Pasta: Shapes A Field Guide
“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” —Federico Fellini
KEY CUT
MAKE long
handmade
short
extruded
filled
SERVING TERMS Al brodo—served in broth Al forno—baked in an oven Pastasciutta—pasta served in with a sauce RAGú—thick, slow-cooked meat sauces
CONTAINS egg
Pasta is one of the world’s most popular staple foods, with tons produced and consumed and a billion-dollar industry. Additionally, pasta is one of the most varied foods in the world, coming in hundreds of shapes and sizes. This project aims to classify some of its most well-known forms, identifying where they are from and how they should be served.
OTHER NOTES Italian culinary historian Oretta Zanini de Vita and her translator and food writer Maureen Fant identify two other shapes that are left out in this guide: pastina, small shapes commonly found in soups, and strascinati, shapes formed by dragging a disk of pasta across a wooden board. They also identify gnocchi as a general term for dumplings (for example, gnudi would also be in this category).
The holes are either a vestige of the old ways of hand-rolling the pasta or an innovation that allow the pasta, which is thicker than spaghetti, to be cooked through in a shorter amount of time.
PIERCED
BUCATINI Bucatini are a long-cut pasta, distinctive for the hole running lengthwise through the center. By far, the most famous dish featuring this shape is bucatini all’Amatriciana, which features guanciale (pork cheek) and pecorino; the Roman way adds tomatoes.
REGION Widespread, but notably central and southern Italy (Rome, Amatrice)
FIRST APPEARED Mid- to late-1500s, but possibly as early as the 1400s
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Pastasciutta with sauces dependent upon region
Conchiglie can come rigate (ridged) or smooth.
SHELLS
CONCHIGLIE As the name indicates, conchiglie are shell-shaped pasta. Conchiglie can come in different sizes, which indicate their best use. The smallest shells should be served al brodo, while the medium and large sizes can be served pastasciutta; the largest sizes can also be stuffed and served al forno.
REGION Widespread throughout Italy, though the larger conchiglioni are common in Campania (southern Italy)
FIRST APPEARED Mid-1800s
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Dependent on size; when served pastasciutta, best with with light tomato sauces or chunkier vegetable sauces
Fettuccine and tagliatelle, another flat, long-cut egg pasta, can be used interchangeably in recipes.
LITTLE RIBBONS
FETTUCCINE Fettuccine are flat, thin, long-cut pasta. The most famous dish featuring fettuccine is fettuccine al triplo burro (triple butter), made from unsalted butter and parmigianoreggiano cheese. It was created by Roman restauranteur Alfredo Di Lelio in 1908.
REGION Central and southern Italy; particularly Rome, in Lazio
FIRST APPEARED Ancient times
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Pastasciutta with other oil-, butter,- or creambased sauces and hearty ragĂş
Gnocchi is one of the oldest pasta shapes.
KNUCKLE
GNOCCHI Gnocchi are dumplings made from potato and flour. They are technically not pasta but they are cooked and served pastasciutta. The ridges (common but entirely optional) are made by rolling the cut gnocco over the tines of a fork.
REGION Widespread
FIRST APPEARED First documented in the 1400s, but gnocchi as we know them (with potatoes) did not appear until the 1800s
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Pastasciutta especially in butter, cheese or cream sauces
Lasagne with ruffled edges (not pictured) are called lasagna ricce.
KITCHEN POT
LASAGNE Lasagne are wide, flat, long-cut pasta. They are typically served al forno. The most popular lasagne dish is lasagne alla bolognese, which features bĂŠchamel and Bolognese ragĂš sauces between layers of pasta. (Note: lasagne is the plural of the singular lasagna.)
REGION Widespread but especially in Bologna (EmiliaRomana, northern Italy) and Naples (Campania, southern Italy)
FIRST APPEARED Ancient times but prepared as we know it around 1800
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Al forno with sauces dependent upon region
The little cavities in orecchiette are ideal for holding bite-sized pieces of vegetable or meat.
LITTLE EARS
ORECCHIETTE Orecchiette are short-cut pasta in a shape said to be reminiscent of ears. The traditional way to serve orecchiette is alle cime di rapa, or with broccoli rabe, also known as rapini, a bitter green vegetable with small florets resembling leafy broccoli.
REGION Southern Italy, especially Puglia; central Italy
FIRST APPEARED Mid-1500s but probably earlier
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Pastascuitta with vegetables; vegetables dependent upon region
The general rule of thumb for serving a filled pasta is to serve it with a sauce that does not contain elements of the filling—a meat-filled ravioli is not served with a meat sauce, and so on.
WRAPPED
RAVIOLI Ravioli are filled pasta. They are typically square but can come in other shapes, including round and mezzaluna (half-moons). There really is no distinction between ravioli and other filled pastas (tortelli, agnolotti) besides their shapes and how they are served. Tortelli, for example, are typically served al brodo. REGION Widespread
FIRST APPEARED 1100, but probably earlier; prepared as we know it in the 1800s
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Pastasciutta with butter or light tomato sauce with fillings dependent upon region
Traditionally, ziti are made in long tubes, which are broken prior to cooking. (The long ziti are also called candele.)
THE BETROTHED
ZITI
Ziti are long-cut tubular pasta. The name, which means “grooms” or “brides,” comes from the tradition of them being served at weddings. Ziti are mostly found in baked recipes but can be served as pastasciutta with various sauces.
REGION Southern Italy, especially Naples (Campania) and Sicily
FIRST APPEARED Mid-1800s
TRADITIONALLY SERVED Al forno with sauces dependent upon region
IMAGE CREDITS All photographs licensed from Adobe Stock; long, short, and filled icons were created by the author, all other icons are from the Noun Project, licensed under CCBY.
Bucatini Cristian M. Vela Conchiglie Anton Gorbachev Fettuccine Kateryna Bibro Gnocchi ramoncin1978 Lasagne and ravioli Oksana Tkachuk Orecchiette Lorenzo Buttitta Ziti viennetta14 Hand Icon IconfactoryTeam Gear icon Lluisa Iborra Egg Icon Adnen Kadri
SOURCES
Hazan, Giuliano. Classic Pasta Cookbook. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 1993. “History,” Il vero Alfredo, http://www. ilveroalfredo.it/en/history/ (accessed April 28, 2018). Kenedy, Jacob and Caz Hildebrand. The Geometry of Pasta. Philadelpha, PA: Quirk Books, 2010. Vita, Oretta Zanini de. Encyclopedia of Pasta. Trans. Maureen B. Fant. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2009. —. Sauces and Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way. Trans. Maureen B. Fant. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013.
ABOUT
Pasta: Shapes is researched, written, and designed by Carrie Epps for Information Design, a course in the Integrated Design master program at the University of Baltimore, spring 2019.