Pasta dishes can be light and flavorful or they can be dry and hard. Cooking pasta before baking is a good idea for a number of reasons. Knowing the basics of cooking pasta can make your pasta dishes come out perfectly every time. Adding uncooked pasta to a casserole can result in partially-cooked pasta and lack of flavor. The only exception is the no-cook lasagna noodles that are prepared uncooked for use in hot dishes.
Starch
Starch molecules on the pasta swell up and pop when pasta is added to boiling water. This makes the pasta sticky. Most of this sticky starch dissolves and washes away as the pasta cooks, leaving behind soft, tasty pasta. It's not a good idea to rinse pasta. It cools the pasta too quickly and prevents absorption of the sauce. It also washes away whatever starch may be left. That little bit of leftover starch can help thicken your sauce.
Water
A large pot of boiling water is important for cooking good pasta. The large pot enables the pasta to submerge fully, and it helps reduce sticking. If there isn't enough liquid, the pasta won't get submerged all the way and it won't cook all the way through. Adding oil to the water prevents absorption of the sauce so that it won't be as flavorful. Adding salt is a much better option, as it flavors the pasta and may help you reduce the salt added to the recipe.
Cooking
Use at least 4 qt. of water for every lb. of pasta. Add at least 1 tbsp. of salt. Stirring during the first minute or so is very helpful as well. It prevents the pasta from sticking and keeps the pieces of pasta from cooking together. Once the pasta is cooked, the faster the hot pasta is added to hot sauce the better. As the pasta cools, the starch becomes insoluble, so the sauce won't be absorbed as much.
Examples
Most recipes call for pasta cooked in lots of water before being added to the recipe. There are some exceptions. Dishes with lots of liquid, such as soup, can handle uncooked pasta, although you may have to add extra liquid, as the pasta will soak up quite a bit. Prepared noodles like lasagna can be used uncooked too, even in the slow cooker. Orzo is easily added to soups and other liquid-heavy dishes because it is small. Larger pastas require much more liquid.
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