Final Up to date on third June 2025 by Tash
Pasta. Whether or not you’re a fiend for fusilli or obsessive about orrechiette, everybody’s obtained a favorite form. Lengthy, brief, curved, flat – legend has it, there are nearly 400 variations of this time for dinner staple in Italy alone. However why so many?
The key lies in its relationship with the sauce. From tiny tubes of ditalini, good for soups, or deeply ridged rigatoni that effortlessly clings to thicker sauces, every pasta has been formed for a selected objective.
Granted, it could be faster to hop on a flight to the Italian Riviera than checklist all of them, so right here’s a useful collection of our prime picks.
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So, what pasta shapes go along with what sauces?
Spaghetti (spuh-geh-tee)
How a lot spaghetti is a standard quantity? Who’s to say? Somebody who might need had the reply is Thirteenth-century explorer Marco Polo, who supposedly introduced it to Italy from his travels in China. Creamy, tacky cacio e pepe or spicy chilli and king prawn – spaghetti goes finest with mild and silky sauces that coat every strand so that you get the proper chunk each time.
Orechiette (oh-reck-ee-et-tee)
Actually translating to ‘little ears’ in Italian, orechiette’s chewy edges and bowl-shaped center provides it the distinctive ear-like form we all know and love. Taking Puglia by storm within the twelfth century, it rapidly turned a agency favorite amongst Italian mamas and nonnas alike. Ideally formed for scooping up each little bit of sauce, it’s good for bite-sized substances like crumbled Italian sausage or chunky greens – and loads of parmesan in fact.
Mafaldine (ma-fal-dee-nay)
This uber trendy pasta comes from town of Naples in southern Italy. Rebranded through the twentieth century in honour of Princess Mafalda of Savoy, it’s pasta sophistication at its best. A favorite in any respect the royal banquets, Mafaldine is the go-to form for elaborate sauces that match the class of its embroidery-like ruffled edges. From hearty, meat ragùs to sauces full of robust cheese like caciocavallo, this one does finest with a thicker topping.
Ravioli (rav-ee-oh-lee)
The unique Tupperware, these golden squares of stuffed perfection have been apparently delivered to Italy by Genoese sailors who’d use a dough pocket to wrap up their leftovers. Usually eaten by Italians at celebrations and household gatherings, ravioli is all concerning the filling. Easy pumpkin, creamy ricotta and spinach – easy is at all times finest. Have it al brodo (with broth) or a light-weight sauce to essentially let the pasta shine.
Rigatoni (ri-guh-to-nee)
When in Rome, eat rigatoni. This capital-dwelling pasta is among the extra trendy shapes to hit the manufacturing line as its signature ridges can’t be etched by hand. Born through the creation of mechanised pasta making, it quickly unfold throughout the nation like wildfire with Sicilians remaining a few of its greatest followers. Massive, hole and tremendous sturdy, the construction makes it good for tacky mozzarella bakes and conventional sauces like spicy peppers and sausage.
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