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How to Choose the Best Strawberries
Sausage Recipes of the Month
When Pasta Met Sauce (cont.)
Pasta comes in many shapes, and it’s not because Italians like to invent silly names like strozzapreti. It’s because certain shapes complement certain preparations. (At least that’s what they tell us. Perhaps it’s the language barrier.) Here are some simple guidelines for which sauce goes with which pasta.
Winter Greens Lasagne
BAKED
These shapes work best in baked casseroles such as Winter Greens Lasagne or Baked Radicchio and Mozzarella Pasta:
Bucatini, Ditalini, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Gigli, Jumbo Shells, Lasagne, Lumaconi, Macaroni, Manicotti, Orzo, Penne Lisce (a.k.a. Mostaccioli), Penne Rigate, Radiatore, Riccioli, Rigatoni, Rotelle, Rotini, Sfoglia, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Trenette, Tubettini, Ziti
Autumn Squash Ravioli with
Sage Brown Butter Sauce
BUTTER/OIL
These pastas are best with delicate butter- and oil-based sauces, such as sage brown butter or aglio e olio:
Campanelle, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Farfalle, Fettuccine, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Gigli, Linguine, Macaroni, Malloreddus, Penne Rigate, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Tagliarini, Ziti
Chestnut Gnocchi with
Robiola Cheese Sauce
CREAM/CHEESE
Use more delicate sauces such as cacio e pepe or green garlic cream sauce with the thinner noodles in this list, and a robust sauce such as one made with Robiola Bosina cheese for the more substantial noodles:
Campanelle, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Casarecce, Cavatelli, Conchiglie, Farfalle, Fettuccine, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Jumbo Shells, Lasagne, Linguine, Macaroni, Penne Lisce (a.k.a. Mostaccioli), Penne Rigate, Rigatoni, Rotelle, Rotini, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Tagliarini, Ziti
Wild Boar Ragu
MEAT
Pair these pastas with chunky meat sauces such as Wild Boar Ragu or Ragu alla Bolognese:
Campanelle, Casarecce, Cavatelli, Conchiglie, Farfalle, Fettuccine, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Gigli, Jumbo Shells, Lasagne, Linguine, Lumaconi, Macaroni, Malloreddus, Manicotti, Orecchiette, Pappardelle, Penne Lisce (a.k.a. Mostaccioli), Rigatoni, Rotelle, Rotini, Sfoglia, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Strozzapreti, Ziti
Pasta Salad with Spinach,
Olives, and Mozzarella
PASTA SALAD
Match the smaller pastas with recipes using finely chopped ingredients, such as this salad with zucchini and pine nuts in which you can substitute pasta for the couscous. The larger pastas will hold up well with recipes that call for coarsely chopped ingredients, such as Pasta Salad with Spinach, Olives, and Mozzarella:
Anelli/Anellini, Campanelle, Cavatelli, Cavaturi, Conchiglie, Ditalini, Farfalle, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Macaroni, Orecchiette, Orzo, Penne Rigate, Riccioli, Rotelle, Rotini, Ziti
Pasta with Arugula Pesto,
Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts
PESTO
Try anything from a Watercress-Walnut Dip or arugula pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts to parsley, walnut, and black olive pesto with these shapes:
Bavette, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Casarecce, Conchiglie, Farfalle, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Linguine, Orecchiette, Trofie
Linguine with Clams and Chorizo
SEAFOOD
These shapes are ideal for scooping up pieces of seafood; try them with this San Marzano red clam sauce or clams and chorizo:
Bavette, Calamari, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Casarecce, Farfalle, Fettuccine, Linguine, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini
Pasta e Fagioli
SOUP
Brothy soups are made even better when a handful of pasta is thrown in. Try these in Minestrone, Pasta e Fagioli, or as a substitute for the rice in this chicken soup:
