to infuse more flavor into the starch. I've yet to try it — but that might be in the cards for tonight. Have you?

Source: Flickr User Jakob Montrasio

15 Comments

GummiBears 2 years 41 weeks

Nope because I like my spaghetti sauce thick and chunky and there isn't enough water to cook the pasta right.

Spectra 2 years 42 weeks

I've only done it with lasagna recipes. I made the sauce extra thin and used uncooked noodles so they end up cooking right in the pan. It turned out pretty good...nice and al dente.

2 years 42 weeks

I tried it once and it did not turn out well at all. The pasta kind of fell apart and tasted floury. Would not recommend. I have cooked it in chicken broth before though and that's quite nice served with chicken parmesan.

2 years 42 weeks

wouldn't that burn the sauce? and make the bottom of the pot a sticky mess? i'm sticking with water or broth...

partysugar 2 years 42 weeks

The times that I cooked pasta in something other than water it was very flavorful and basically an entirely new pasta experience. I used Michael Chiarello's recipe for the pasta cooked in wine.

LaurenG22 2 years 42 weeks

I like more sauce then my husband in our pasta to sauce ratio, so I don't know if this would work.

chiefdishwasher 2 years 42 weeks

.........but I have "cooked" pasta without using agua..........

ayuninur 2 years 42 weeks

nah

jelibeann 2 years 42 weeks

I generally cook my pasta a few minutes short of al dente and then finish in a pot of hot sauce, but I never thought to cook it all the way - as others mentioned, I imagine it taking way too long - but probably being delicious! I often cook rice in a mixture of water and broth - but never pasta...interesting.

lawchick 2 years 42 weeks

I imagine that would take a looooong time. One of my favorite recipes, though, calls for cooking the pasta most of the way in water (still a bit harder than al dente) then finishing it up in the cream sauce. It is delicious.

2 years 42 weeks

It never occurred to me that you could cook the pasta right in the sauce. I'm curious if that really works?

2 years 42 weeks

I made one pot spaghetti about 2 times for before I realized that is takes waaaayyyyy too long to outweigh the benefit of having to wash one less pan. Be prepared for your pasta to take much much longer to cook. Conversely you could just learn to like crunchy pasta.