All of Italy · vegetable · chunky
Best pasta for vegetable ragu
Diced vegetables cooked slowly in tomato or oil. Zucchini, peppers, eggplant. Short shapes with folds.
- Region
- All of Italy
- Base
- Vegetable
- Texture
- Chunky
- Shapes that hold it
- 13
What it asks of a shape
Vegetable ragu is a chunky vegetable-based sauce. It wants a short shape, speared with the pieces on the same fork, a cup or a shell, to scoop the pieces, and ridges, because the sauce has body and needs a grip. The ranking below scores every profiled shape on those traits, then the shape's own sauce notes break the ties.
About ragù
- Place of origin
- Italy
No article covers this exact sauce. On ragù in general:
In Italian cuisine, ragù is a meat sauce commonly served with pasta. An Italian gastronomic society, Accademia Italiana della Cucina, has documented several ragù recipes. The recipes' common characteristics are the presence of meat and the fact that all are sauces for pasta. The most typical is ragù alla bolognese. Other types include ragù alla napoletana, ragù di salsiccia, ragù alla barese, and ragù d'anatra.
13 shapes that hold it
Foglie d'ulivo
Short shapes · Puglia
A flat rough leaf coats well and takes light sauces: pesto, oil and cherry tomatoes, a vegetable sauce, a light seafood dressing.
Fusilli
Short shapes · Campania
The spiral grooves trap sauce along their whole length, so fusilli takes chunky and creamy sauces that a smooth shape sheds: pesto, a vegetable ragu, tomato with ricotta, a cold dressing.
Lumache
Tubes · All of Italy
A cup and a tube in one piece.
Pipe rigate
Tubes · All of Italy
A ridged cup with a bore, so it captures cream, cheese, and sauces with small pieces: peas and ham, sausage crumbs, a vegetable ragu, a thick tomato.
Radiatori
Short shapes · All of Italy
Deep fins trap everything.
Trottole
Short shapes · All of Italy
A coiled ribbon takes cream and chunky sauces: sausage, mushrooms, a thick tomato, a vegetable ragu.
Campanelle
Short shapes · All of Italy
A hollow cone with a frilled edge, so it carries thick creamy and chunky sauces: cheese sauce, sausage and cream, a vegetable ragu, a thick tomato.
Cascatelli
Short shapes · United States
Designed for sauce: the trough holds it, the ruffle grips it, and the curve keeps it on the fork.
Conchiglie
Short shapes · All of Italy
A cup fills with whatever is in the pan: cheese sauce, cream with peas, a sausage crumble, a chunky tomato.
Gemelli
Short shapes · All of Italy
The twist holds a light sauce in its groove without the deep pockets of fusilli, so it suits smoother dressings: pesto, oil and vegetables, a light tomato, a thin cream.
Sedani
Tubes · All of Italy
Ridged and curved, so it grips smooth and medium sauces: tomato, a light ragu, cream with vegetables.
Trofie
Hand-formed · Liguria
A tight rough twist made for pesto.
Rotini
Short shapes · United States
As fusilli: sauces and dressings with pieces that catch in the twist.
Sources
- The ranking and the sauce notes are our editorial judgement, from the traits in each shape record. See the method.
- Ragù, Wikipedia (summary, ingredients, origin), CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata Q5571808.