Acini di Pepe, Anelli/Anellini, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Cavatelli, Ditalini, Farfalle, Fregula, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Orzo, Pastina, Rotelle, Stelline, Tubettini
Pasta with Caramelized
Tomatoes and Sausage
TOMATO
The more delicate noodles pair well with simple sauces, such as a Basic Tomato Sauce or raw tomato sauce (marinate tomatoes and garlic in oil for a few minutes, then toss with cooked pasta and torn basil), while the more substantial noodles hold up nicely when prepared all’Amatriciana or paired with caramelized tomatoes and sausage:
Bavette, Bucatini, Calamari, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Casarecce, Conchiglie, Farfalle, Fettuccine, Fregula, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gigli, Jumbo Shells, Lasagne, Linguine, Lumaconi, Macaroni, Malloreddus, Manicotti, Orecchiette, Paccheri, Penne Lisce (a.k.a. Mostaccioli), Penne Rigate, Radiatore, Riccioli, Rigatoni, Rotelle, Rotini, Sfoglia, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Trenette, Ziti
Beet Greens and Feta Pasta
VEGETABLE
Try these pastas with an assortment of vegetable sauces, from Eggplant-Pepper Tomato Sauce to beet greens and feta or broccoli, prosciutto, and toasted breadcrumbs:
Campanelle, Capellini (a.k.a. Angel Hair), Casarecce, Cavatelli, Cavaturi, Conchiglie, Farfalle, Fettuccine, Fusilli, Fusilli col Buco, Fusilli Napoletani, Gemelli, Jumbo Shells, Lasagne, Linguine, Lumaconi, Macaroni, Manicotti, Orecchiette, Paccheri, Penne Lisce (a.k.a. Mostaccioli), Penne Rigate, Rigatoni, Rotelle, Rotini, Sfoglia, Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla Chitarra, Spaghettini, Strozzapreti, Trenette, Ziti
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Acini di pepe in vegetable soup
Anellini for chicken soup
Bavette with clams
Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Calamari with meat sauce
Cavatelli and broccoli
Conchiglie and peas
Ditalini in minestrone
Kudos to you for the comprehensive list, but I suppose it comes down to any shape goes with any sauce: de gustibus et de coloribus non disputandum est. :)
Excellent article, Chow!
so glad you guys put this back on the front page, one of my favourite Chow productions ever.
A wonderfully well organized and concised description of the various pastas. Growing up in an Italian household I have tried many of the different types but there are some I am not familiar with and hopefully will find them in my supermarkets. What beautiful and well layed out photos!
bucatini with a rich clam sauce
the small whole in the middle of the thick pasta really absorbs the sauce
so good I always over eat
so awesome! i haven't seen some of these pastas since i was a kid growing up in italy! pastina soup was the bane of my existence as a child. it tasted to me like hospitals and the flu (that's when my mom would feed it to me)
egg pasta isn't an easy find at the local NJ supermarket :) Short noodles made for jewish type cooking yes, but no riccioli
rigatoni rotelle, sfoglia spaghetti etc etc
thanks for your comments
The egg pasta is richer, more costly. In some areas saffron used to be used to simulate the color of eggs, which were more expensive -- hard to imagine today. Many of the hand-shaped flour-and-water shapes used to be made not even with good wheat flour but with sweepings and gleanings or flours from substances much cheaper than wheat (e.g., legumes). Point is: be careful when designating pasta...+READ
The egg pasta is richer, more costly. In some areas saffron used to be used to simulate the color of eggs, which were more expensive -- hard to imagine today. Many of the hand-shaped flour-and-water shapes used to be made not even with good wheat flour but with sweepings and gleanings or flours from substances much cheaper than wheat (e.g., legumes). Point is: be careful when designating pasta across the board as poor-folks' filler food.-COLLAPSE
And don't forget there's a big difference between modest handmade flour-and-water strozzapreti and egg-rich tajarin and tagliatelle.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
mbfant, could you expand on this comment please? Is the egg stuff better?
