Items24The creator’s order
  1. 1SpaghettiSpaghettiClassic sauces: pomodoro, cacio e pepe, aglio e olio, alle vongole A round, smooth strand has no ridges or hollows, so it needs a sauce that clings as a thin, glossy coat: tomato cooked down with olive oil, pecorino and pepper emulsified with starchy cooking water, or clams loosened with their own…0
  2. 2CapelliniCapelliniClassic uses: clear broth, butter and lemon, raw tomato and basil Capellini, "little hairs," sold in the United States as angel hair, are the thinnest everyday strands, and they can only carry the lightest sauces. Broth, melted butter with lemon, or chopped raw tomato with olive oil and basil coat…0
  3. 3LinguineLinguineClassic sauces: pesto alla Genovese, alle vongole Linguine, the "little tongues," are flattened strands, and that flat face gives a smooth, oily sauce more surface to hold than round spaghetti offers. Pesto spreads across it evenly instead of clumping, which is why the Ligurian pairing feels so…0
  4. 4BucatiniBucatiniClassic sauce: all'amatriciana Bucatini are thick strands pierced by a narrow hole, and the name comes from buco, the Italian for hole. That extra heft lets them stand up to amatriciana, the tomato sauce built on rendered guanciale and pecorino, where thin spaghetti would turn limp under the fat.…0
  5. 5PiciPiciClassic sauces: all'aglione, con le briciole, cacio e pepe Pici are fat, hand-rolled strands of flour and water from the Siena area, uneven along their length and dense enough to chew on. That bulk is what aglione needs: a tomato sauce slowly melted with the giant, mild garlic of the Valdichiana,…0
  6. 6BigoliBigoliClassic sauce: in salsa (onions and anchovies) Bigoli are the Veneto's thick strands, traditionally pushed through a hand-cranked press called a bigolaro, which leaves a rough, matte surface. Today they are usually whole wheat, and that coarse, nutty strand is the whole point of bigoli in salsa:…0
  7. 7TagliatelleTagliatelleClassic sauce: ragù alla bolognese In Bologna, ragù goes on tagliatelle, not spaghetti, and the reason is mechanical. Fresh egg ribbons are flat, porous and slightly rough, so the fine, slow-cooked meat sauce settles into the folds as you toss them and each forkful lifts meat along with pasta.…0
  8. 8FettuccineFettuccineClassic sauce: butter and Parmigiano (all'Alfredo) Fettuccine are Rome's flat egg ribbons, and their broad surface is what makes a sauce of only butter and cheese work. Tossed hard with a splash of cooking water, butter and Parmigiano emulsify into a coating that clings to every ribbon; on thin…0
  9. 9PappardellePappardelleClassic sauces: ragù di cinghiale (wild boar), alla lepre (hare) Pappardelle are the widest of the common egg ribbons, and the name is usually traced to pappare, to gobble. Tuscany gives them its game ragùs, wild boar or hare braised for hours, because a sauce that rich and coarse needs a broad,…0
  10. 10LasagnaLasagnaLasagna sheets. Classic sauces: meat ragù with béchamel, tomato sauce with ricotta Flat sheets do not hold sauce at all; they build with it. Layered with a slow meat ragù and béchamel, thin sheets soak up the sauce in the oven and bind the layers into something you can cut. That is why the sauces…0