The Genius Way Giada De Laurentiis Plates Her Pasta

A plate of pasta is one of those dishes that can be incredibly simple yet notably sophisticated at the same time. More often than not, just a handful of basic ingredients can deliver a restaurant-quality result, like a three-ingredient aglio e olio recipe that puts an unexpectedly elevated flair on an otherwise humble weeknight dinner. From chef-approved secrets to level up simple pasta dishes to tips from The Pasta Queen herself when shopping for store-bought pasta, there's no reason why your quick and easy pasta dinner should be anything short of enjoyable. That said, if you're looking to add to your arsenal of pasta hacks that will make your dish look and feel a bit more gourmet, who better than Italian chef and author Giada De Laurentiis to spill the beans on her savvy tricks?

The way pasta is served is an easy way to make even the simplest pasta recipe taste more expensive. As the adage goes, "you eat with your eyes first," so how the food is presented plays a significant role in the overall culinary experience of the dish. If you're particularly a fan of longer pasta shapes, the likes of spaghetti, bucatini, angel hair, and so on, and would like to serve them as eye-catching nests as opposed to a mound on a plate, De Laurentiis recommends reaching for a carving fork and large spoon for effortless serving. Simply twirl the long pasta noodles with the carving fork, using the spoon as a guide to get a sizable serving, and place the pasta on the serving plate, again, using the spoon to carefully loosen the noodles from the fork to form a tall, nest-like tower of pasta.

If you don't have a carving fork, you might be wondering what the best alternative is. Don't you worry, because Giada De Laurentiis comes through with another helpful hack for plating your long-shaped pasta. If you're lacking a carving fork, she says that tongs, which are a tool that most folks have in their kitchens, would work just fine. Just like how you would twirl the pasta using a fork, grab the desired amount of pasta using the tongs and twirl, keeping the tongs pressed firmly shut so you don't lose the volume of pasta that ends up on the plate. Once transferred to the plate, keep twirling to form a similar nest tower structure, but keep in mind that the tower "won't be as tall and perfect" as it would with the carving fork technique, but "it'll still look great," according to De Laurentiis, who demonstrated the technique in a YouTube video.

There are other ways to serve eye-catching plates of pasta. For instance, using the same carving fork and spoon technique, instead of plating the pasta as a vertical tower, you can lay it horizontally onto the plate, like a spring resting on its side. Playing around with the serving plate color based on the color of the pasta sauce is also a creative way to tap into your inner food stylist. If you're working with short pasta shapes like penne or rigatoni, you can use a round mold like a cookie cutter or a tin can that is open on both ends, placed at the center of the plate. Scoop the pasta into the mold, forming a cylindrical structure, and carefully lift the mold to reveal the pasta in a neat mound, ready to be garnished.