Italy is known for its diverse palate and regional cuisine; Italy’s culinary identity isn’t always easy to define. Italy is home to thousands of pasta that vary from region to region. In the world of delicious pasta is overflowing with distinctive varieties, differing in shape and history. There is a life beyond plain spaghetti or ravioli, a whole other realm of pasta shapes exists — many of which we show up on our menu. You can use this guide to help recognize some of the unique pasta shapes.
Gnocchi
Gnocchi are small dumplings, the most common of which is classic potato gnocchi, known as Gnocchi di patate. Fully cooked potatoes are mashed and combined with flour to create a dough that’s then formed into little pieces for boiling. After boiling, they transform into light, fluffy pillows. Their shape consists of small squat shells with ripples. There are countless recipes for gnocchi; gnocchi is especially suitable for thick sauces. But they’re also delicious with basil pesto or San Marzano tomato sauce and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Visit Strega by Nick Varano and taste our Gnocchi Pesto or our Gnocchi Sorrentina.
Pappardelle
Pappardelle is a flat, long ribbon-shaped pasta. Pappardelle comes from “pappare,” which means “to gobble up.” A simple traditional egg pasta dough made with flour, semolina, and eggs! Pappardelle is commonly served in the winter. The noodles are typically served with meat or ragu sauces. At Strega, we serve our Pappardelle dish is Pappardelle Bolognese served with a ragu of ground tenderloin.
Bucatini
To the untrained eye, Bucatini might get mistaken for spaghetti. Bucatini is thicker than spaghetti with a tiny baby hole that runs through the entire noodle. Bucatini gets coated and filled with sauce. The hollow center gives you more sauce with each bite. Bucatini hollow counterpoint, dense carbohydrates, and air pockets make for delicious pasta. At Strega we love Bucatini, and serve this dish with pancetta, San Marzano tomato sauce, onion, blend of pecorino and Parmigiano cheeses.
Cavatelli
Cavatelli is somewhat similar looking to gnocchi. Cavatelli pasta is originally from Molise and Puglia regions. This pasta is popular throughout Southern Italy. Cavatelli is made from three simple ingredients, durum wheat semolina flour, lukewarm water, and just a pinch of salt. Cavatelli has an elongated shape with a hollow cavity formed by pressing the three middle fingers of one hand into each piece of dough to create a hole.
Bigoli
Bigoli is a long thick pasta, originally made with buckwheat flour. Today, it’s typically made with whole wheat, flour, eggs, water or milk, butter, and salt. Fresh bigoli is traditionally made with duck eggs. It has a similar look to spaghetti, but bigoli is quite rough on the outside. The harsh thickness makes it easy for the pasta to hold sauces well. Bigoli originates from the Veneto region.
You now know the other pasta out there besides spaghetti or familiar ravioli. There are many different kinds of Italian pasta to put on your bucket list. Don’t know where to start? Next time you want the taste of Itay’s more traditional pasta, visit us at Strega by Nick Varano.
FAQs
The roughly 350 different types of pasta can be broadly sorted into four categories: Long: Tagliatelle, linguine, angel hair, fettuccine, capellini, etc. Short: Cavatappi, conchiglie, festoni, farfalle, fusilli, gnocchi, etc.
Are there over 300 types of pasta? ›
In short, the varieties of pasta are more than 300: in every Italian region eating is always a delight and a discovery.
What two hard to find Italian pasta shapes are hitting shelves in the US? ›
Pasta manufacturer Sfoglini is teaming up with The Sporkful Podcast creator and host Dan Pashman to add three likely-new-to-you pasta shapes to your pantry. The two existing shapes hitting the brand's roster are quattrotini and vesuvio — fun to look at, fun to wrangle on your fork, and fun to eat.
What is the rarest pasta shape? ›
Su filindeu is made by pulling and folding semolina dough into 256 perfectly even strands with the tips of your fingers, and then stretching the needle-thin wires diagonally across a circular frame in an intricate three-layer pattern.
What is Italy's number 1 pasta? ›
The most popular dried pasta in Italy is Barilla, which has recently become more widely available in the United States. Like all Italian dried pasta, it is made under rigid Government controls from hard durum-wheat flour, called semola di grano duro in Italian and semolina in English.
What is Italy's favorite pasta shape? ›
And one in five dishes is always based on the most iconic format: spaghetti. Among the most popular types of pasta follow penne rigate and fusilli. The wooden medal goes to the rigatoni and the ranking also includes farfalle, linguine, bucatini and lasagna.
What is the oldest pasta shape? ›
The earliest pasta shape was a simple sheet, which was treated more like bread dough. It probably didn't have the toothsome quality – known as “al dente” – associated with Italian pasta today, and would have been similar to unleavened matzo bread with sauce on it.
What is the golden rule for pasta? ›
In Italy, the golden rule for cooking pasta is 1, 10, 100 or 1 liter of water, 10 grams of salt for every 100 grams of pasta. Converted for American cooks, the rule should be 1/3, 3, 30, referring to 1/3 oz of salt, 3 oz of pasta and 30 oz of water.
What is the hardest pasta shape to make? ›
Join me as I take on the challenge of making the elusive Buciate pasta shape. Learn how to overcome the difficulties of shaping these noodles and enjoy a delicious homemade pesto al chapanese.
What is the softest pasta? ›
Gnocchi. Gnocchi is the most pillow-like of all the pillowy pastas. The soft and tender dumpling is made from boiled potato and flour, making it filling but so delicious. It can be used in soups, like this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, in cream sauces, like this cacio e pepe, or in any tomato or butter sauces.
Spaghetti. SHAPE: Long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. It's the most popular in the U.S. and the best-known pasta shape.
What is a pasta with cheese inside called? ›
Ravioli. This is the most well-known stuffed pasta. The singular form is “raviolo” and they are usually made by putting the filling between two sheets of pasta (versus using one piece of pasta and folding it over). The most traditional filling is cheese-based, and it varies in its specifics from region to region.
Do Italians mix pasta shapes? ›
In Italian, it's called pasta mista, which translates to “mixed." You can buy packages of pasta mista in stores, which include an assortment of different pasta shapes.
How many different shapes of pasta are there? ›
There are hundreds of varying shapes of pasta. There are at least 350 shapes of pasta you can buy.
Are there 600 types of pasta? ›
There are over 600 different pasta shapes, each with a useful purpose. Long pasta, short pasta, stuffed pasta, pasta for soups- the uses for pasta are endless! Some pasta shapes and sizes are better suited for holding sauces in the ridges, while others are much better for baked dishes.
