Pasta Great and Small

Pasta Options

Beyond the famous spaghetti and elbow pasta, there are numerous shapes of pasta from which to choose.  Typically made with the same base ingredients, but each shape has characteristics that make them unique and the perfect pairing for your favorite sauce.  Along with the listed pasta shapes, we’ve suggested sauce pairings you may not have tried yet!

There are numerous shapes and sizes of pasta.  Experiment freely and find what works best with your favorite dish!

Short Pasta

Campanelle pasta

Campanelle

Flouted and petal-shaped, perfect with chickpeas or pumpkin

Casarecce

Narrow, twisted tubes, used with pesto “Alla Trapanese,” a tomato and almond pesto

Cavatappi

Spiral tubes goes well with prosciutto and parmesan

Cavatelli

Shell-shaped with rolled-in edges, and goes well with tomatoes and mushroom sauce

Conchigle

Small shell-shapes to go with zucchini

Maccheroni

Elbow tube macaroni, try it with sausage and cream

Farfalle

Bow-shaped pasta for that special touch

Fusilli-Rotini

Twisted shape to hold your sauce, try cream of radicchio

Orecchiette

Ridged, radiator-shaped great with radicchio crème

Penne

Tubes with slant-cut ends, try with sausage and saffron cream

Penne Rigate

A bit thinner than Penne, try with Arrabbiata

Pipe Rigate

Hollow, curved snail shape, delicious with peas and ham!

Radiatori

Ridged, radiator-shaped, goes well with spinach and speck sauce

Ruote

Wagon-wheel shaped, try it with zucchini and bacon sauce

Sedani

Hollow, tube-shaped, a perfect match with an artichoke cream sauce

With all the short pasta choices available, you’ll find there are just as many long pasta options, all with their individual characteristics.  Take your pick, find what works best, but above all, have fun!  Pasta can be a great way to spice up any dish.

Long Pasta

Angel Hair Pasta

Angel Hair

Extremely thin, round-shaped noodle.  Try it with a Cream-cheese sauce

Bigoli

Bold, round-shaped noodle, great with an anchovy sauce

Bucatini

A hollow noodle, try it with Amatriciana

Fettuccine

Thick, flat noodle, good with Ragu

Linguine

Rounded, flat and narrow.  Try with Clams and parsley sauce

Mafaldine

Wide, flat ribbon-shaped, use with Ragu with ricotta

Pappardelle

Wide and thick noodle.  Ever tried wild boar sauce?

Spaghetti

Very thin, round-shaped noodle, use with Amatriciana

Tagliatelle

Flat and thick noodle for a Bolognese

Vermicelli

Thin, round shaped noodle, try with shrimp and zucchini flowers sauce

Ziti

Hollow, tube-shaped noodle, good with baked tomato and cheese

Short or long, curly or straight, pasta is a versatile staple for many Italian dishes.  Check your recipes and substitute, experiment, see if there’s another pasta that works well with your meal!

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We are one of the premier Italian Restaurants in Allen, TX, offering home-made traditional Italian cuisine. Come visit us today at: 121-B N. Greenville Allen, TX 75002, Phone : 972-390-2189