Probably the best way to save both water and energy when boiling pasta is to avoid using excess water altogether. With a bit of practice it's pretty easy to ma

Probably the best way to save both water and energy when boiling pasta is to avoid using excess water altogether. With a bit of practice it's pretty easy to make pasta in a similar way one makes rice - let almost all the water soak into it. The trick is twofold: 1. One needs a pan that's not too shallow (i.e. the pasta needs to stack up on itself, not just barely cover the bottom of the pan) 2. The first minute or so some stirring is necessary to avoid the pasta clumping together. Works best if the recipe calls for some sauce to be applied in the end (pesto, carbonara, etc.). In that case it's best to add the sauce when there's still some residual starchy water, using it as a thickening / binding agent for the sauce.