You’re here probably because you know that we eat with our eyes first.
So, you want to learn how to plate pasta.
Pasta usually gets slopped onto a plate that sadly even the most beautiful pesto or vodka sauce pasta looks like a mess.
This tip is for long pasta like spaghetti, linguini, tagliatelle, papardelle or other ribbon pasta.
Once you learn this tip, you’ll never forget it because it makes your dishes look so much more appetizing.
You’ll impress your loved ones and probably yourself.
And, you only need 2 tools you most likely have on hand.
Let’s get to it..
How to Plate Pasta Like Chef
2 tools you need:
1. Soup Ladle
2. Large Fork or Carving Fork (large one used when cutting meat)
For serving: Flat plate, not bowl
The pasta:
Have your pasta ready. It needs to be fresh and sauce-y. If it’s dry, the strands of pasta won’t stay together well. It’s really good to practice this with pesto. It holds together the best.
The main technique:
The main thing to keep in mind, is that we want HEIGHT. We want to give the pasta height because in plating, this is the hardest thing to achieve. It provides contrast to the plate and is the most pleasing way to present food to the eye.
Step 1:
Use the fork to twirl pasta until you get a nice ball of pasta on the fork. Swirl and swirl and swirl until it looks like its a nice spiral all around.
Step 2:
We’ll use the ladle to shape the pasta and transfer it to a dish. Place the fork-full of pasta into the ladle. Twirl a little more into the ladle.
Step 3:
Get your plate ready. Using the fork and ladle together, transfer the pasta ball to over the center of the plate. Shimmy the ladle out carefully, and release the fork gently to keep the pasta’s shape.
This could take some practice, but you’ll get it!
Check out the video on Instagram below to see this quick tip in action.
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