We all know the guy that refers to any shape of pasta as ‘spaghetti’. But not so. There are hundreds of different types of noodles. For example, you wouldn’t use a long spaghetti in a soup and it wouldn’t do to use a thin pasta with a thick sauce! Use the chart below to assist you in pairing the best pasta with the best sauce to compliment. Now that’s using your noodle!
Long and skinny:
Spaghetti, linguine, fusilli lunghi, vermicelli
Serve with: Light seafood sauces, cream- or oil-based sauces.
Long ribbons:
Pappardelle, fettuccine, mafaldine
Serve with: Rich, meaty sauces.
Shells:
Conchiglie, lumache
Heavy cream or meat sauces; large ones can be stuffed.
Twists:
Fusilli, trofie, strozzapreti, caserecce, gemelli
Serve with: Lighter, smoother sauces which will cling to the twists, such as pesto.
Tubes:
Penne, rigatoni, macaroni, paccheri
Serve with: Hearty vegetable sauces, or baked cheese dishes. Also good with Bolognese or ragu.
Mini Shapes:
Orzo, fregola, canestrini, stelline
Use in: soups and stews or pasta salads.
Filled pasta:
Ravioli, tortellini, cappelletti
Serve with: Since the filling contains lots of flavour, these are traditionally served with a light butter or oil sauce.
Many of these noodles and sauces are conveniently available in the aisles of Jim Alesci’s Place. Don’t forget about dessert! Alesci’s has a fantastic bakery full of traditional Italian desserts like cannoli, cassata cake and more, that will create a very happy ending to your Italian feast!
See also: 4 Things you Should Know about Olive Oil
Adapted from Perfect pairings: How to match pasta shapes to sauces By BBC Good Food team