posted 10 years ago
I read an article by Harold McGee in the New York Times years ago (OMG, I think 20 years ago!) and I've cooked pasta that way ever since. Put the pasta in the cold water, just enough to cover, stir while it comes to a boil (remove the lid to stir and then replace the lid, listen for the pre-boiling noise that water makes) and then when it's at a good boil (but before it boils over) turn off the burner and keep a tight lid on it. It will cook just fine, it uses less energy and you are less likely to get soggy overcooked pasta because everything gets slower and slower as time goes by.
Does that make sense?