KNOW YOUR PASTA!

While our specialties here at Vivo Pizza are, well, Pizzas, we can’t ignore our love for pastas as well. We love eating pasta and we love cooking pasta, so here’s a short list of 10 of the more famous pasta types out there, just to get you a bit more acquainted.

Oh, we’ve also included some homemade spelling assistance. Better if you attempt them with an Italian accent on!

Spaghetti (Spa-geh-tee)
This world-famous long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin is perhaps the most widely known pasta out there and is commonly available in 25–30 cm lengths, with slightly varying levels of thickness. While spaghetti is suitable with most pasta dishes and sauces, it is often used to accompany Carbonara, Bolognaise, Aglio Olio and other sauces. Thicker variations are known as spaghettoni while thinner variations are known as spaghettini. Vermicelli is also often confused with Spaghetti due to its similar, albeit slightly thicker shape.

Fusilli (Foo-see-lee)
The name fusilli means “little spindles” in modern Italian. These are thick, corkscrew-shaped pastas, which are often available in a variety of colours that actually affect the flavour of the pasta itself. For example, green for spinach and black for squid ink. There isn’t a specific range of sauces that incorporates the use of fusilli, but it is generally prepared with lighter sauces, along with certain types of garden salads. Fusilli may be solid or hollow, with the latter being known as fusilli bucati.

Fettucine (Feh-tuh-chee-nee)
Known as "little ribbons" in Italian, fettucine is a flat thick noodle made of egg and flour - wider than, but similar to a pasta known as tagliatelle. There’s also a variation of fettucine that is made of spinach, flour and eggs and has a light green colour to them. Popular fettucine dishes around the world include fettucine carbonara and alfredo, which are both cream-based sauces that are complemented well by the thicker texture of fettucine.

Lasagne (La-za-nya)
This is possibly one of the oldest shapes of pasta and isn’t served like how most conventional pastas are served. Traditionally, the dough was prepared in Southern Italy with semolina and water, and in the northern regions where semolina was not available, with flour and eggs. Lasagna or lasagne as it is referred to in plural form, is most commonly served baked in multiple layers with a certain meat and cheese. The term “lasagna” is used as a name for such a dish as well, and doesn’t refer to just the pasta itself in its raw form.

Linguine (Ling-gwee-nee)
Wider than spaghetti (about 1/4 to 3/8 inch), but not as wide as fettuccine - that would be the best way to explain what linguine is. This pasta has its roots in Genua and the Liguria region of Italy, and is most popularly used in “Linguine alle vongole (linguine with clams)” along with other seafood and pesto-based pasta dishes.

Tagliatelle (Ta-glia-teh-ley)
Tagliatelle and tagliolini, which mean, “to cut” in Italian, are a traditional type of pasta from Emilia-Romagna and Marches, regions of Italy. These long, flat ribbons that are similar in shape to fettuccine can be served with a variety of sauces, a classic combination being with bolognese sauce.

Canneloni (Ka-nay-lo-nee)
Italian for “large reeds”, penne is a cylindrical type of pasta that is often baked with a filling and covered by a thicker sauce. Canneloni stuffing may include ricotta cheese, spinach and various kinds of meat, and is served with tomato or béchamel sauce to create a heavier type of pasta meal.

Penne (Peh-nay)
This cylinder-shaped pasta is produced in two main variants: "penne lisce" (smooth) and "penne rigate" (furrowed), the latter having ridges on each individual “penna”. Penne is traditionally cooked al dente and served with sauces such as pesto and marinara, and it is also a popular ingredient in pasta-based salads. The best feature of penne is its hollow center that allows it to hold sauce, while the angular ends act as scoops.

Macaroni (Meh-ka-roh-nee)
While there is an uncertainty to whether this pasta is of American or Italian origin, it surely is one of the most “commercial” forms of pasta available, next to spaghetti. Macaroni comes in a short, curved tube shape and is the pasta used in the ever-famous Mac n’ Cheese dish.

Ravioli (Ra-vee-yo-lee)
Ravioli is dumpling-like pasta that is composed of a filling sealed within 2 layers of thin pasta. They are served either in broth or with a pasta sauce. The word ravioli is derived from the Italian word “riavvolgere”, which means "to wrap”.