Types of Pasta
Pasta is a staple dish of the Italian diet. In fact, 63% of Italians says they eat the multi-shaped carb every day. There are different types of pasta that come in all shapes and sizes and can be eaten with a plethora of different sauces and cheeses. In today’s blog, we’ll go over the basic fundamentals of pasta from choosing the noodle, to cooking it, to new pasta sauce ideas to complete the dish.
Types of Pasta
Here are some popular pasta types that you can choose from.
Long Pasta
These long thin ribbons go best with smoother sauces.
- Angel’s Hair. This is one of the thinnest noodles in this subcategory.
- Fettuccine. (Fet-to-chi-nay) Like a flat spaghetti.
- Tagliatelle. (Ta-le-a-tel-lay) A lot like fettuccine but with a thicker bite.
- Spaghetti. One of the more widely known types of pasta. Classically pairs with meatballs.
- Linguine. Like fettuccine but not as wide.
- Pappardelle. (Pa-par-del-lay) One of the widest noodles in this subcategory.
Short Pasta
These types of noddles are great at holding onto all types of sauces.
- Cavatappi. This elbow-shaped pasta is a perfect macaroni substitute.
- Fusilli. This classic spiral pasta is delicious both hot and cold.
- Farfalle. (Far-fa-lay) While it’s known as bow-tie pasta, farfalle actually means butterfly in Italian.
- Penne. Another classic short pasta, Penne is like a slanted ridged tube-shape.
- Rigatoni. The sister noodle of penne, this pasta is also tube shaped.
- Orecchiette. (O-ray-key-eh-tay) Italian for “little ears”, these noddles look exactly like their namesake.
Stuffed Pasta
This type of pasta can be filled with all sorts of ingredient combinations.
- Tortellini. Often stuffed with cheese or meat, this noodle is the roundest in form.
- Ravioli. This pasta’s shape resembles that of a pillow.
- Manicotti. Italian for “sleeves”, this noodle looks a lot like giant penne.
Other Types of Pasta
- Lasagna. The most common type of sheet pasta. Great for layering.
- Gnocchi. Typically made with potato, egg, and flour. This pasta is dense and filling.
Tips for cooking.
- Add salt to the water. This will help to salt your pasta.
- Make sure water is boiled before you put pasta in. This means the pasta will cook quicker and more consistently.
- Add olive oil if you’re cooking long pasta. This will help stop the noodles from sticking together.
- Taste-test your pasta before taking it off a boil. Make sure it has the perfect bite (based on your preference).
- Don’t wash your pasta after you drain in. The starch on the pasta will help the sauce stick better.
Pasta Sauce Ideas
I’ve said that different types of pasta work best with different sauces. However, these sauce ideas work with any of your favourite noodles.
- Tik-Tok Famous Feta Pasta. This viral recipe calls for feta, cherry tomatoes, onions and garlic to be cooked in the oven for 30 mins. You then mix in your type of pasta of choice and you’r ready for dinner!
- One-Pot Pasta. These recipes are also very popular on the internet. Here you add all the raw ingredients to the pot of boiling pasta water. Very handy if you don’t want too much washing up.
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