It’s a question nearly anyone who’s ever boiled pasta has pondered: “What sauce will go best with these noodles?”
The range of pasta shapes can be staggering: long pasta (think pappardelle or linguine), tubular pasta (penne or bucatini, for example), shaped pasta (e.g., farfalle or cavatelli), and then there’s the whole world of stuffed pastas (such as ravioli or tortellini). Or you can look at the shapes in terms of how they are made and contrast long pasta cut from sheets (like fettucine) with extruded (like spaghetti).
With so much variation in shapes and manufacturing methods, it’s easy to see that different kinds of pasta have different properties — meaning they demand different sauces. But as with much in the Italian Peninsula’s culinary world, Italians generally insist the guidelines for such pairings are both regional and traditional.
In Emilia-Romagna, for example, neither nonas nor most chefs would think of serving the northern region’s signature Bolognese with any pasta other than tagliatelle. It’s the same with penne pasta in the Lazio region in central Italy: That goes with Arrabbiata, a spicy sauce of garlic, tomatoes and dried chilies. The Genovese, in the northwest region of Liguria, demand that their famous basil pesto be served with a short, hand-twisted semolina pasta called trofie or with a linguine-like shape called trenette.
Many of the classic regional pairings make a lot of culinary as well as historical sense. Take, for example, that Tagliatelle alla Bolognese. The wide and flat tagliatelle have plenty of surface area to carry the rich, meaty flavors of the Bolognese sauce. Similarly, Penne alla Arrabiata works because the tubular shape of the penne is perfect to capture some of the chunky tomato-based sauce (and, in some versions, bits of rich pancetta). In both cases, the shape of the pasta is well-equipped to help the diner get that perfect bite of the dish on their fork: the one that includes everything the dish has to offer.
But classic pairings aren’t always perfect or exclusive. The Genovese may insist their trofie pasta pairs with pesto, but linguine does nearly as good a job delivering the sauce. Even the Genovese enjoy their pesto with gnocchi. And wouldn’t Bolognese sauce also pair well with tubular pasta?
Increasingly, chefs working in the modern Italian experience are breaking free of the constraints of tradition and going back to the best reasons for those traditions.
“For modern chefs, whatever their grandmother told them may be traditional, but they do what tastes good,” said Accursio Lota, chef of San Diego’s Trattoria Cori Pastificio in North Park (and 2017 winner of the Barilla World Pasta Championships).
Danilo “DJ” Tangalin, chef of the recently opened Scuderie Italia in Pacific Beach, agrees: “I respect and honor the tradition of cooking, but with that being said, I base most of my cooking on what makes sense to the dish.”
Ultimately, the key to pairing pasta shape and sauce lies in whether it best delivers the sauce. Will the weight and richness of the sauce overwhelm the delicacy of the pasta? Will the pasta be able to carry the sauce? Will it feature the best things about the sauce? There are, at the end of the day, no absolute rules. But both tradition and taste offer guidance.
In general, flat and long pastas go with rich or creamy sauces. Thinner, long pastas do well with tomato, creamy or oil-based sauces. For tubular or shaped pastas, look to creamy or hearty sauces studded with bits of meat or vegetable. Light butter or cream sauces are perfect for stuffed pastas such as ravioli. Lota says a good rule of thumb for stuffed pastas is “the more complex the pasta, the less complex the sauce.”
But there’s more to a perfect pasta pairing than just choosing the right sauce to go with the right shape. Cooking techniques can make a big difference, as well as the type of pasta: fresh or dried.
Freshly made pasta is sold at Assenti’s Pasta in Little Italy. Roberto Assenti (left) and his brother Luigi transitioned into ownership of the shop, founded by Mama Adriana Assenti in the early 1980s.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
There’s a perception that fresh pasta is inherently superior to dry pasta; Italians don’t agree. Dry pasta is not just fresh pasta that’s been put in a dehydrator. It’s air-dried and, unlike most fresh pasta, uses semolina flour and doesn’t use eggs. It’s actually superior for many purposes. For example, that prized, toothsome al dente texture cannot be achieved with fresh pasta. Dried also tends to stand up to heavier sauces.
Fresh pasta, however, has its own advantages. Because it’s more supple and delicate, fresh pasta is perfect for light, creamy sauces. The lighter texture of fresh pasta also allows it to absorb more of the flavors of sauces, and it takes less time to cook.
But making fresh pasta, while deeply satisfying, is both time-consuming and challenging for the inexperienced. That’s why there’s a fresh pasta shop, or pastificio, in every Italian town. In San Diego, we have our own: Assenti’s Pasta in Little Italy.
Strands of fresh fettuccine are displayed at Assenti’s pasta-making shop in Little Italy.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Founded by Mama Adriana Assenti in the early 1980s, Assenti’s originally supplied the family’s Isle of Capri restaurant using her handmade pasta recipes. As brothers Roberto and Luigi Assenti transitioned to ownership and modern equipment replaced classic hand tools, the business grew to encompass a wholesale fresh pasta operation and a specialty Italian food storefront, at 2044 India St.
