Pasta and Sauce Pairings

Pasta! Who doesn't love it? It's widely popular and there are so many different kinds! It's pretty simple to prepare - cooking the pasta the right way is the first step, then adding sauces and meats/veggies is the second, and voila - a pasta perfection!

Up until probably a year and a half ago, I never knew that certain pastas pair up with certain sauces. I honestly thought you just toss some pasta in a sauce of your choice and you can call yourself a chef! So, for those of you who were like me and didn't know, here's a quick Pasta 101 lesson for you:

Pasta and Sauce Pairing

Long Pastas - ( e.g.: tagliatelle, spaghetti, linguini) - Long and thin pastas need plenty of lubrication, so oil based sauces (olive oil is the best) are able to coat the pastas without breaking or drowning them in liquid. Long pastas can easily be torn, so when cutting vegetables, cut in julienne or match stick style so they can easily blend with the pasta.

Thick Pastas - (e.g.: fettuccine, tagliatelle) - Since they are thicker long string pastas, they can withstand thicker sauces and ragus (bolognaise). Cubed vegetables and meats also blend well with thick pastas.

Shaped/Curly Pastas - (e.g.: fusille (twists), conchiglle (shells) - Because of the unique shapes, these pastas can go well with any kind of sauce, especially thick and lumpy/texturized sauces. The advantage of these pastas are the curves and twists, which can trap meats/vegetables and sauces, making it easier to enjoy every part of your dish in one bite!

Tube Pastas - (e.g.: macaroni, rigatoni, penne) - These pastas go well with smooth, thick or chunky sauces. The tubes will trap in a good amount of sauce for savory bites. Since tube pastas have a variety of small and large sizes, the size and shape you cut your vegetables and meats vary as well as the thickness of sauce. It's all about being creative and pairing based on sizes in this category.

Stuffed Pastas - On a show that I used to watch, they described ravioli as 'pasta pillows'. As funny as it was, it's true. The secret to stuffed pasta is to make sure when cooking, the pasta ends up soft and adding just the right amount of filling. Experiment with your filling and make sure to taste them before stuffing into the pastas since the pasta itself has very little taste anyways.

Flat Pastas - The most common and actually the only one I know is Lasagna. This pasta is made flat for the intentions of layering and baking in an oven. You can be creative with how to create dishes or different types of lasagna with varieties of sauces, meats, cheese and other veggies or spices you choose to add.

Why not whip up your favorite pasta dish tonight? After all, it's National Pasta Day!