[W4ldi]

I think it has more to do with the pasta taking in a lot of sauce, rather then it holding a lot of sauce. To make a good Italian pasta dish: Take out the pasta a bit earlier out of the water and poor it into your sauce. The pasta will take in some sauce and get al-dente in the sauce. The pasta shouldn't bath in sauce but just be enough to give your pasta lots of flavor. Don't wash your pasta after cooking, because that will close its pores and hinder it from taking in sauce.

[toyg]

> Don't wash your pasta after cooking

Does anyone do that...? Why would you wash something you just boiled?

[aidenn0]

To stop it from cooking. If you take it out at exactly the texture you want, it will be mushier than you want if you don't wash it with cool water.