Favourite pasta shape

[Serena]

The amount of different shapes of pasta you can get amazes me. There are many I've never even tried! It's going to be my new years resolution of 2014 to get all the pasta creds. How many do you have? And what is your favourite?

I've organised a list of pastas according to their rarity. The shapes at the top of this list are like Reverchon spinning mice (easily found in crap supermarkets / microwave meals), the shapes at the bottom are the pasta equivalent of a B+M (only found in expensive restaurants)

Penne:

Spaghetti

Macaroni

Spirali

Cavatappi

Tagliatelle

Farfalle

Conchiglie:

Linguine

Rigatone:

Ruote

Rigati

Tripoline

Ufo

Gemelli

Perline

Garganelli

Radiatori

Triangoli

Campanelle

My fave is Conchiglie because it acts like a little pocket for whatever food your having with pasta. There's nothing more satisfying than biting into a Conchiglie that has loads of tuna mayo hiding inside. I do like buying Farfalle now and again as a special treat though.

 

[furie]

My fave is Conchiglie because it acts like a little pocket for whatever food your having with pasta.

Or alternatively, a pocket of boiling hot water which burns your tongue and makes you unable to taste anything ever again

However, they're still the best because they're soft on the outside and aldante in the curved bit. So you get a lovely mix of the two styles (cooked properly, of course ).

We've got some Campanelle in the cupboard at the moment, so I'll let you know what it's like

 

[therick311]

What, no love for Gnocchi? Pfft!

 

[Lottie.]

I can't choose! I love them all. <3

 

[Serena]

What, no love for Gnocchi? Pfft!

I thought Gnocchi was made from potato :S

 

[therick311]

From Wikipedia:

Gnocchi (/ˈnɒki/ or /ˈnjɒki/; Italian: [ˈɲɔkki], singular gnocco) are various thick, soft pastas that may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, or similar ingredients.

Gnocchi can be made from many things, but it is still pasta.

 

[Hutch]

I've always liked Conchiglie as well... except I never knew the names of any of these before now! (Except spaghetti and macaroni). When I was little I used to call the conchiglie the "shells"

 

[tks]

No love for Gnocchi cause it's **** rank.

It's all about Rigati. You always end up with two pieces one stuck inside the other which makes a satisfying mouthful.

 

[Martyn]

I'm going to sound pretentious and cheffy here and Gavin will probably have a strop at me, but it really depends on the accompaniment! The different shapes will "grip" sauces differently.

Spaghetti is great with a carbonara style sauce. Linguine if you want a bit more luxury.
Tagliatelle is great with a ragu/bolognese type sauce - I find the thicker ribbons make it more "meaty". Plus that green spinach tagliatele is ace.
As has been discussed, conchiglie is good for being little food sacks. A white ragu (with chicken and wine) goes really well with conchiglie for that very reason.
Farfalle is really nice with a creamy, ham/cheese/pea combo. Not really sure why. It just is.
Fusilli is a great all rounder, and can be bought cheaply in those giant sacks at the supermarket.
Penne can also be bought in those giant sacks, but penne is really crap I think. It's too slippery, so doesn't go on a plate very well (I know you could just use a bowl, but whatever) and it just makes a mess. Fusilli shapes must interlock with each other or something, which makes it better. Plus the sauce has more surface area to come into contact with. Probably.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

Any shaped pasta for me!

 

[nadroJ]

Fusili <3

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

Ooh, a food poll...

Fusilli for me! Perfect for thick sauces and pesto, as they tend to bind well with the pasta.

 

[Bottom_Feeder_13]

Glaring emission of bucatini, far and away the best type. Good tooth and stays on a fork better than spaghetti but can still stand up to a nice, traditional sauce. As far as for just gorging on or using as a general starch in a meal I have to go with gemelli.

PS: gnocchi are amazing but are not pasta, they're dumplings

 

[furie]

We had the posh frilly knickers pasta last night. It was pretty dull to be honest, but Madame_Furie cooked it, and she doesn't seem to believe pasta is cooked unless it's sitting in what looks like four day old dishwater and is as bloated as a 3 day old corpse in jungle.

When it says "8-10 minutes", it means 8-10 minutes. Test at 8 and if it's not quite there, keep going. Then get it it out immediately when it's done (within the 10 minutes), drain it, toss in olive oil and pepper and serve.

Checking it at 25 minutes is never appropriate :roll:

 

[caffeine_demon]

I like Fusilli - although the gigantic tubes http://gannet39.files.wordpress.com/201 ... -olive.jpg can be really nice too for a change

Can't believe you missed penis pasta though!