Whenever I go to a new region I get so frustrated that I can’t read the menu because the pasta shapes are so regional! I’m glad to know that even Italians have trouble knowing all the pasta shapes.
I can confirm that it’s completely normal to ask - I came across “gavinelle” the other week at a restaurant and no one at the table knew what they were!
Loved this and I have so many pasta questions for a future part two… Maybe the comments can double up as a pasta-themed ask (you) anything?! 😅
1. Do Italians think al dente is the best way? (Thinking specifically of Brutto’s vodka penne, which can sometimes be verging on firm enough to break a tooth)
2. Is dried pasta ever better than fresh?
3. What are your feelings on egg pasta? Is it better suited to certain dishes?
4. Aside from pici, do you always need a pasta roller to make pasta at home?
5. What is your go-to, never-fails pasta sauce recipe? Can you recommend one?
6. Do Italians ever have garlic bread to dip in their pasta sauce?
Eleanor!!! Loving all these questions ❤️ I might expand on the answers in a part 2 (thanks for the idea), but for now:
1. Always al dente, but there is a limit! It should be a soft but firm bite, you definitely are not supposed to taste the granules of the flour in the pasta! Although having said that, I have friends (english) who love to snack on raw pasta straight from the packet (it buggers belief!) so maybe Brutto know their audience? 😂
2. hmmm tough one. I think fresh pasta has a very luxurious feel to it but it's slightly more chewy. Depends also on the shape – tagliolini, pappardelle etc are always better fresh in my opinion, but some pasta shapes require to be dried!
3. Love egg pasta but the dough is only really suited to being stretched thinly in sheets to make lasagne, ravioli & all the flat cousins (this because the egg improves the elasticity of the dough and helps holding the 00 flour together even when stretched very thinly). But egg dough would be too delicate to hold the shape of short pasta like orecchiette, malloreddus etc, so we use semolina flour and water which results in a tougher but more maliable dough.
4. No you don't! You can make so many shapes just by rolling out a thin dough sausage with your hands, cutting it in little balls and using your fingers, a knife or fork to shape it. Orecchiette, malloreddous, trofie and cavatelli are all done that way!
5. I love a very simple tomato sauce, with a couple of crushed garlic cloves fried in oil (we remove them when the sauce is ready, so it's just a very gentle garlic flavour), good quality passata, a couple of basil leaves thrown in as well as fresh ones to garnish. If you want to take it to the next level, you could add a spoon of concentrate tomato paste, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of dried sage (this latter is a trick my dad uses). And then of course let the Parmigiano rain!
6. Such a good question! We have "Scarpetta" (translates as little shoe), which is the act of mopping up the remaining sauce with bread (this is done not just with pasta, but any saucy dishes like stews etc). Garlic bread though is a very anglophile thing, we just use normal bread!
7. I really like Campania, on Columbia Rd (very charming place, although the service can sometimes feel a little pressing verging on rude). Manteca is a new favourite, you can seat at the counter and see the pasta chefs work their magic (they are also very firendly!). And Luca does good pasta too, although that's definitely more of a "special treat" kind of place!
LOVE these answers, thank you! And totally agree with Campania - love the food but I’ve had a couple of experiences there where I felt like an inconvenience 😂
My husband came home from the shops with a bag of penne lisce last week! 😂🫣(I used it to make a huge tray of pasta al forno with lots of crispy edges to hide its slippery shape)
My current favourite is calamarata (with a sauce of pistachio pesto, guanciale and Parmesan (all stolen from a local restaurant). I’m very fond of fusilli - they work well with any tuna sauces, I find.
Whenever I go to a new region I get so frustrated that I can’t read the menu because the pasta shapes are so regional! I’m glad to know that even Italians have trouble knowing all the pasta shapes.
yes, sometimes I don't know what pasta they are talking about when I got to other regions and have to ask. You're not alone!
I can confirm that it’s completely normal to ask - I came across “gavinelle” the other week at a restaurant and no one at the table knew what they were!
and what were they?!
Some kind of twisted flour and water pasta. Nothing thrilling!
I tried to google it but came up with Garganelli instead (which are much more thirlling). I think I know what you mean. Were you in Tuscia?
