Pasta Shapes and Sizes

From the Italian tagliare, "to cut," tagliatelle is a flat pasta cut into ribbons about 1/4-inch wide. Slightly larger than fettuccine but more narrow than pappardelle, tagliatelle is commonly used in hearty ragus.

Rigatoni means "fluted tubes" and is excellent for trapping chunky meat sauces in its hollow tubes.

Orecchiette means "little ears." The pasta is rolled, cut into pieces, and then flattened with a knife before being shaped over the thumb. In the Apulian region of Italy, orecchiette is often served with rapini.

This Sicilian pasta means "bridegrooms." An extruded pasta made with durum wheat flour, ziti are hearty tubes used in pasta alla Norma and baked pasta dishes.

You'll want to "gulp down" this ribbony pasta (that's what the name means, after all). This broad, flat pasta (it usually measures around 3/4-inch wide) hails from Tuscany. Try it with hearty meat sauces.

This long, tubular pasta means "little holes." It's a dry, extruded pasta that's often served with cured meats like guanciale and pancetta like in the classic dish bucatini all'amatriciana.

This long, thin pasta is usually made from durum wheat semolina and is traditionally extruded. "Spaghetti" is derived from the word "spago," which means "thin string."

Cavatappi is a longer, twisted version of elbow macaroni. Don't confuse it with corkscrew pasta; it has a tubular shape that is twisted in a helix like an old-fashioned telephone cord. It usually features ridges on the surface that make it excellent for clinging to sauces.

Known as "bow tie pasta," its etymology is closer to "butterflies." It comes from the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy. Farfalle can be purchased dried or made fresh.

Stuffed pasta originating in Bologna (or Modena - the birthplace is disputed). Traditional tortellini contains a meat-based filling, while tortelloni contains ricotta and often spinach. Both versions are commonly served in broth, or brodo.

The shape refers to "pens" or "quills." Like ziti, penne's tubular shape makes it work well with chunky sauces and in baked pasta dishes, but its ridged surface (rigate) helps it hold onto sauces like a champ.