Pasta Cooking Guide: From Homemade Shells to Ravioli

Cooking the perfect pasta requires mastering techniques from boiling lasagna sheets to pan-frying pierogies. From making sea shell pasta from scratch to finding low-fat substitutes for Alfredo sauce, explore versatile pasta recipes.

How to Cook Lasagna Noodles Al Dente

Published Jul,08 2011 | By Gail Sessoms

Al dente, which means “to the tooth” in Italian, is a degree of doneness applied to pasta, rice and vegetables that means the food should be cooked until it retains enough firmness to offer a little resistance to the bite. The center of al dente pasta should not be hard, too soft or mushy.