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:

fregola, fregula
fregola
This Sardinian specialty is thought to be an ancestor of modern pasta. It consists of small, chewy balls made from coarsely ground semolina. It can be used as a bed for sauces, but it's also terrific in soups.
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funghini
These tiny pasta shapes look like mushrooms and are usually served in a broth or very light soup. A larger version called funghetti works well in thicker soups.
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fusilli, corkscrew pasta, pasta twists
fusilli
This is a type of Italian pasta that's shaped like either like screws or springs. This is a good choice for pasta salads and casseroles, or for serving with hearty, thick sauces. A long version of the spring-shaped fusilli is called fusilli col buco.
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fusilli col buco, fusilli bucati lunghi
fusilli col buco
This is a long version of the spring-shaped fusilli.
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garganelli
garganelli
With its quill shapes, this type of Italian egg pasta resembles penne. It's often served with a simple meat sauce.
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gemelli
gemelli
The name means "twins" in Italian. These are short rods twisted together in a spiral pattern. They're great with any sauce, or in pasta salads or casseroles.
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gigli, campanelle, riccioli
gigli
This Italian pasta consists of flower shapes (gigli is Italian for "lilies"). It's good with heart, chunky sauces.
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gnocchetti
gnocchetti
Gnocchetti is an Italian pasta made to look like gnocchi, the popular potato dumplings. Gnocchetti, though, contains no potatoes. To confuse matters, a larger version of gnocchetti is also called gnocchi. Both sizes are good with thick sauces.
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gomiti
gomiti
Gomiti is Italian for "elbow," and this pasta shape is like elbow macaroni, only it's bent more. Use it in pasta dishes with chunky sauces, pasta salads, or macaroni and cheese.
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grattoni
This egg pasta consists of tiny diamond shapes. It's used in broths and light soups.
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kamut®  pasta
kamut pasta
Kamut® contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies.
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laganelle
This is a kind of Italian ribbon pasta, similar to lasagne only narrower.
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lasagne, lasagne, no-boil lasagne, oven-ready lasagne, Precooked lasagne
lasagne
These thick, wide noodles with ruffled edges are used to make an Italian casserole dish that Americans call lasagne. Italians call the noodle itself lasagna (plural: lasagne), and the casserole lasagne al forno. Thinner noodles are best. Precooked lasagne = oven-ready lasagne = no-boil lasagne work fairly well and save time, but the noodles tend to absorb moisture from the sauce, resulting in a drier product.
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lasagnette
lasagnette
This is a thin version of lasagne, the wide Italian noodles used to make baked lasagne. Lasagnette is often used like fettuccine, and simply tossed with a light sauce and served.
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linguine
linguine
Linguine ("little tongues" in Italian) consists of long, slender ribbons of pasta. It's often served with clams or shrimp.
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lumache
lumache
Lumache (Italian for "snails") are shells that are often served with chunky sauces. A larger shell, called lumaconi, is usually stuffed and baked.
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lumaconi, giant snails
lumaconi
This is an outsized version of the Italian pasta shape called lumache, which resembles a snail shells. Lumaconi are usually stuffed and baked.
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macaroni, maccheroni
macaroni
This tubular Italian pasta used to be made by wrapping pasta dough around knitting needles. The term now refers to any small tubular pasta, all of which go well with chunky sauces or in pasta salads. Elbow macaroni is curved, and is traditionally used to make macaroni and cheese.
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maccheroncelli
maccheroncelli
This is a long, tubular pasta. It's good with heavy sauces or in casseroles.
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mafalde, mafalda, mafaldine
mafalde
These are flat, rectangular noodles with ruffles along both edges. The singular form is mafalda. Includes mafaldine (pictured at left).
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magliette
magliette
This is a short, tubular variety of pasta.
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malfatti
Malfatti means "poorly made" in Italian, and cooks use the term for broken or irregular scraps of pasta, or for a ravioli filling without the pasta covering.
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malloreddus, gnocchetti sardi
malloreddus
This Sardinian pasta is very similar to gnocchetti, except that it's often flavored with saffron.
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maltagliati
maltagliati
Maltagliati means "poorly cut" in Italian, and the name is used for various kinds of pasta scraps.
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manicotti
manicotti
Manicotti means "little sleeves" in Italian. These large, ridged tubes of Italian pasta are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach and then baked.
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manti
manti
A Turkish specialty, manti are small squares of pasta stuffed with a ground meat filling. They're often served with a garlic and yogurt sauce.
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margherite
Margherite means "daisies" in Italian, but this pasta shape looks more like shells, with ridges on the outside. A small soup pasta version is called margheritine.
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mezzani
mezzani
This is a type of tubular Italian pasta that's short and curved.
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mezzelune
mezzelune
Mezzelune ("half moon" in Italian) is an Italian stuffed pasta formed into a semicircle. It's usually stuffed with cheese, vegetable, and/or meat.
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mostaccioli
mostaccioli
These "little mustaches" are tubes of Italian pasta cut on the diagonal.
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mparrettai
mparrettai
This unusual variety of Italian pasta consists of poorly wrapped straws of dough, about 8 inches long.
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orecchiette
orecchiette
These "little ears" are pieces of Italian pasta shaped like tiny ears or bowls.
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orzo, rosa marina, rosamarina
orzo
This pasta is shaped like grains of barley. It's often used as a bed for sauces or in soups.
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paccheri
paccheri
These large pasta tubes are about an inch in diameter. They collapse after they're cooked, trapping sauces within.
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pansotti
pansotti
This is a type of Italian pasta that consists of 2-inch squares of pasta that are stuffed and folded into a triangular shape. The edges are either straight or ruffled.
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pappardelle
pappardelle
Pappardelle noodles are flat ribbons of Italian pasta, sold either dried or fresh. They're normally served with hearty sauces. These are often made with eggs, and so might not work in a vegan diet.
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pasta al ceppo
pasta al ceppo
This means "pasta on a stick" in Italian, and this tubular pasta was originally made by wrapping dough around knitting needles.
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pasta ascuitta
This term refers to dried pasta that's too big to be used in soups.
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Pasta Ribbons, flat pasta, ribbon pasta
Pasta Ribbons
Ribbons of pasta are usually available either fresh or dried. Use fresh ribbon pasta for light, delicate sauces and dried for the rich, heavier ones.
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