Roberto laminates the dough at Assenti’s Pasta in Little Italy.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Assenti’s pasta rack will usually include freshly made pappardelle, linguine, fettucine, spaghetti and angel hair, as well as a selection of extruded pastas such as bucatini, penne and spaghetti. Lemon basil pastas or versions with spinach, porcini or squid ink aren’t unusual. Frozen ravioli are always available, as are fresh lasagna sheets.
Another critical factor in pairing pasta shapes with sauces is how the cook weds the two. As Marco Maestoso, chef-owner of the late-lamented Maestoso restaurant, told the Union-Tribune, many American cooks “miss the step of cooking the pasta in the sauce.” There’s a tendency to cook a big pot of sauce and ladle some of it over the cooked pasta for serving. That does little to enhance either the pasta or the sauce. Maestoso advises removing the pasta from the pot early and finishing it by cooking it in a sauté pan in the sauce for up to 4 to 5 minutes for dried pasta, or 1 minute for fresh.
This technique helps the pasta absorb some of the sauce, resulting in a happy marriage in the final dish: the perfect pairing.
Pappardelle With Venetian Duck Ragù
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pappardelle With Venetian Duck Ragù
The combination of cinnamon and orange with the richness of duck meat gives this dish a distinctly Venetian flavor profile, by whispering of its years of cross-cultural exchange with the Middle East.
Makes 4 servings
4 duck legs (found at most Asian markets)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided in half
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
Zest of ½ an orange
1 bay leaf
¾ cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
Juice of ½ orange (about ¼ cup)
1 cup passata (pureed tomatoes)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
5 cups chicken stock
1 pound fresh pappardelle pasta (see Note)
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Season the duck legs with salt, pepper and half the cinnamon. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large, straight-sided pan over medium heat and bring to temperature. Cook the duck legs for 7 to 8 minutes on each side until browned. Remove and set aside on a plate.
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan. Add the chopped carrot, onion and celery, orange zest, bay leaf and the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are soft.
Increase the heat to high and add the duck back to the pan with the wine. Bring to a boil, cooking until the volume has reduced by half. Add the orange juice, passata, tomato paste and chicken stock and stir to combine. Simmer the ragù slowly, uncovered, for 2 hours, flipping the duck over after 1 hour. If the sauce reduces too much, add some water. Take the sauce off the heat and remove the duck legs, letting them cool on a chopping board for 10 minutes. Shred the meat off the bone using a fork. Roughly chop it, then add it back to the sauce. The ragù is ready at this point.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fresh pappardelle for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pasta with large tongs, drain it and set the pasta aside. Ladle 3 cups of ragù into a large sauté pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta to the ragù, toss to combine and bring back to temperature, about 1 minute. Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese.
Note: If using dried pasta, cook for 1 minute shy of the timing on the package instructions.
Spaghetti alle Vongole
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Spaghetti alle Vongole
This classic Neapolitan Christmas dish can be served without tomatoes (in bianco) or with them. Fish sauce may seem like an odd ingredient for an Italian pasta dish. But a fish sauce called “colatura” is a long tradition on the Amalfi coast just south of Naples and gives the dish a warm hit of umami.
Makes 4 servings
2 pounds Manila clams (in shells)
Kosher salt
1 pound fresh spaghetti
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half and salted
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons Thai-style fish sauce
½ cup dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Soak the clams for at least 1 hour in fresh water and salt to clean them.
Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 5-quart pot. Season the water with salt, just to the point that it tastes like seawater. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute (until the pasta is about 1 minute from being done). Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking water. Set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook, swirling the pan, until just golden. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and fish sauce and continue cooking until the tomatoes are soft, about 30 to 45 seconds. Add the wine and clams and increase the heat to high. Cover the pan and cook until clams open and release their juices, 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of clams. As clams open, use tongs to transfer to a bowl.
Add ¼ cup of reserved pasta water to the pan and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, tossing constantly, until the pasta is done and has soaked up some of the sauce from the pan. Return the clams and any juices from the bowl, along with parsley, to the pan and toss to combine. If the sauce seems dry, add a bit more of the reserved pasta water. Transfer pasta to warm bowls and drizzle with remaining tablespoon olive oil.
Pumpkin Ravioli With Sage Brown Butter Sauce and Pine Nuts
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pumpkin Ravioli With Sage Brown Butter Sauce and Pine Nuts
Brown butter is a French classic that crossed the border into what is now Northern Italy. Its simplicity makes it the perfect partner for Assenti’s Pasta’s pumpkin ravioli.
Makes 4 servings
1 pound fresh pumpkin ravioli
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 small fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Season the water with salt just to the point that it tastes like seawater. Add the ravioli to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, until the ravioli are about 1 minute short of being done. Drain the ravioli and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook the butter with the sage and pine nuts until the butter is fragrant and nutty, about 3 minutes. Carefully add the lemon juice at the edge of the pan (it may want to splatter). Swirl to combine.
Add the drained ravioli to the pan and swirl to coat them with the sauce.
Arrange 5 to 7 ravioli per plate. Top with bits of cooked sage and pine nuts, freshly ground pepper and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Gardiner is a freelance food writer whose first cookbook, “Modern Kosher: Global Flavors, New Traditions,” published in September. He lives in La Mesa.
The Link LonkDecember 02, 2020 at 09:00PM
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Secrets to achieving the perfect pasta pairing - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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