Buttered pasta with parmesan

Fill a pot a little over halfway with water, salt it, cover and set it over high heat. With the lid on it boils twice as fast.

Turn the pot handle in towards the hob. A handle you can catch with your sleeve is the most common cause of kitchen burns.

While the water heats, grate the parmesan on the fine side of the grater.

Stop when the piece is smaller than a matchbox — better to eat the last bit than to grate your knuckles.

When the water is bubbling, lift the lid away from you and lower the pasta in carefully. Cook for the number of minutes on the packet, stirring now and then.

Always tilt the lid away from you: steam scalds worse than boiling water.

Turn off the hob. Lift the pasta straight out into a colander with a slotted spoon — that way you never have to carry a pot of boiling water.

If you would rather drain it through a colander, call a grown-up: a full pot of boiling water is heavier than it looks.

Return the pasta to the warm pot, add the butter and toss until it melts. Shower with parmesan, grind over some pepper and serve. Enjoy!