By JENNIFER MATHEWS
What To Do When You Accidentally Pour Out Your Pasta Water
Pasta water may be crucial for making silky, noodle-clinging pasta sauce, but you can easily replace it with faux pasta water if you’ve mistakenly dumped the original one out.
To recreate pasta water, mix two tablespoons of semolina flour with one cup of cool water. Heat the mixture in the microwave or stovetop until combined, and stir to remove lumps.
Slowly add the liquid to your pasta sauce as usual to emulsify it and create a creamy consistency. You can also use a slurry of cornstarch and water to boost pasta sauces.
For the slurry, add ¼-teaspoon of cornstarch to 1 cup of cool water and stir until combined. Then, heat it in the microwave for two minutes to activate the thickener.
Keep slowly drizzling the cornstarch mixture into your simmering sauce as you toss the cooked pasta. Do so until the sauce has thickened and the noodles are coated.
Avoid adding cornstarch directly to the pasta sauce to keep the sauce from getting lumpy. You can swap cornstarch for arrowroot or tapioca using the same ratio of starch to water.