Sure, all pasta tastes basically the same no matter the shape—but the size, look, texture, and delivery of sauce can completely change the character of a dish. Plus, dried noodles have a satisfying bite and texture that fresh pasta misses. In short, shape matters.
“It’s the way they’ve treated pasta forever in Italy,” says Mike Easton of Seattle’s Il Corvo, “and you’re cheating yourself if you do anything but.” Easton changes the pastas on his menu daily, choosing the perfect one for whatever its seasonal accompaniments happen to be. Take a page from his book and try one of these nine shapes, waiting to be welcomed into your kitchen.
Cresti di gallo can hold a heavy meat ragu, but is also excellent at catching olive oil or butter-based sauces because of its ridges.
Trofie is traditionally used on the Northern coast of Italy for pesto (the most classic kind made from basil and pine nuts). Its twists make nice pockets for the sauce.
Sorprese means “surprise” in Italian—the surprise being that it looks like a tortellini but without filling inside. Each noodle is still strong enough on its own to be a vehicle for a heavier sauce, though, like a meat ragu.
Sort of like a smooth rigatoni with slightly thinner walls, paccheri works well with a light sauce like pesto, or one made from flaked tuna, capers, and tomato. Easton’s favorite way to prepare it is with beans, bean broth (or another of your choice, like chicken), butter, a mirepoix, and herbs.
Strozzapretti translates to “priest strangler”—most likely, Easton says, because a long time ago in Italy, the priest would tour the country and expect to be put up for the night if he came into your home. Since they look like gnarled macaroni, the joke was that the priest would hopefully choke on it—a sentiment coming from his abrupt arrival. But more likely is that it is an easy pasta to make quickly, usually served with just butter after being boiled in broth.
Conchiglioni are perfect for baked pasta because of the cavity you can stuff with filling. Easton likes a mixture of ricotta and egg, which he covers with a thinned out tomato sauce, sprinkles with cheese, and then sticks in the oven. “It’s a fork and knife pasta,” he says.
Pappardelle is usually 10 inches long and 1 inch wide, which makes them perfect for gobbling up (it comes from the Latin “pappar” which means exactly that). You couldn’t go wrong here with a tomato butter sauce either.
Easton likes to serve lumache, which literally translates to “snail,” with beautiful garden vegetables to parallel the shape of the shell. In the fall he’ll often purée pan-roasted celery roots and parsnips until they’re caramel-y and then finish the sauce with some cream.
Corzetti is a slightly thick, flat, round noodle, made to resemble a Roman coin. It has a relief stamped into it (most traditionally wheat leaves, a star, or a cross). Easton recommends a thin brown butter and walnut pesto here, which sits nicely in the divots of the pasta.