This Nigella-approved ‘passive cooking’ pasta hack could save you money in the kitchen

As Kiwis collectively brace themselves for winter amid a cost of living crisis, we’re all looking for ways to save time and energy in our homes.

As temperatures drop, our power bills will rise as we heat our homes and cook more hot meals. We’re all craving a bit of comfort food as the colder months creep closer, but who wants to slave over a boiling pot of pasta on the stove after a long day? The good news is, we don’t have to.

Enter the ‘passive cooking’ method. This technique involves boiling your pasta in water for only two minutes before turning off the heat and leaving it covered in the pot until it’s cooked through, saving you time, power, and effort in the kitchen.

Photo / Supplied

Cooking your pasta like this can actually be good for the environment too - it reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 per cent when compared to other methods, according to pasta brand Barilla.

And if you’re not convinced to give the viral hack a try just yet, it’s approved by none other than celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

Lawson shares on her website that she always uses the passive cooking method, which she calls the Vincenzo Agnesi method.

“Bring your water to the boil, add salt, then tip in the pasta, stirring well to make sure it’s all in and not clumped together. Once the water comes back to the boil, let the pasta cook for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pan with a clean, thin tea towel (not a waffle-textured one) and clamp on a tight-fitting lid,” she writes.

“Let the pasta stand like this for as long as the packet tells you to cook it normally. When the time is up, drain the pasta, remembering to remove a small cupful of cooking water before doing so.”

Cooking time will also vary depending on the shape of past of your choice, whether you reach for spirals, fettucine or dinosaur shapes at the supermarket.

Photo / Barilla

According to a graphic shared by Barilla explaining different timings, spaghetti normally takes nine minutes to cook, but should be boiled for two minutes when using the passive cooking technique and then left to sit for another eight minutes.

Fusilli pasta and penne rigate take 11 minutes, so should be boiled for two minutes and left covered for another 10, while tortiglioni should be boiled for two and left for 12.

Farfalle pasta should be boiled for two minutes and left for 10, while maccheroni is the fastest pasta to cook and should be boiled for two and left for six minutes. And voila, your favourite pasta dish is just eight minutes away.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.