A question I am constantly asked is which pasta shape goes with which sauce. It’s an argument we have in our house every Sunday. Everyone has their own preferences.
The basic ruling is light pasta pairs well with light sauces, heavier pastas with richer sauces. Aglio e olgio, garlic , chilli and oil, is always served with spagehttini , ( thin spaghetti), heaven forbid, never with chunky pasta like rigatoni. These are the natural choice to serve with a rich slow cooked tomato ragu. Classic Bolognese sauce made with slow cooked pancetta, ground pork, veal and meat is never served with spaghetti in Bolonga…they don’t produce that shape of pasta there !
It is estimated there are over 350 different types of pasta in Italy. Apart from names being changed in different regions, the minute variations in shapes are a lesson in Italian grammar: masculine, ini, -elli, -illi, -etti or the feminine -ine, -elle, to convey the sense of "little"; or with -oni, "large", otti , largish ! The list is endless.
My great grandmother taught me this recipe, one of her favourites. This for her, who spent all her life cooking for her Neapolitan family , was the ultimate fast food! To open a tin was the height of decadence. She used ’ route ‘ wheels, so that the artichokes and peas stuck in the grooves making each mouthful completely irresistible!
RUOTE ALLA NONNA
1 X 400G tin artichoke hearts preserved in brine
a blob unsalted butter
125 ml double cream
2 handfuls frozen petit pois ( wee peas to you and me )
Sea salt
360g chunky pasta, route, (wheels) , conchiglie, (shells ) or orrechietti ( little ears)
2-3 tablespoons parmesan
Black pepper
Rinse the artichokes in cold water and squeeze them to get rid of excess water and brine.
Break into pieces.
Melt the butter in a shallow pan and add the artichokes, turning them in the butter.
Add the cream and the frozen peas and warm everything through gently.
The peas will defrost as the cream heats through. Be careful not to boil the sauce or the cream will curdle.
Taste and season lightly bearing in mind you will be adding parmesan later which is quite salty itself.
Add the pasta to a pot of boiling salted water, stirring so that it doesn’t stick together. Cook until al dente.
Add two tablespoons of the pasta water to the sauce to loosen it a little.
Drain the pasta and tip it back into the cream sauce , turning it round to make sure all the pasta is well coated.
Serve immediately in warm bowls with plenty of grated parmesan and black pepper.
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