Pasta fatta a mano
Hand-formed
Regional shapes made by hand, usually from semolina and water. Rough, dense, and chewy. They carry the food of the Italian south.
- Shapes
- 21, 14 with a full profile
- Measured
- 14 shapes
- Length
- 15 to 150 mm
- Width or diameter
- 4 to 50 mm
- Cook time
- 2 to 13 min
- Surface
- 13 rough, 3 ridged, 3 smooth
- Hollow
- 5 shapes
- Dough
- 15 semolina, 3 egg, 1 potato, 1 semolina or egg
- Made by hand
- 21 shapes
- Usually fresh
- 8 shapes
- Regions
- Puglia (5), Sardinia (3), Liguria (2), Calabria (2)
- On a brand page
- 3 shapes
Ranges span every measured member.
What the family takes
Across the 14 profiled shapes, the sauces named most often: Pomodoro (13), Sausage ragu (9), Meat ragu (9), Ricotta (4), Cime di rapa (3), Pesto alla genovese (3).
14 shapes with a full profile
Busiate
Hand-formed · Sicily
long strip wound around a reed into a loose coil
Capunti
Hand-formed · Puglia
long cavatelli dragged with three fingers, like an open pea pod
Cavatelli
Hand-formed · Puglia
small dumpling with a hollow, rolled under two fingers
Corzetti
Hand-formed · Liguria
coin-shaped disc stamped with a pattern on both faces
Fileja
Hand-formed · Calabria
strip wound around a thin rod into a short irregular spiral
Gnocchi
Hand-formed · All of Italy
small soft dumpling of potato and flour, often ridged on a fork
Lorighittas
Hand-formed · Sardinia
two thin strands braided into a ring
Maccheroni al ferretto
Hand-formed · Calabria
strip of dough rolled around a thin iron rod into a long hollow tube
Malloreddus
Hand-formed · Sardinia
small ridged shell, rolled over a basket or a ridged board, often saffron-yellow
Orecchiette
Hand-formed · Puglia
small domed disc, rough on the outside, dragged over the board with a knife
Pizzarelle
Hand-formed · Lazio
short hand-rolled strips, thick and irregular
Sagne 'ncannulate
Hand-formed · Puglia
wide strip twisted along its length into a loose corkscrew
Strascinati
Hand-formed · Basilicata
disc of dough dragged across the board with the fingers, larger and flatter than orecchiette
Trofie
Hand-formed · Liguria
thin twist rolled with the flat of the hand, pointed at both ends
7 more hand-formed
Names, origins, and what the sources say. Profiles in progress.
Cicioneddos
Hand-formed · Sardinia
Hand-rolled, shell-shaped pasta that are smaller than malloreddus
Fainelle
Hand-formed · Puglia
Flat strascinato that vaguely resembles carob
Fusi
Hand-formed · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
type of pasta
ingannapreti
Hand-formed · Emilia-Romagna
paccozza
Hand-formed · Campania
parmatieddi
Hand-formed · Campania
type of pasta
pisarei
Hand-formed · Emilia-Romagna
type of pasta
Classic plates
- Busiate al pesto trapaneseBusiate
- Busiate alla NormaBusiate
- Busiate con pesto di pistacchioBusiate
- Capunti con ceciCapunti
- Capunti con le cime di rapaCapunti
- Cavatelli al raguCavatelli
- Cavatelli alla crudaiolaCavatelli
- Cavatelli con fagioliCavatelli
- Cavatelli e broccoliCavatelli
- Corzetti ai funghiCorzetti
- Corzetti al burro e maggioranaCorzetti
- Corzetti con salsa di nociCorzetti
- Fileja al sugo di maialeFileja
- Fileja alla 'ndujaFileja
- Fileja con ragu di capraFileja
- Gnocchi al burro e salviaGnocchi
- Gnocchi al gorgonzolaGnocchi
- Gnocchi al pestoGnocchi
Read more
Bronze die versus Teflon: why the surface of dried pasta matters
What a bronze die does to the surface of pasta, why a rough shape holds sauce better, and how to tell a bronze-cut box from a Teflon one on the shelf.
Semolina versus egg dough: the two doughs of Italian pasta
The difference between durum semolina pasta and egg pasta: flour, water, eggs, where each is made, how each cooks, and which sauces each dough wants.
Fresh versus dried pasta: neither is better, they are different foods
The difference between fresh and dried pasta: dough, texture, cook time, storage, and which shapes and sauces belong to each.
Sources
- Every figure above is computed from the shape records. Each shape page names the brand page, spec sheet, or measured box behind its own numbers.
- The sauce counts and the classic plates come from the pairings and dishes in the profiled shape records: our editorial judgement, checked against the regional cookbooks named on the shape pages.