saving water for cooking pasta

[Manannan]

pasta are great... but they need water to cook and you cannot really use sea water, just a bit.
But again, the faithful pressure cooker can help. Cook pasta in the pressure cooker, sure, why not.

Here it is :
cut some oignons and cook them until transparent in oil in the pressure cooker, add ham if you want, mix a bit and then add a can of tomatoes, then add the pasta, (penne work good), and a glass of water. Put the lid on, and pressure cook half the time necessary for pasta, or depends on your cooker and your taste too. I will suggest to open the pressure cooker after 2 minutes (after pressure up) and test. Then you can adjust for the next time.
You have cooked pasta with a nice sauce and all in one pot, with a little water.  ;D

[s/v Faith]

Cooking pasta in the PC is a standby.  The idea to add the onion to the mix is pure genus!

  Thanks for the idea!

[CapnK]

Agreed, pasta in the PC is the way to go. It's funny, you read all the recipes and they tell you to use huge quantities of water, which you are then advised to pour off (read: waste) prior to adding sauce and other ingredients.  But when you get it right in the pressure cooker, there is very little water left over, it has been used very efficiently with little or no waste. I also add in ingredients and allow them to cook with the noodles. You can also steam veggies in a separate small pot above the pasta, if your PC has the room for it.

[Greenman]

I think the extra water is to help get some of the starch out of the pasta. This would be my only concern with using the pressure cooker. Does anyone find the pasta cooked without water is very starchy?