Pasta........what is your favourite shape??

Well I have just started eating pasta, yes I know everyone else has been eating it for years but I always like my potatoes with everything. Well I have learned that they all taste the same and are just different shapes to be had with different toppings, this one is this weeks favourite it is
'spirali'


Val

 

The different shapes of pasta are , allegedly , to hold the different sauces . We tend to opt for Penne or Fusili the little spirals.

 

I believe that some pastas are made to hold a sauce, shells are often filled with cheese, and penne tends to used in baked dishes and pasta salads.
My favourite is the bog standard Spaghetti made with durum wheat because Mrs LWW makes the most authentic Bolognese sauce, authentic except for the size of the serving!!!
Not all pasta tastes the same though, durum wheat tastes different to wholemeal pasta, pasta Verdi tastes different to wholemeal etc.

 

wow, just started eating it.

Ok. well the shapes as stated depends on the sauce/gravy etc. put with it. A cold pasta salad can also be creative with the shapes used with the veggies. And sometime you can mix the shapes in the same dish for the fun of it.
However, in exploring pasta, there is spinach pasta, chocolate pasta, tomato pasta, rainbow pasta.
I do believe the Noodles type tastes slightly different than regular pasta.
As you are new to the cooking of it, the pasta is made better if you finish cooking it in the gravy, by just lifting the pasta out of the water mid cooking and placing it directly in the sauce to finish cooking. then the pasta absorbs some of the flavorings. Always remember to salt the cooking water. And some of the water can be used to add to the gravy/sauce.
And then there is Mac and cheese casserole, a whole huge story, and can be slightly individualized depending on who you talk to.

Back to your question: Favorite shape, do not have one.

 

I still prefer potatoes though!!! mashed, chipped, roasted, boiled whole new potatoes I just luv em!!

Val

 

I like potatoes also. But when push comes to push, and time is limited, coming home from work. A pot of boiling water and a handful or so of pasta is so much quicker to get out for a meal than potaotes.

 

Totally agree, I am retired so I have the luxury of being able to wait for my spuds to cook!!!

Val

 

Penne is our 'standard' shape (especially as it's normally the cheapest), but I prefer Conchiglie in pasta salads. Our hens will eat any shape with gusto (but preferably with tomato and cheese).

 

Conchiglie http://pastafits.org/pasta-dictionary/

 

How very Italian 2 dozen names for what is essentially the same thing . Same with coffee , once upon a time it was a cup of coffee costing 5 pence more than a cup of tea . Now we have 30 choices starting at £2.50 going on to nearly a £5 !!! for a coffee !! It does taste lovely though
I have worked in Italy quite a few times . The wonderful thing about Italians is they eat as fast as the English and for as long as the French

 

If I am proactive, I can use my timer oven to bake potatoes while I am at work.

 

Just cant make the stuff out, there's a whole aisle in the supermarket devoted to pasta, which is basically the same gunk, but different shapes

I tend to avoid even Heinz spaghetti in a tin, which for some reason is in a different aisle.

I often wondered why the Italians had such a varied kind of food, I then realised its all the same stuff with a different name.

I'll wait for a spud to boil any day, as opposed to a plate of slime.

 

If it's slime on your plate you cooked it wrong! Fresh pasta is on the whole plonker proof (even stepson can't make it go slimey).

For me it tends to be Fusilli as;
a] it's more adaptable (with a sauce, in a bake etc)
and
b] as I only buy fresh and keep it in the freezer it separates from frozen easier.

I do use Tagliatelli a fair bit though, especially the Waitrose Basil Tagliatelli.

I wonder what @sal73 prefers?

 

Got to admit I've never bothered to cook the stuff myself, I just remember it from back when I was a kid and holidays in Italy, every meal was always pasta, even the soup had pasta in it.
And it was slimey.

Put me off the stuff for life.

 

I like penne pasta with garlic shrimp
I have also made a super tomato sauce ( it came from a lamb recipe) which is super with monkfish and penne pasta
Not so fussy on spaghetti .......