Capelli D'Angelo, Capellini
Angel hair, Fine hair
Use capelli d'angelo in broth; capellini in broths, with delicate sieved sauces, or in pasticci. |
Vermicelli, Fedelini
Little worms, Very fine noodles
Choose fine vermicelli, and fedelini noodles, broken up, for broth based soups. Certain thicker varieties of vermicelli are suitable for sauces. |
Spaghetti Alla Chitarra, Spaghetti
Guitar (square-cut)spaghetti, Lengths of cord
Spaghetti alla chirarra is named after the wire-stringed implement on which it is cut. Use spaghetti with tomato or fish sauces, or oil-based sauces.
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Bavettine (Mezze Linguine)
Narrow flat noodles (half linguine)
Use these half-thickness linguine noodles with seafood sauces and delicate olive oil-based sauces.
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Linguine
Little tongues
Traditionally, linguine are used with "white" clam sauces, pesto, and delicate oil-based sauces.
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Perciatelli
Small pierced macaroni
Use with ragù, other meat sauces, and baked dishes with eggplant.
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Bucatini
Long "holed" string noodles
These long, thin hollow tubes of pasta are used with pesto and sauces containing pancetta (such as bucatini all'amatriciniana), vegetables, and cheeses.
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Fusilli Bucati Lunghi
Long, hollow twists
Springy shapes for meat sauces that are traditionally served with Neapolitan ragù. They can be used in baked pasta dishes.
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Ziti
Long bridegrooms
These lengthy tubes are commonly broken into pieces before cooking. Use with ragù and meat and vegetable sauces.
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Candele
Candles
Traditional with Neapolitan-style ragù, candele are ideal for all meat sauces.
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