Fresh or dry, tubular or ribbony, filled or flat, pasta is Italy’s favourite food. And with more than 350 defined shapes of pasta and countless recipes, there’s plenty to try. Here are 8 standouts and where to try them…
Agnolotti, Piedmont
Filled agnolotti, a sort of ravioli, are usually stuffed with roasted braised meats and sometimes served swimming in leftover stewing liquid. Variety is seen in their shape (half moons, boxy squares) and styles (agnolotti del plin are “pinched” shut), but in whatever form, they remain Piedmont’s pasta de rigeur.
Bigoli, Veneto
Rice and polenta might be the main grains in Veneto, but the region is hardly a pasta wasteland. Thick, spaghetti-like bigoli are the area’s signature style, and are most often served in salsa (an umami blitz of anchovy and onion that’s more satiating than it is photogenic).
Tortellini, Emilia-Romagna
Bologna proudly wears its title of tortellini capital, particularly at Christmas, when tortellini in broth are a table mainstay. This meat- or vegetable-stuffed egg pasta, in its finest, freshest form, is often tinier than non-Italians imagine it to be, though the diminutive “-ini” is the first clue that they should be more dainty than dumplingy.
Pappardelle, Tuscany
Though associated with Tuscany, these days pappardelle’s reach is as wide as their ribbons. The root word is pappare – to nosh or gobble up – and this is the inevitable outcome when served with wild boar (cinghiale).
Bucatini, Lazio
With a name that alludes to the holes at the end of these long narrow tubes, buccatini could seem gimmicky if they weren’t so good. They crop up all over Lazio, but have special ties to the tiny, quasi-town of Amatrice, which lends its name to one of the pasta’s best pairing sauces – peppery amatriciana, made with guanciale, tomato, pecorino romano, olive oil and white wine.
Spaghetti alla chitarra, Abruzzo
What’s a guitar (chitarra) got to do with this square-edged spaghetti from central Italy? The reference doesn’t really come from the stringy form of the egg pasta itself, but from the specialized wire-and-wood tool used to craft it – a staple in the kitchens of all culinary rock stars between Teramo and Chieti.
Orecchiette, Puglia
Orecchiette directly translates to “little ears”, owing to this oddly kitschy pasta’s distinct shape. A coarse, crinkled surface, compressed centre and upturned edges make them the perfect mini-spoons for savoury cime di rapa (the leafy green vegetable, rapini); in Puglia, the two go together like bread and butter.
Casarecce, Sicily
A durum wheat pasta that resembles a convoluted papyrus scroll, casarecce are widely believed to have originated in Arab nations. Their Italian homeland, Sicily, has always been a crossroads of civilizations. And just as Sicily pulls from a mix of cultures, ultra-versatile casarecce work with many sauces.
The Italian Way
View BookIn this love letter to the world’s favourite country, you’ll find everything you know and love about Italy: the classic food, the dreamy landscapes, the Renaissance masterpieces. Along the way you’ll meet the people who make Italy what it is, the philosophies they live by and the traditions that make la dolce vita.