There are so many pasta dishes,
but what sauce to use with the different types and shapes?
Whole wheat pasta has more vitamins. There are many gluten free pasta as well.long, thin pastas: to coat the strands for marinara, pesto, and clam sauces
- spaghetti-sauces: baked, butter, oil, cream, cheese, meat, seafood, tomato, vegetable
- sfoglia-sauces: baked, meat, tomato, vegetable
- tagliarini-sauces: butter, oil, cream, cheese
- trenette-sauce: baked, tomato, vegetable
- ziti-sauces: baked, butter, oil, cream, cheese, meat, salad, tomato, vegetable
- linguine-sauces: cream, fish, chicken, tomatoes, vegetables
- capellini (Italian thin hair)-sauces: tomato, clam, basil
ribbon pastas: wide surface area, long, flat noodles make fine ragùs and creamy sauces
- fettuccine-sauce: butter, cheese (alfredo)
- pappardelle-sauce: meat
- tagliatelle-sauces: tomato, butter, pesto, cream,
- radiatore-suaces: baked, tomato
short pastas: small shells and spirals hold sauces with lots of chopped vegetables or meat
- cavatelli-sauces: meat, tomato, cream, chicken, vegetable
- macaroni-sauces: baked, meat, tomato, vegetables
- orecciette-sauces: meat, pasta salad, pesto, tomato, vegetable
- penne lisce-sauces: baked, cream, cheese, meat, tomato, vegetable
- penne rigate-sauces: baked, butter, oil, cream, cheese, pasta salad, tomato, vegetable
- manicotti-sauces: baked, meat, tomato, vegetable
- strozzapreti-sauces: meat, vegetable
- trofie-sauce: pesto
- pastina-sauce: in soups
- stelline-sauce: in soups
- tubettini-sauces: baked, soups
How to make the best pasta...
boil: in a large pot, 1 pound (450 g) of pasta to 4 quarts (4 liters) of boiling water
season: 1 Tbs. (15 ml) coarse salt to the boiling water
cook: keep pot uncovered; stir frequently; do not add oil
test: should be al dente (chewy and does not stick to your teeth); taste a piece of cooled pasta a few minutes before the end of the suggested cooking time; if is hard or sticks to your teeth, cook 1 minute and retest
drain: reserve some of the liquid before draining; use to thin sauce as needed and coat the pasta; shake the pasta in a colander, do not rinse (except for making pasta salad)
