Making pasta is an easy cooking lesson for high schoolers.
Life skills are an important part of teenage development and can abet a teen's ability to be independent. Cooking lessons are often incorporated into life skills classes in high school to teach students basic recipes and cooking techniques so they know cook some meals on their own. Making pasta is a popular high school cooking lesson because it is easy to prepare and can be worked into a variety of meals and flavors. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Boiling
Start off your high school pasta cooking lessons by teaching students correctly boil pasta. This is a very basic skill, but some kids are not familiar with how boiling works. Make sure each student has a chance to boil pasta so he learns through hands-on application. Teach students the difference between over-boiled pasta, which comes out mushy and crumbles easily, and al dente pasta, which is slightly firm. It is also important to give students a lesson in salting the water to hasten the boiling process.
Pasta Sauces
Pasta sauce is a crucial ingredient in a high schooler's pasta dish, so teach students about the basic types of sauces. Let them know that a pasta sauce can be tomato-based, cream-based or olive oil-based. A tomato-based sauce is like traditional spaghetti sauce, which contains tomatoes, herbs and spices. Cream-based sauces, for dishes such as pasta Alfredo, use cream, mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese and creme fraiche for the base. An olive oil sauce is simply a drizzle of olive oil over the pasta, combined with herbs and spices and sometimes freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Recipes
Students who take cooking life skills classes in high school should learn about some simple pasta recipes they can make on their own. In-class practice helps students learn by trial and error so they can get the skills down. Start by teaching them basic recipes, such as spaghetti with tomato sauce, macaroni and cheese and pasta Alfredo. Have students taste their meals after making them, and make notes about what they did well and what they should do differently the next time.
Types of Pasta
Expand your students' knowledge of pasta by introducing them to various types besides just spaghetti. Lasagna noodles, elbow noodles, penne, linguine, angel hair pasta, fettuccine and rigatoni are some of the more popular pasta varieties. Instruct your students on use each pasta and what to pair it with. For instance, penne is the ideal pasta for making baked ziti, while elbow noodles work well for macaroni and cheese.
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