How To Combine Pasta With Different Sauces

Pasta – the heavenly food that breaks hearts, connects people and makes them say repetitive “Mmmm’s” and the food that takes you out of your rigorous eating regime. Plus, it’s Italian! What’s there not to admire or love?

Pasta is easy for cooking, but only when you don’t care about the smallest and meaningful details. Actually, this food has some secrets and tricks that you should learn if you want to show respect to its perfection. From minutes of cooking, to keeping the structure, form and texture and combining it with the right herbs and sauces, pasta needs some attention and care.

The sauce is what adds to the final flavor and integrity of pasta dishes, so let’s check the following types and combinations of these two delicatessens.

Spaghetti, linguini and angel hair (capellini)

These three types of pasta go from the thinnest to the thickest. The linguini are elliptical in section, the spaghetti cylindrical and the capellini are the thinnest of these three. These types are usually served with light olive oil based sauces or with cream sauces like Carbonara, or olive oil and parmesan with dry garlic.

The twisty ones

Three more types, fusilli, gemeli and rotini – all of these are thicker in structure and sometimes heavier in taste (depends on the flour they’re made of) and that’s the reason why they go with lighter sauces, usually variations of Pesto alla Genovese.

The tubes

This is the group that you’ll probably cherish the most, because it contains macaroni. The other two types are penne and rigatoni, both similar in texture, but different in the cut. The rigatoni have square cuts and are larger than both the other types. Regarding the sauces, these types of pasta are always served with thicker sauces made of meat or cheese, or meaty veggies. Sauces like Ragu (Bolognese), melted cheese (white cheese, parmesan, cheddar or any other type of cheese by your choice) and sauces with broccoli, mushrooms and olives in tomato purée are perfect for this pasta.

Shells

The shells come in various sub-types, but the most use ones are conchiglie, which also go well with meaty, thick sauces. They are often stuffed with sauces, thanks to their thick and hollow structure.

Whatever you choose, you won’t make a mistake. Cook the pasta according to the Italian minute rules and bring them to perfection with your favorite sauce.