When you think of Italian food, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Of course, for many people, it’s pasta. And when it comes to pasta, there are endless possibilities for sauces. From simple marinara sauce to complex Bolognese, the combinations are endless. This blog post will explore some of the best pasta-sauce pairings for an Italian night in. So fire up the stove and get cooking!
Oil And Butter Based Sauces:
Go with stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortellini for these more decadent sauces. The pasta will soak up some of the sauce, resulting in a more flavorful dish. Ravioli is a pasta pocket filled with cheese, meat, or vegetables. They come in different shapes and sizes, but the most common is a square ravioli. Tortellini is similar to ravioli but smaller and have a twist-shaped pasta.
Tomato-Based Sauces:
These sauces are versatile and go well with many different types of pasta. For a heartier sauce, try it with rigatoni or penne. Rigatoni is a tube-shaped pasta with ridges on the outside, while penne is a tube-shaped pasta with pointed ends. Try thinner pasta like spaghetti or linguine if you’re looking for something lighter.
Cream-Based Sauces:
These sauces are rich and creamy, so they’re best paired with pasta that can hold up to the sauce. A thick pasta like fettuccine or rigatoni will do the trick. Fettuccine is a flat, wide noodle, while rigatoni is a tube-shaped pasta with ridges on the outside. A shell pasta like conchiglie or rigatoni is also a good option. Conchiglie is shell-shaped pasta, while rigatoni is tube-shaped with ridges on the outside.
Pesto:
Pasta with curves and nooks is ideal for pesto because the sauce can cling to the pasta. Try it with shells, fusilli, or rotini. Shells are a type of pasta that is shaped like a shell. Fusilli is a corkscrew-shaped pasta, and rotini is a spiral-shaped pasta. All three of these kinds of pasta have nooks and crannies that are perfect for holding onto the pesto sauce. Try this chicken pesto pasta recipe for a delicious meal at home.
Bolognese and Ragu:
Both of these hearty sauces are made with ground meat and tomato. They’re perfect for a winter night when you’re in the mood for something comforting. Try them with wide, flat noodles like pappardelle or fettuccine. Pappardelle is a type of pasta similar to fettuccine, but it’s wider. This allows the sauce to cling to the pasta better.
Seafood and Wine-Based Sauce:
These light sauces are perfect for summertime. They’re best paired with delicate pasta like angel hair or spaghetti. Angel’s hair is a very thin and delicate type of pasta. It’s often used in soups or with light sauces. Spaghetti is a long, thin noodle that is versatile and goes well with many different sauces.
There are many different pasta-sauce combinations to choose from. The best way to figure out what you like is to experiment. Try different sauces with different kinds of pasta and see what you like best. There’s no wrong way to do it, so have fun and enjoy your Italian night in!
