A London-based chef says following a one-minute trick at the end of cooking a pasta dish will make it “perfectly supple”. Whether carbonara or bolognese is your go-to choice, Nima Safae says letting the pasta rest in its sauce makes all the difference.
He said: “Remember to rest your pasta for one minute before serving, just like you rest a steak. Letting it sit in the sauce off the heat allows the flavours to settle and the texture to become perfectly supple.”
The chef is the owner of 40 Dean Street, an Italian restaurant and bar nestled in the heart of Soho. Trained under Salvatore Ferrara, a chef nutritionist, who has worked with Marco Pierre White and Aldo Zilli, he is no stranger to professional kitchens or recipe hacks.
Sharing more of his tips, the restaurateur says there is an unusual ingredient he believes is wrongly overlooked in Italian dishes.
Admitting it wouldn’t go down well with Italians, he claimed adding soy sauce to ragú can turn its taste from “fine to outstanding”.
He shared: “Adding soy sauce to a ragú gives it a deep, rich umami taste you can’t easily replicate with any other ingredient.
“Yes, the entire population of Italy may hate me for it, but there’s something about the sweet yet tangy profile soy sauce adds that can turn any ragú from fine to outstanding.”
Should you be cooking up a pasta-based dish over the festive period, Nima also shared how Brits can add a touch of Italy to their dishes.
“I love bringing subtle Italian touches to classic British dishes for Christmas, such as rosemary-infused olive oil, a squeeze of Amalfi lemon to brighten rich meats, or finishing vegetables with aged balsamic for sweetness and acidity,” he shared.
“When it comes to your meats, don’t underestimate the power of a slow, aromatic soffritto as a base.
“Celery, carrot, and onion cooked down until jammy brings an underlying warmth that makes a Christmas dish taste like it’s been prepared with real care.”
Finishing on his “pro tip”, he added: “I sometimes substitute my onion for shallots to give the dish a zingy sweetness.”
Sharing his cooking method for roast potatoes, Nima concluded: “The secret to the best roast potatoes of your life is all in the texture. I start by parboiling Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes with a pinch of baking soda, then giving them a good shake in the pot to rough up the edges.
“They go into very hot olive oil infused with garlic and rosemary, which guarantees a crisp, golden crust and a fluffy centre.
“A final sprinkle of salt as soon as they come out of the oven gives them the perfect flavour – they rarely make it to the table without someone pinching one.”
Dining and Cooking