Time.news – Stuffed, dry or fresh, homemade or industrial: there are many pasta shapes and still others continue to be invented. In Italy 98% of the population eats pasta, they consume about 23 kg each year and 6 out of 10 Italians eat it every day.
The highest consumption is recorded in the South, where one third of the sector’s turnover is achieved. And although this food camps on the tables of Italians with great frequency, winning the title of real Made in Italy symbol, the variety and the Italian regional traditions have not spared pasta a certain diversity, at least in the formats. And consequently in the condiments.
Here, then, is the tour of Italy in 20 pasta shapes, a small guide to local traditions to know how to eat well on the next trip to the beautiful country.
The trofie
Ligurian pasta par excellence, their name means gnocchi while their shape is given by the peculiar curled character like the carpenter’s shavings. Tradition wants them combined with Ligurian pesto (strictly homemade), potatoes and green beans.
I tajarin
This type of long pasta is Piedmontese and is prepared with 30 egg yolks for a kilo of flour that give it that famous yellow color. In spite of what it may seem, the tajarin are a very delicate pasta, specially designed in combination with the white truffle, typical of the area.
The chnéffléne
Typical Aosta Valley pasta, they are small gnocchi made with flour and eggs then ‘grated’ with a special tool directly in the boiling water. Originally they were seasoned with melted butter and braised onion, but today the most popular seasoning is the one with fondue.
I pizzoccheri
Typical of Valtellina, this format of Lombard pasta looks like tagliatelle, but thicker and shorter. The ingredients are buckwheat flour, other types of flour and water. They are traditionally seasoned with potatoes, cabbage, melted butter and cheese (Casera or Bitto), but there are many variations that have arisen over time.
I bigoli
A sort of spaghetti, but more often, of soft wheat and water capable of retaining the sauce: these are bigoli, a typical Venetian pasta that can be made with buckwheat flour or with egg. In any case, they should be served with duck or goose ragout, or tomato sauce, or, again, with anchovies.
The cjarsons
It is a typical Friulian stuffed pasta. Their peculiarity is that of being stuffed with a filling in which sweet and savory are combined: inside we can in fact find raisins, dark chocolate or cocoa, cinnamon, spinach, chives, ricotta, jam, rum, grappa, parsley, dry biscuits, eggs, milk. The sauce is good both soft: smoked ricotta at the base and a little cinnamon with melted and boiling clarified butter on top.
The spätzle
Originating from southern Germany, they are also a typical dish of Trentino Alto Adige. Small dumplings made with soft wheat flour, eggs and water, can also be made in the version with spinach, taking on a nice green color. The most common condiments are those with meat sauces, but cheese creams or melted and flavored butter or cooking cream are also strong.
The tortellini
They are the stuffed pasta of Emilia Romagna par excellence and must be strictly eaten in broth. In reality, they compete for the territory with cappelletti, other stuffed pasta served in the same way. The differences? The first are from the Emilia area, the second from Romagna, the first are small and stuffed with meat with a strict recipe and deposited at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture of Bologna by the Tortellino Confraternity and the Italian Academy of Cuisine . For cappelletti, on the other hand, it is a little less formal, but traditionally those who make them prefer not to use meat, but only cheese. The best thing is to taste both preparations, but be careful not to get confused when ordering them!
The pici
Traditional Tuscan long pasta format, it is a fresh pasta prepared strictly by hand based on flour, water and salt. They adapt well to many sauces, but they give the best of them with that of typical Tuscan meat.
I bucatini
Among the strangest and most famous pasta shapes are bucatini, typical hollow spaghetti, cult of the Lazio tradition, famous in the “amatriciana” preparation.
The strangozzi
Another type of long pasta, made only of flour and water (but you can also add egg), are the strangozzi, typical of central Italy and especially of Umbria. Of poor origins, the strangozzi were born in the kitchens of housewives who still today stretch the dough by hand up to a thickness of 2 mm and then cut it into strips of about 3-4 mm long 30 cm that resemble shoe laces. They can be seasoned with a spicy or meat sauce, but they are also good accompanied by the black truffle typical of those areas.
The macaroni
The full name is “Maccheroncini di Campofilone” and it is a long egg pasta typical of the Marche region. What distinguishes maccheroncini from other pasta shapes is the thinness of the sheet and a very fine cut that allows them to be cooked in boiling water in a minute or directly in the sauce. Not only that: more egg is used to prepare them than is done in other pasta shapes. They hold a lot of seasoning, usually gravy.
Macaroni alla chitarra
Typical of Abruzzo, this long pasta shape is made with a beech wood frame (or another neutral wood) on which parallel steel wires, the guitar, are stretched. To make the macaroni, the dough is placed on the tool and pressed with a rolling pin on the threads: in this way you get square section spaghetti, about 30 centimeters long. They can be seasoned in many ways, but also in this case the traditional one remains the ragù. Here sheep, though.
The sagne
Typical Molise pasta, sagne are recurrent throughout the Molise cuisine and can be of different shapes: rhomboid in their classic version, or flat strips, or, again, in small squares or rectangles. They are usually eaten with legumes, especially beans.
The strascinati
Typical of Basilicata, it is a very widespread short pasta also in the rest of southern Italy, which is prepared by sliding pieces of pasta on the pastry board with a knife or fingers. The perfect dressing? Simply a sauce, or a ragù. But, even here fantasy wins.
The orecchiette
Apulian format par excellence, they can be fresh or dried and in Puglia tradition has it that they are eaten with turnip greens. In reality, however, they are also very widespread in Abruzzo, where they are called priest’s ears. There are also small changes famous in other provinces: in the Taranto area, they are called chiancaredde and are 4 cm wide and slightly flatter orecchiette that are usually eaten with cabbage and bacon or with meat sauces. In Foggia, on the other hand, there are pestazzulle: a less hollow and flatter orecchietta.
The paccheri
Short pasta typical of Campania, if not Neapolitan, the name derives from pacca, which in Neapolitan means slap, probably due to the “sciàff” they emit when we dip them in the sauce. But they can be combined with many condiments as they are very porous and therefore hold the condiments well.
The fregola
Typical Sardinian pasta, fregola is made up of small balls of durum wheat and water, worked by hand and toasted in the oven, also called Sardinian cous cous. It can be seasoned in many ways, one of the most traditional is with clams.
The slating
This Calabrian pasta shape was originally a recycled product and was made with the bran from the milling waste. It is said that the flour was literally “swept” from the ground, which was then prohibited for obvious hygienic reasons. Today, this pasta shape has almost disappeared and only a few shops still sell it (with all the necessary hygiene rules). It is a dark pasta made of durum wheat and bronze drawn whole wheat flour, similar to fettuccine, very large with a slightly acidic and rough taste. It is seasoned in an equally poor way: oil, garlic, chilli, sardines, olives, dried tomatoes and toasted “breadcrumbs”.
The busiate
They are a type of curled macaroni handmade with semolina and water, typical of Sicily. Tradition wants them with Trapani pesto, as they originate from those areas, namely basil, almonds and tomato, but they can be very versatile and also go well with other sauces.
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