Pasta, Rice, Couscous, and Polenta

We typically round out a meal with a starch such as potatoes, pasta, rice, or sometimes even couscous. These starches are perfect meal-stretchers and an important component of honest home cooking. In the age of prepared and boxed foods, it is tempting to rely exclusively on the quick-cook versions we find at the market, but the building block recipes in this chapter are easily mastered with a little practice. Learning to make these foods from scratch is an essential step in feeling confident in the kitchen (and calm whenever you want to feed an extra guest).