

Fregola makes for a nice addition to soups and stews or to being simmered in a tomato-based sauce with shellfish (e.g., clams, mussels). These tiny semolina balls are toasted in the oven before being boiled, which gives them a nutty flavor and golden-brown hue.

Farfalle pairs well with light sauces and is often used in pasta salads.įregola, a Sardinian specialty, is a grain-like pasta with a chewy bite. This all-purpose shape is named for fluttering butterflies. Some versions of cavatelli include ricotta, which results in a more tender pasta.įarfalle pasta hails from the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia regions of Italy and pairs well with lighter sauces.įarfalle hails from the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia, and is best known as bowtie pasta. The word cavatelli literally translates to “little hollows.” Sometimes, they are smooth and sometimes they have ridges, the latter when rolled over a wooden board as one would do to form gnocchi. They look like miniature hotdog buns, with an elongated shape and hollow center. Its concave, shell-like shape makes it ideal for holding sauces, anything from tomato to cheese to pesto.Ĭavatelli is a typical pasta shape from the Puglia region, though it can be found throughout Southern Italy. It’s also traditionally used in the Sicilian pasta dish known as pasta con le sarde, sardines with fennel, saffron, pine nuts and raisins.Ĭampanelle is a bell-shaped pasta with fluted, petal-like edges and a hollow center, just the perfect size for capturing sauce and little bits of cheese, vegetables, or meat.Ĭonchiglie is a seashell-shaped pasta. Bucatini pairs well with a number of sauces, from amatriciana to Bolognese to carbonara. Bucatini pasta, long and straw-like with a hollow center, likely originated in the southern regions of Italy.īucatini is a long, straw-shaped pasta that is similar to spaghetti but with a hole in the center-just wide enough to soak up juicy sauces. Although bucatini is primarily associated with Roman cooking, it most likely originated in southern Italy.
