The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word UNDERDO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
U
N
D
E
R
D
O
More clues leading to the result UNDERDO
- Make half-baked blunder documenting stocks
- Perform inadequately as less fancied competitor? Not good
- Don’t cook enough food, red nuts having been shelled and sent back
- Cook al dente udon noodles with the German tucking in
- Cook for short time that’s rounded off
- Perform inadequately, caught by all-rounder D’Oliveira
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Cook al dente" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cook al dente = underdo.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.