It’s National Pasta Day! The day to celebrate the carby goodness in all it’s forms. Whether you cook it up and simply throw some olive oil and herbs on it. Or make an elaborate sauce, pasta is always a good idea.
Pasta pairings
There are dozens of different pasta shapes and sizes. The different types of pasta pair best with certain sauces. Here are some of the classic pasta pairings you can try from The Food Network.
Long thin noodles like spaghetti, capellini, spaghettini, and angel hair – These go best with light sauces. Tomato or garlic or olive oil. Will coat the strands evenly and won’t get weighed down.
Long flat noodles like fettuccine, linguine, tagliatelle, and pappardelle – These are best paired with rich or creamy sauces. Pappardelle pairs well with rich, meaty sauces, and fettucine or linguine work well with creamy Alfredo or proteins like seafood.
Long tube noodles like perciatelli and bucatini – Resembling spaghetti, these have a tube running down the center. They give sauces a great place to “hide” inside, covering more areas of the pasta. Works well with bright flavors like crushed red pepper flakes or pancetta.
Short tube pasta like penne, rigatoni, ziti, and cavatappi – Work well with sauces from cream with bits of meats or veggies, to more hearty sauces. The ridges also make it easier for sauces like pesto to cling to them.
Small tube pasta like macaroni and ditalini – I’m sure the first thing we think about is macaroni and cheese. These are perfect with creamy cheese sauces. They’re also great in soups and pasta salads.
Short shaped pasta like farfalle, fusilli, orecchiette, rotini – These pastas are great with rich, and hearty sauces that can be caught in the ruffles, ridges, and curls. They can be sauces that include proteins and veggies.
Make your own pasta for National Pasta Day
If you’ve ever wanted to make your own pasta, I promise you, it’s a lot easier than you think. And the result are *chef’s kiss.* Some eggs, flour, a little salt, and you can make fresh, homemade pasta.
I had the chance to learn how, and it was such a great experience. Check out my post of 7 Important Lessons I Learned After Making Pasta From Scratch.
We polled out listeners to find out their favorite places for pasta. In no particular order…here are some of the fan-favs.
