Pasta Shapes

  Posted on September 22, 2011  by Leslie Blythe  No comments

There are more than 300 shapes of Italian pasta from all different regions of Italy.  Local ingredients and local cooking customs match the thickness and texture of sauces with the pasta shape best suited to hold the sauce for a perfect bite.

There are some general considerations, though:

–Stuffed pastas typically pair well with lighter sauces, or even broths, that don’t mask the subtle flavors of the filling.

–Thin or delicate pastas, such as angel hair, go better with lighter, thinner sauces — those generally with less oil or fat, and often those made with fresh rather than canned tomatoes.

–Wide pastas, such as lasagna or pappardelle, go well with thick sauces, either with cream, meat or just tomato. Fettucine Alfredo is a classic example.

–Long pastas go best with smoother sauces or those with very small pieces.

–Shaped pastas, such as bowtie or radiatore, do a good job of catching thick sauces.

–Short, tubular shapes, such as penne, work with chunky sauces because their holes or grooves can catch bigger pieces of sauce. In general, the chunkier the sauce, the larger the pasta shape or holes. The thickest tubular pastas, such as ziti and rigatoni, work nicely in baked pasta dishes because they hold up to longer cooking.