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    Perfect pairings in the world of pasta

    By | Shine Food – Wed, Aug 6, 2008 10:27 PM EDT

    Pasta is one of those dishes that can be as simple or as dressed up as you'd like, and with countless possible varieties to choose from-spaghetti, fusilli, lasagna, farfalle, and cavatelli, just to name a few-pasta is incredibly versatile. It's easy to prepare, mixes well with different ingredients, and inexpensive to buy, making it a popular choice. And while pasta's ties with Italian cuisine may be strong, noodles come from all over the map. In the Western world, noodles are typically made from wheat flour, water, and egg. In Asian cuisine, they can be wheat-based, as in chow mein and udon, or made from buckwheat (soba), beans (cellophane), rice (rice vermicelli), and sweet potato (Korean vermicelli). For more information on some of the most popular types of pasta, check out our visual guide to pasta.

    Recipes:

    Strings and Ribbons
    Fresh-Tasting Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti

    Linguine Ai Frutti Di Mare

    Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts


    Tubes
    Macaroni and Cheese

    Rigatoni with Braised Lamb Ragu

    Baked Ziti with Spicy Pork and Sausage Ragu


    Stuffed
    Cheese Tortellini Soup with Cannellini, Kielbasa, and Kale

    Wild Mushroom Ravioli in Porcini Broth

    Sausage and Cheese Manicotti


    Corkscrews
    Cavatappi with White Beans and Golden Onions

    Gemelli with Asparagus, Smoked Salmon, and Dill

    Rotini and Black Bean Salad


    Other Shapes
    Orecchiette with Lentils, Onions, and Spinach

    Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

    Rotelle with Broccoli and Spicy Peanut Sauce

    Orzo with Tomatoes, Feta, and Green Onions


    International Pasta Dishes
    Spaetzle in Brown Butter

    Apricot and Walnut Varenikis (ukrainian Dessert Dumplings)

    Cellophane-Noodle Salad with Roast Pork

    Vietnamese "Pho" Rice Noodle Soup with Beef


    Recipe Tips:

    Fresh vs. Dry
    There is a difference in taste between freshly made pasta and dried pasta. Fresh pasta is usually lighter and more tender, whereas dried pasta is more firm and thicker. Certain shapes, like long string and ribbon pastas, lend themselves more easily to fresh pasta. Pastas that are grooved or tubular are usually available only as dry pasta. You can tell when fresh pasta is finished cooking when it rises to the water's surface; it should only take a few minutes. Dried pasta will take about twice as long. Read the manufacturer's instructions so you don't overcook it. When you overcook pasta, a lot of the starches have been released, "muddying" the water. The result: gummy taste and mushy texture.

    Don't Throw the Water Out
    When you're finished cooking and have drained the pasta, don't rinse off all the hot water. The starch that was released when the noodles cooked will help the sauce bind to them. And if you're making your own sauce, reserve some of the boiled water and incorporate it. The starch will further help the sauce stick to the pasta.

    Pairings
    Generally, many (but not all) Italian pasta shapes correspond to a kind of sauce. Thin round strands like spaghetti and angel hair work well with sauces that aren't very chunky or thick: perhaps marinara or even just some olive oil. Flat, ribbonlike pastas such as linguine and pappardelle can take thicker sauces, like carbonara. Rotini and other corkscrew-shaped pastas work well with thicker chunkier sauces, as do tubular macaroni or cannelloni. Stuffed pastas such as ravioli and tortelloni are usually matched with light sauces to balance the typically rich fillings.


    Esther Sung first joined Epicurious.com in 2006. Prior to this, she spent several years in book publishing, including at Harper Entertainment, where the proverbial three-martini lunch was sadly nowhere to be found. When not in the office, she moonlights at the Bottle Shoppe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and through this she has developed a fondness for Syrah and Malbec. A quasi-vegetarian, she admits to having relished eating yuk hwe, a Korean raw beef dish.




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