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:

Pasta Rods, pasta sticks, pasta strands
Pasta Rods
Long strands of pasta are challenging to eat, and that's part of their charm. Medium-sized rods like spaghetti are normally served with light tomato-based sauces. Thin rods like angel hair pasta and vermicelli work best in broths or with thin sauces, while thicker rods like perciatelli go well with heavier, chunkier sauces. Rods are best if they're served immediately after being cooked. If you're planning to serve a lot of people, consider using small pasta tubes or shapes.
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pasta sheet
pasta sheet
Use this sheet of fresh pasta in place of lasagna, or to make your own stuffed pasta. You can sometimes buy it where fresh pasta is made in-house.
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Pasta Tubes, tube-shaped pasta, tubular-shaped pasta
Pasta Tubes
With their thick walls, tubular pasta like penne and macaroni are ideal for pasta salads, thick sauces, and casseroles. Long tubes like perciatelli are often served with sauces, or they're broken up and used in soups. Large, wide tubes like cannelloni and manicotti are stuffed and baked. Tubes with grooves on the exterior, denoted by the Italian adjective "rigati" or "rigate" after the pasta's name, do a better job of holding sauces. Smooth-walled pasta is called "lisci" or "lisce."
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penne, Penne lisce, Penne rigate
penne
This Italian pasta consists of short tubes cut on the diagonal, the better to scoop sauces inside. It's very versatile, and works well mixed with a sauce, or in a casserole, soup, or pasta salad. Penne rigate has ridges, the better to hold sauces. Penne lisce has smooth walls.
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pennette
pennette
This is a smaller version of penne, a popular Italian pasta shape.
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perciatelli
perciatelli
These are hollow pasta rods that are thicker than spaghetti. They're usually served in casseroles or with hearty meat sauces, or they're broken up and served in minestrone soup.
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pillus
pillus
This Italian pasta consists of very thin ribbons. It's usually served in a broth.
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pizzoccheri
pizzoccheri
These long buckwheat noodles are popular in northern Italy.
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pulcini
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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quadrettini, quadrucci
quadrettini
These small, flat pasta rectangles are normally served in broths.
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quinoa pasta
quinoa pasta
This is a high-protein pasta alternative for people with wheat allergies. It may contain corn flour as well.
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radiatori
radiatori
A type of Italian pasta, these resemble small radiators. The "grills" do a good job of scooping up chunky sauces.
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ravioli, ravioletti, raviolo
ravioli
These are small, square pillows of stuffed pasta that are often served with a light sauce. The traditional filling is ricotta cheese mixed with spinach or some other cooking green, but adventurous cooks have used wild mushrooms, sweet potatoes, winter squash, goat cheese, lobster, nuts, and even prunes. Ravioli are usually topped with a tomato or cream sauce, or with grated cheese. Don't overcook them or they'll fall apart. Smaller ravioli are called ravioletti, and a single one is called a raviolo.
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reginelle
reginelle
These pasta tubes are similar to penne, though a bit longer and thinner. The name reginelle is also sometimes used for reginette pasta, which are wide ribbons with ruffled edges.
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reginette, mafaldine, malfalde, reginelle, mafalda
reginette
These wide ribbons of Italian pasta have ruffled edges.
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rice pasta, brown rice pasta
rice pasta
This is a good pasta alternative for people with wheat allergies. It's also available as brown rice pasta.
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rigatoni
rigatoni
These are big pasta tubes with ridges. They're normally served with chunky sauces or baked in casseroles.
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risi, pasta a riso, risoni
risi
This is a rice-shaped Italian soup pasta. The singular form is riso.
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ruote, ruote de carro, ruotine, wagon wheels, wheels
rotelle
Rotelle is an Italian pasta that's shaped like a wagon wheel, and it works well with chunky sauces or in pasta salads.
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rotini, rotelle, spirals, twists
rotini
These pasta shapes look like short springs or corkscrews made from spaghetti. They cling to chunky or thick sauces, but they also work in pasta salads.
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sagnarelli
sagnarelli
This flat Italian pasta is about two inches long, and has a ridged border.
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seme di melone
seme di melone
These "melon seeds" are a type of Italian pasta commonly served in broths.
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seme di peperone
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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soup pasta
soup pasta
As a rule, the thinner the soup, the smaller the pasta. For broths and light soups, select from a large assortment of tiny shapes. Larger shapes, like tubetti or ditali, are perfect for minestrone or other hearty soups.
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soy pasta
soy pasta
This is made with both wheat and protein-rich soy flour.
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spaghetti
spaghetti
The most popular pasta variety, spaghetti (Italian for "little strings") works best with light tomato or cream sauces. Don't use it in pasta salads.
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spaghettini
spaghettini
This is thin type of spaghetti.
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spelt pasta
spelt pasta
Spelt contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies.
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spiralini, spirali
spiralini
These are spring-shaped lengths of Italian pasta. They're good with chunky sauces, or in pasta salads. A larger version is called spirali.
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stelle, stellette
stelle
These small star shapes are a type of Italian soup pasta. A smaller version is called stellini.
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stelline
stelline
These pasta shapes look like tiny stars. They cook quickly and are best used in soups.
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stivaletti
These tiny pasta shapes are usually served in a broth or very light soup.
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stortini
stortini
This is a small form of elbow macaroni.
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stringozzi
stringozzi
An Umbrian specialty, this is a narrow ribbon pasta that's chewier and thicker than spaghetti.
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strozzapreti
strozzapreti
The name means "priest strangler" in Italian, and it refers to a pasta shape that resembles a rolled towel.
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stuffed pasta, filled pasta, pasta ripiena
stuffed pasta
These are fresh pasta sheets that are stuffed with a filling and then folded into whimsical shapes. In the past, they were just a fancy way to recycle leftovers, but cooks now stuff them with more elegant fillings, like cheeses, veal, sweet potatoes, wild mushrooms, lobster, and pheasant. After they're cooked, they're often served with a light sauce, or in a broth or pasta salad. They freeze well, and are great to keep on hand for quick and easy meals. If you're cooking frozen stuffed pasta, allow two or three additional minutes for it to cook.
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tagliatelle
tagliatelle
These long ribbons of pasta are very similar to fettuccine. They go well with a hearty meat sauce.
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taglierini, tagliarini, tagliolini, tah-lyeh-REE-nee, tonnarelli
taglierini
These are thin flat ribbons of pasta.
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torchio
torchio
These pasta shapes resemble torches, the better to scoop up chunky sauces.
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