Yes! in a little town called Carbognano, at La Locandina di Bacco.
Loved this and I have so many pasta questions for a future part two… Maybe the comments can double up as a pasta-themed ask (you) anything?! 😅
1. Do Italians think al dente is the best way? (Thinking specifically of Brutto’s vodka penne, which can sometimes be verging on firm enough to break a tooth)
2. Is dried pasta ever better than fresh?
3. What are your feelings on egg pasta? Is it better suited to certain dishes?
4. Aside from pici, do you always need a pasta roller to make pasta at home?
5. What is your go-to, never-fails pasta sauce recipe? Can you recommend one?
6. Do Italians ever have garlic bread to dip in their pasta sauce?
7. Who makes your favourite pasta in London?
Eleanor!!! Loving all these questions ❤️ I might expand on the answers in a part 2 (thanks for the idea), but for now:
1. Always al dente, but there is a limit! It should be a soft but firm bite, you definitely are not supposed to taste the granules of the flour in the pasta! Although having said that, I have friends (english) who love to snack on raw pasta straight from the packet (it buggers belief!) so maybe Brutto know their audience? 😂
2. hmmm tough one. I think fresh pasta has a very luxurious feel to it but it's slightly more chewy. Depends also on the shape – tagliolini, pappardelle etc are always better fresh in my opinion, but some pasta shapes require to be dried!
3. Love egg pasta but the dough is only really suited to being stretched thinly in sheets to make lasagne, ravioli & all the flat cousins (this because the egg improves the elasticity of the dough and helps holding the 00 flour together even when stretched very thinly). But egg dough would be too delicate to hold the shape of short pasta like orecchiette, malloreddus etc, so we use semolina flour and water which results in a tougher but more maliable dough.
4. No you don't! You can make so many shapes just by rolling out a thin dough sausage with your hands, cutting it in little balls and using your fingers, a knife or fork to shape it. Orecchiette, malloreddous, trofie and cavatelli are all done that way!
5. I love a very simple tomato sauce, with a couple of crushed garlic cloves fried in oil (we remove them when the sauce is ready, so it's just a very gentle garlic flavour), good quality passata, a couple of basil leaves thrown in as well as fresh ones to garnish. If you want to take it to the next level, you could add a spoon of concentrate tomato paste, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of dried sage (this latter is a trick my dad uses). And then of course let the Parmigiano rain!
6. Such a good question! We have "Scarpetta" (translates as little shoe), which is the act of mopping up the remaining sauce with bread (this is done not just with pasta, but any saucy dishes like stews etc). Garlic bread though is a very anglophile thing, we just use normal bread!
7. I really like Campania, on Columbia Rd (very charming place, although the service can sometimes feel a little pressing verging on rude). Manteca is a new favourite, you can seat at the counter and see the pasta chefs work their magic (they are also very firendly!). And Luca does good pasta too, although that's definitely more of a "special treat" kind of place!
LOVE these answers, thank you! And totally agree with Campania - love the food but I’ve had a couple of experiences there where I felt like an inconvenience 😂
Yes they are on demand and they know it!
My husband came home from the shops with a bag of penne lisce last week! 😂🫣(I used it to make a huge tray of pasta al forno with lots of crispy edges to hide its slippery shape)
Mezze maniche forever!!
that's a good shout Gillian! Mezze maniche, yes! I would group them in the Paccheri category – tubular pasta is always a yes for me.
During Covid, all that was left on the shelves was penne lisce!!!
And for a reason!!
I loved loved loved this. I’ve just thrown out all the offending pasta!
haha you are going to make me feel guilty Carrie! Poor pasta. They mean well...
My current favourite is calamarata (with a sauce of pistachio pesto, guanciale and Parmesan (all stolen from a local restaurant). I’m very fond of fusilli - they work well with any tuna sauces, I find.
Your sauce sounds so delicious! I'm not completely against fusilli, but I wouldn't pick them out of a lineup if you know what I mean ;)
Rachel Roddy’s An A to Z of Pasta is a wonderful resource, so many shapes, and the best sauces to go with them
I think you’ve answered this before, Martina, but did you say De Cecco was your favourite brand available in the UK?