Want to feel like a true Italian? Here’s an encyclopedia of pasta 🇮🇹
When you’ve just got home after a long day, and you’re not sure just what to cook for dinner, there’s nothing quite better than a simple plate of pasta. 😋
The only choice left to make then is what kind of pasta sauce and shape - but we often misjudge how these two things go hand in hand. So if you usually just pick up whatever pasta box you see first in the grocery store, read on. 🍝
Chefs use different shapes and sizes of pasta for different purposes because certain shapes hold different sauces better than others. Thin pasta works well with oil-based sauce, whilst thicker heavier pastas go better with thicker sauces. Tomato-based sauces hold onto round pastas better, and cream sauces pair with flatter pasta shapes. There are far too many pairings to mention in detail, but simple is a good place to start. 👩🍳
To make this easier, we can categorise pasta shapes into various types: long pasta, short pasta, stuffed pasta and sheet pasta. Sheet pasta is probably the simplest and basically refers to lasagne sheets, and we all know what does are used for. We’ll unpack the others shortly. 👍
Long Pasta
Long pastas work best with light or creamy sauces, but it really depends on exactly which type of pasta you choose.
Some common long pasta shapes, from thinnest to widest:
- Vermicelli
- Angel Hair
- Spaghetti
- Bucatini
- Linguine
- Fettuccine
- Tagliatelle
- Pappardelle
And now... some pasta and sauce pairings for those long pasta types we twirl so happily:
1. Spaghetti
There’s the obvious option of carbonara here - but for an underrated pick I’d keep it simple with an aglio, olio e peperoncino - it always comes out just right. Bucatini - this hollow thicker relative of spaghetti knows just how to hold a tomato-based sauce, so add some guanciale and make an amatriciana. 🤤
2. Linguine
You can’t go wrong with a classic mix of frutti di mare and white wine.
3. Tagliatelle
This wider noodle complements cream and mushrooms perfectly
Short pasta
Short pasta types are even more varied. The smaller ones are more suited for sauces without large chunks, whilst larger types are especially good at clinging to thick sauces and those with large ingredients you’d want to get in all the nooks and crannies. 💪
We can’t possibly mention every type, but we’ll give you some pairings we think are great:
1. Rigatoni
These are great for getting meaty chunks in bolognese or ragu, and the ridges hold onto the sauce perfectly.
2. Fusilli
Twisty fusilli go great with tomato sauce, but to switch things up we’d opt for pesto - bonus points if it’s homemade.
3. Orecchiette
We don't really know why, but there’s nothing that pairs better with these ear-shaped pasta like sausage and broccoli rabe (or salsiccia e friarielli).
4. Conchiglie
There’s no question what to do with these shells but stuff with ricotta, cover with tomato sauce and bake with a thick layer of cheese on top.
That links us to the next pasta group…
Filled Pasta
There are so many more types of filled pastas than people are aware of. It’s not just your basic ravioli - here are some other kinds:
- Tortellini: small filled dumplings great in broths
- Tortelloni: the tortellini’s slightly larger sister
- Mezzelune: literally ‘half moons’, semicircle-shaped and crimped at the edges
- Fagottini: these pouches are probably the most fun shape to eat
- Agnolotti: somewhere in-between ravioli and tortelloni
All filled pastas follow the same principle: the more complex the filling, the simpler the sauce should be. If you’re working with plain cheese ravioli, you might want to include some more complex flavour profiles in the sauce, but if your stuffed pasta already has a mix of flavours, a simple butter and sage sauce or olive oil and parmigiano shavings will do. 💯
We love pasta, and there’s no doubt that each shape deserves as much love as the rest. It all comes down to an educated sauce pairing, a glass of wine and a hungry stomach. As Federico Fellini once said;
“Life is a combination of pasta and magic”
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