A Dash Of Semolina Flour Is The Secret To Luxuriously Creamy Pasta Water

Are you looking for an easy way to elevate your pasta dishes with a luxuriously creamy texture? Well, we have just the hack for you — and it doesn't involve adding eggs, cream, animal fat, or milk. The trick to creating silky pasta water is to add a dash of semolina flour. A little semolina flour will go a long way in transforming your pasta water into a rich base for velvety sauces. It will also enhance the overall mouthfeel of your favorite pasta dishes without adding fat, oil, or dairy.

Semolina flour, a staple ingredient in making pasta and bread, has high protein and starch content. For this reason, we (and Italian grannies) often reserve pasta water after cooking pasta to use with pasta sauces. We're doing precisely that here, but with an additional step: Adding a dash of semolina flour. The result? Thickened pasta water that will now cling and stick to your pasta easily when cooked with pasta sauce. It will also improve your final pasta sauce's texture, making it luxurious, creamy, and silky.  

Now, if you're wondering if this hack will work with different types of pasta sauces, the answer is yes. Adding thickened pasta water to pasta sauce is like adding cornstarch slurry, an emulsifier, to any sauce.

Ready to apply this trick to your next homemade pasta dish? First, start by boiling salted water. Before adding the uncooked pasta, add a dash of semolina flour. Give everything a stir to help the flour dissolve, then add in your pasta. Once your pasta reaches al dente perfection, remember to reserve about a cup of the starchy and thick pasta water before draining the noodles.

Next, in a pan over medium heat, combine the drained pasta with the pasta sauce of your choice (be it a delicate olive oil base, a rich cream base or white sauce with chicken, or a tarty tomato sauce), and gradually drizzle in the reserved pasta water. Stir the sauce and toss the pasta, allowing the sauce to thicken beautifully. Finally, plate up the pasta. You'll see how the sublime sauce clings to each piece of pasta, giving each a silky, glossy finish. Every bite of pasta will carry the full flavor of the delicious sauce. 

The next time you make pasta, be sure to remember to add a dash of semolina flour to the water. It will surely impress anyone at your dining table.