Pasta names, from the top (most are not strictly translatable):
Acini... peppercorns
Anelli rings
bavette from the word for drool
bucatini from the word for pierced
calamari squid
campanelle bells
capellini hair
casarecce homemade
cavatelli, cavaturi from the word for hollow or indent (i.e. with finger on dough)
conchiglie shells
ditalini thimbles
farfalle butterlies, bowties
fettuccine ribbons
...+READ
Pasta names, from the top (most are not strictly translatable):
Acini... peppercorns
Anelli rings
bavette from the word for drool
bucatini from the word for pierced
calamari squid
campanelle bells
capellini hair
casarecce homemade
cavatelli, cavaturi from the word for hollow or indent (i.e. with finger on dough)
conchiglie shells
ditalini thimbles
farfalle butterlies, bowties
fettuccine ribbons
fregula from word to rub
fusilli probably from spindle
... buco with hole
... napoletani Neapolitan
gemelli twins
gigli lilies
lasagne from Latin lasanum, pot
linguine tongues
lumaconi slugs (snails)
macaroni from maccheroni, uncertain derivation
malloreddus Sardinian for either small gnocco or young calf
manicotti muffs (but who has ever seen this is Italy?)
orecchiette ears
orzo barley
paccheri prob from verb to pat
pappardelle from verb pappare, to eat
penne lisce, rigate smooth, ridged quills
radiatori (note correct Italian) (car) radiators
riccioli curls
rigatoni big, ridged
rotelle, rotini wheels
sfoglia sheet
spaghetti strings
... alla chitarra (correctly maccheroni alla chitarra) made on instrument called "guitar"
stelline stars
strozzapreti priest stranglers
tagliarini from verb to cut
trenette strings
trofie from Greek for nourishment
tubettini tubes
ziti bridegrooms-COLLAPSE
Am I allowed to plug a book? Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita (disclosure: translated by moi) will be published by U of California Press this fall. It contains the history/anthropology of hundreds more traditional pasta shapes. Among the surprises it contains: sauce pairings are overwhelmingly a matter of habit and tradition based on locally available ingredients and also that pasta...+READ
Am I allowed to plug a book? Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita (disclosure: translated by moi) will be published by U of California Press this fall. It contains the history/anthropology of hundreds more traditional pasta shapes. Among the surprises it contains: sauce pairings are overwhelmingly a matter of habit and tradition based on locally available ingredients and also that pasta shouldn't be seen as everyday stodge for the poorest of the poor, for whom it was, rather, something special for feast days and special occasions. And don't forget there's a big difference between modest handmade flour-and-water strozzapreti and egg-rich tajarin and tagliatelle.
I think most of the sauce pairings in the captions to these attractive photos are either arbitrary or silly. I'll translate the names in a separate post.-COLLAPSE
tomato for just about all of them.....what a surprise HAHA
Great story and great photos. Very informative.
I know what some of these pasta names mean, but it'd be cute to get the English translation for all of these since they're supposed to describe the shapes.
thomsonr: The official answer would be, 'Just enough to coat each strand of pasta thoroughly" - i.e. a lot less than you'd think.
However, I think you should have as much as you like, and the official way looks a bit stingy these days! Pasta, after all, started out as peasant food - it's basically the Italian equivalent to bread or potatoes: stodgy, cheap, stomach-filling stuff. And the...+READ
thomsonr: The official answer would be, 'Just enough to coat each strand of pasta thoroughly" - i.e. a lot less than you'd think.
However, I think you should have as much as you like, and the official way looks a bit stingy these days! Pasta, after all, started out as peasant food - it's basically the Italian equivalent to bread or potatoes: stodgy, cheap, stomach-filling stuff. And the traditions around it reflect the limited resources of the people that ate it every day. They couldn't afford to add a lot of source to their pasta, but thankfully we're not usually so constrained.
Plus, a higher sauce:pasta ratio - if it's a sauce that's full of veggies, at any rate! - is healthier. Pasta is pretty bad for you on its own so the more nutrients you can get in there, the better.-COLLAPSE
Does anyone know roughly how much sauce per serving of pasta (Spaghetti)?
This is a great and very useful guide! And—the layout is great! It'd be great to be able to print this out to bring with to a grocery store!
you guys are amazing! i've been looking for a guide like this for so long.
thank you!!!
I like the way the pasta looks translucent...nice arty photos!