Pasta Category

Pasta

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A staple of Italian cuisine, pasta is made with a dough that's kneaded and then fashioned into hundreds of different shapes and sizes. The tiniest shapes are often used in soups, long ribbons or strands with sauces, and tubes and fanciful shapes in casseroles and pasta salads. Some shapes are large enough to be stuffed and baked, and others, like ravioli, come already stuffed.


Most pasta is made with semolina, a hard wheat flour, but some producers make corn pasta, rice pasta, spelt pasta, and kamut pasta. These alternative grains yield a mushier pasta, but they're a boon to people with wheat allergies.


While dried pasta is usually vegan, egg pasta, along with many fresh pastas, are made with eggs, which gives the finished dish a richer flavor, a softer texture, and a lovely yellow color. Dried pasta is sturdier than egg pasta or fresh pasta, and is the best choice for heavy sauces, pasta salads, and casseroles. Fresh pasta works best with cream or cheese sauces. One pound dried pasta yields the same amount of cooked pasta as 1 1/2 pounds fresh pasta.



Italian for pasta lovers


The Italian suffixes "ini," "elli," "illi," or "etti" mean smaller (e.g., spaghettini is a thin version of spaghetti), while "oni," "one," or "otti" mean larger.


Ribbed pasta sometimes has a "rigate" or "rigati" adjective behind the pasta name (e.g., penne rigate or rigatoni rigati).


Smooth pasta sometimes has a "lisce" or "lisci" adjective behind the pasta name (e.g., penne lisce or ditali lisci).


Fresca means fresh. All' uovo means the pasta is made with eggs.



How to cook pasta


Different kinds of pasta cook at different rates, so select shapes of similar sizes if you're combining them. If you use a low-quality pasta, be sure to cook it in plenty of water to prevent it from getting gummy.


Use lots of water when cooking pasta, at least a gallon per pound. You can add salt to the water if you wish, but don't add oil. Bring the water to a rolling boil before adding the pasta. When the water returns to a boil, lower the heat to maintain a low boil. Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking together. Don't cover the pot.


Pasta is ready when it's "al dente" ("to the tooth"), which means it should be cooked completely through, yet firm enough to offer some resistance to your bite. Drain the pasta in a colander, but don't rinse it unless you plan to use it in a casserole or pasta salad. Reserve a small amount of the flavorful cooking liquid in case the pasta becomes too dry and needs to be moistened. Serve it as soon as possible.


Don't freeze cooked pasta unless it's in a baked casserole.



How to select pasta:


Pasta salads: Use short, thick pasta tubes or pasta shapes. Common choices include penne, macaroni, fusilli, ruote, rotini, cavatelli, conchigliette, or gemelli. Don't use egg pasta or fresh pasta.


Casseroles: Use pasta tubes with thick walls, like macaroni or penne, or sturdy pasta shapes, like rigatoni, fusilli, or gemelli, or lasagne. Cook them for two-thirds of the recommended time in water, then let them finish cooking in the oven.


For stuffing: Choose large pasta tubes like cannelloni, manicotti, or tufoli.


Heavy sauces: Choose thick pasta ribbons, like fettuccine or linguine, or sturdy pasta rods, like perciatelli.


Light, smooth sauces: Choose slender pasta rods, like spaghetti or vermicelli.


Cream or butter sauces: Choose fresh pasta ribbons, like fresh fettuccine or fresh pappardelle.


Dishes with chunky, bite-sized ingredients: Choose pasta tubes or pasta shapes that can capture and retain bits of meat, cheese, and vegetables, like farfalle, radiatore, fusilli, penne rigate, macaroni, rigatoni, ziti, ruote, conchiglie, rotini, or cavatelli.


Soups: Choose a soup pasta, like orzo, acini di pepe, orecchiette, tubettini, conchiglette, or ditalini.



Varieties:

