Giada De Laurentiis' Tip For Immediately After Draining Pasta

You really can't go wrong with pasta. It's the base for many comfort dishes, it's pretty inexpensive, it's filling, and there are so many ways to dress it up or down. Plus, it's oh-so delicious. Many great chefs have perfected this dinner staple; Bobby Flay's favorite pasta dish of all time includes an anchovy butter sauce, while Rocco DiSpirito incorporates canned clams into his pasta recipe. Unsurprisingly, many great pasta dishes incorporate cheese as well, which is the secret to Chef Giada De Laurentiis' amazing pasta.

"After you've drained your pasta and it's still hot, grate a little fresh Parmesan on top, wait a few seconds, and then toss it with your sauce. The cheese will melt directly on the pasta, which will give your sauce something to stick on to," De Laurentiis told People. Over the years, De Laurentiis has crafted many pasta recipes for her website, Giadzy, that use this or a similar technique — including cacio e pepe, tortellini tossed with cream sauce, and fettuccine al burro.

Using Giada De Laurentiis' tip elevates your pasta for multiple reasons. First, the Parmesan cheese adds a salty and savory flavor profile to your meal. But the real reason this tip is so great is because it helps your sauce meld to your pasta, creating a cohesive dish.

It's a common practice to rinse pasta once it's done, but many people don't know that there's a time to rinse and a time not to rinse. Rinsing removes the starch that makes the pasta stick to itself. This starch can also help your sauce bind to your pasta, so many chefs recommend foregoing rinsing pasta when making a hot dish. (If you're making a cold dish like pasta salad, rinse away.) 

When you follow De Laurentiis' tip to add cheese after draining your pasta, you're adding a sticky component that draws the sauce to the pasta. If you want to add an extra layer of security to make sure your sauce combines correctly, you can also add some pasta water (which is full of that sticky starch) when you're mixing your sauce. You can add anywhere from ¼ cup to 1½ cups of pasta water to your sauce, depending on the recipe. If you've ever been plagued by sauce slipping right off of your pasta, Giada De Laurentiis' simple fix should do the trick.