acini di pepe, peperini
acini di pepe
Acini di pepe ("peppercorns") are a type of Italian soup pasta. They're very tiny, and usually served in broths. They're a classic ingredient in Italian wedding soup.
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agnolotti
agnolotti
Italian for "priests' caps," agnolotti are small, stuffed crescents of egg-dough pasta that are usually filled with roasted meat, cheese, mushrooms, and/or spinach. A specialty of Italy's Piedmont region, they're great in a broth or pasta salad.
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alphabets, alfabeto
alphabets
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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amorini
amorini
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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anelli, anelletti
anelli
This variety of Italian pasta consists of small rings. It's used in soups and pasta salads. A tiny version is called anellini.
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anellini
anellini
These are shaped like rings, and used as a soup pasta.
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angel hair pasta, angel-hair pasta, angel's hair pasta, capelli d'angelo
angel hair pasta
Angel hair pasta is like spaghetti, only the rods are very thin. It's usually served in a broth or with very thin and delicate sauces.
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astri
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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avena
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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bavettine, mezze linguine
bavettine
These are long rods, narrower than linguine but wider than spaghetti. They're best with light, delicate sauces.
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bigoli
bigoli
This Venetian pasta resembles thick spaghetti, only it has a rough surface to better absorb flavorful sauces. It's good with shellfish, beans, or hearty meat sauces.
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black pasta, pasta nera, squid-ink pasta
black pasta
This is pasta flavored with squid or cuttlefish ink, which turns it black. It's best served with shellfish.
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calamaretti
calamaretti
These look like rings of squid ("calamari" in Italian). They're great with sauces.
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cannelloni
cannelloni
Cannelloni ("big reeds" in Italian) are large pasta tubes that are usually stuffed with a meat or cheese filling, covered in sauce, and baked. The name is also used for the finished casserole.
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canneroni
canneroni
Canneroni ("big reeds" in Italian) are small, short tubes of pasta.
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cannolicchi
cannolicchi
These are short, grooved tubes of pasta.
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capellini
capellini
These are thin rods of Italian pasta, just a bit thicker than angel hair pasta. They're normally served in a broth or with a very light sauce.
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cappelletti, alpine hats
cappelletti
These are two-inch squares of Italian pasta that are stuffed with filling, and then folded into the shape of a hat. They're usually served with a light sauce, or in a broth or pasta salad.
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casarecci, cesariccia
casarecce
Casarecci means "homemade" in Italian, and these short lengths of rolled and twisted Italian pasta are great at trapping sauces.
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cavatappi
cavatappi
This is a type of Italian pasta shaped like a short, slender corkscrew.
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cavatelli
cavatelli
Cavatelli has two meanings. It usually refers to small pasta shells that resemble tiny hot dog buns and are often served with thick, chunky sauces or in pasta salads. The name is less commonly used for a type of dumpling made with ricotta cheese.
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chitarra, spaghetti alla chitarra
chitarra
These pasta rods resemble spaghetti, only their cross-sections are square instead of round. They're named after the guitar strings that were traditionally used to cut the pasta.
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ciriole
ciriole
A specialty of the Umbrian region of Italy, this is a ribbon of pasta that's been twisted and stretched until it's a long, thin rod, roughly twice the diameter of spaghetti.
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conchiglie, maruzze, pasta shells, pipe rigate
conchiglie
This Italian pasta resembles conch shells. It's often served with tomato or meat sauces, or in pasta salads. A smaller version for soups is called conchigliette, while larger, stuffable shells are called conchiglioni.
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conchigliette, baby shells
conchigliette
This is a tiny version of a classic Italian pasta shape: the conchiglie or conch shell. Conchigliette is most often used as a soup pasta.
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conchiglioni, giant shells, jumbo shells
conchiglioni
Pasta shaped like conch shells come in various sizes; this is the largest. It's often stuffed and baked.
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coralli
These tiny tubes of pasta are normally used in soups.
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corn pasta
corn pasta
This is made with corn flour instead of the traditional durum wheat. It's popular among people with wheat allergies, but it tends to get mushy.
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creste di galli
creste di galli
This version of Italian pasta is shaped like creste di galli ("cockscomb" in Italian).
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ditali
ditali
These are small tubes of pasta, well suited for vegetable soups. It's also one of the shapes used to make Spaghetti-Os.
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ditalini
ditalini
This is a small version of ditali, a tubular pasta shape. Tiny ditalini are usually served in a broth or vegetable soup, and is one of the shapes used to make Spaghetti-Os.
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elicoidali
elicoidali
This Italian pasta consists of medium-sized, flat-cut tubes with spiraling ridges on the outside (elicoidali is Italian for "helix").
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fagottini
This Italian stuffed pasta is usually filled with ricotta cheese and various vegetables.
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farfalle, bow ties, bows, bow-tie pasta, butterfly pasta
farfalle
Farfalle is an Italian pasta, often made with eggs, that resembles bowties or butterflies. It's often served with chunky sauces or in pasta salads. A smaller version is called farfallini, while a larger version is called farfallone. Strichetti is farfalle made with an egg dough.
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farfalline
farfalline
This Italian pasta is a small version of farfalle, or bow-tie pasta. Farfalline is usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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fedelini, fidelini
fedelini
These Italian pasta rods are just a bit thicker than vermicelli. They're usually served with a very light sauce, or broken up and served in a broth.
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fettuccine, fettuccelli, fettucci, fettucine
fettuccine
Fettuccine noodles are long, relatively thick ribbons of pasta. A narrower version is called fettuccelli, while a wider one is called fettucci. Egg fettucine goes well with cream sauces.
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fideos
fideos
Mexican and Spanish cooks use these short, curved strands of pasta in soups.
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flavored pasta, colorata, colored pasta, green pasta, orange pasta
flavored pasta
Several manufacturers make flavored pastas, many of which have vibrant colors. Popular flavors include egg (egg pasta, or pasta all'uovo), spinach (green pasta, or pasta verde), tomato, beet (purple pasta, or pasta viola), carrot (red pasta, or pasta rossa), winter squash (orange pasta, or pasta arancione), squid ink (black pasta, or pasta nera), truffle (truffle pasta, or pasta al tartufo), and chile.
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