The best shape for every sauce

Aglio e olio

Garlic, olive oil, chili, parsley. The thinnest sauce there is. It needs a strand that it can coat, with nothing to hide in.

Spaghetti · Spaghettini · Stringozzi · Bigoli

Pesto alla genovese

Basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, pecorino, olive oil. Raw and oily. Trofie and trenette are the Ligurian pairings.

Casarecce · Fazzoletti · Foglie d'ulivo · Fusilli

Pesto alla trapanese

Almonds, raw tomato, basil, garlic, pecorino. Sicilian pesto. Busiate is its shape; the coil holds the paste.

Busiate · Casarecce

Bottarga

Grated cured fish roe in olive oil. Salty and dry. Spaghetti or fregola.

Fregola · Spaghettini

Pasta salad

Cooked, cooled pasta dressed with oil or mayonnaise and mixed with vegetables. Short shapes with folds that hold dressing.

Rotelle · Rotini · Cavatappi · Chifferi

Amatriciana

Guanciale, tomato, pecorino, chili. A short cooked sauce with pieces in it. Bucatini in Rome, spaghetti in Amatrice.

Bucatini · Mezzi rigatoni · Rigatoni · Perciatelli

Pomodoro

Tomato, olive oil, garlic or onion, basil. Smooth and light. Almost any shape works; the classic is spaghetti or penne.

Culurgiones · Penne lisce · Pennette · Sagne 'ncannulate

Marinara

A quick tomato sauce with garlic and oregano. Thinner than a ragu, faster than a pomodoro. Strands and small tubes.

Penne lisce · Spaghetti · Vermicelli · Ziti

Arrabbiata

Tomato, garlic, dried chili. Hot and quick. Penne is the canonical match; the bore carries the heat.

Penne · Fileja

Puttanesca

Tomato, olives, capers, anchovy, chili. Salty and chunky. A strand or a tube that stands up to it.

Vermicelli · Spaghetti

Vodka sauce

Tomato, cream, a splash of vodka, parmesan. Pink and smooth. Penne and rigatoni; the cream needs ridges to hold.

Penne · Mostaccioli · Cavatappi · Rigatoni

Cream sauce

Panna with cheese, mushrooms, ham, or peas. Heavy and clinging. Ridges and cups keep it on the pasta.

Campanelle · Creste di gallo · Farfalle · Garganelli

Walnut sauce

Salsa di noci: walnuts, bread, garlic, milk, marjoram. Ligurian. Pansotti is its pairing.

Pansotti · Corzetti · Fazzoletti · Trofie

Ragu alla bolognese

A slow-cooked minced beef and pork sauce with soffritto, wine, milk, and a little tomato. Tagliatelle, never spaghetti, in Bologna.

Tagliatelle · Garganelli · Lasagne · Pappardelle

Ragu napoletano

Whole cuts of meat braised for hours in tomato. The sauce dresses the pasta; the meat is the second course. Ziti and paccheri.

Candele · Fusilli lunghi · Paccheri · Perciatelli

Meat ragu

Any slow meat sauce with solids in it. It wants a shape with a cavity: a wide tube, a cup, or a broad ribbon.

Bigoli · Cascatelli · Lasagnette · Lorighittas

Sausage ragu

Crumbled sausage, often with fennel, cooked in tomato or white wine. Orecchiette in Puglia, rigatoni everywhere else.

Fileja · Gnocchetti sardi · Gramigna · Mafaldine

Wild boar ragu

Cinghiale braised with red wine, juniper, and tomato. Tuscan. Pappardelle or pici, the widest and the thickest.

Pappardelle · Pici

Cacio e pepe

Pecorino Romano and black pepper emulsified with starchy pasta water. A creamy film that clings to a rough long strand.

Spaghettoni · Tonnarelli · Bucatini · Spaghetti

Carbonara

Egg yolk, pecorino, guanciale, pepper. A silky coating with crisp pieces of pork. Long strands or a ridged tube, both are Roman.

Mezze maniche · Spaghettoni · Tonnarelli · Bucatini

Gricia

Guanciale, pecorino, pepper. Carbonara without the egg. It wants a rough tube or a wide strand that holds the fat.

Bucatini · Mezze maniche · Tonnarelli · Spaghettoni

Ricotta

Fresh ricotta loosened with pasta water, with lemon, pepper, or spinach. Mild and creamy. Short shapes and ribbons.

Mafaldine · Sagne 'ncannulate · Malloreddus · Strascinati

Four cheese

Gorgonzola, fontina, parmesan, and one more, melted into cream. Heavy. Gnocchi, penne, or a baked shape.

Gnocchi · Pizzoccheri · Cavatappi · Macaroni

Mac and cheese

A cheddar or American cheese sauce, often baked. Elbows are traditional. Shells and cavatappi hold more sauce.

Cavatappi · Chifferi · Conchiglie · Macaroni

Butter and sage

Brown butter with crisped sage leaves. The filled-pasta sauce. It stays out of the way of the filling.

Agnolotti · Cappellacci · Caramelle · Casoncelli

Alfredo

Butter and parmesan emulsified with pasta water. Fettuccine is the only pairing in Rome. The American version adds cream.

Fettuccine · Tagliatelle

Lemon and butter

Butter, lemon zest and juice, parmesan, pasta water. Light and bright. Thin strands and delicate ribbons.

Capellini · Fedelini · Spaghettini · Tagliolini

Vongole

Clams, garlic, white wine, parsley, olive oil. Thin and briny. Spaghetti or linguine; nothing that competes with the shell.

Fregola · Linguine · Vermicelli · Scialatielli

Frutti di mare

Mixed shellfish in a light tomato or white wine base. Linguine, spaghetti, or calamarata with its squid-ring shape.

Calamarata · Scialatielli · Fregola · Paccheri

Tuna and tomato

Canned tuna, tomato, garlic, capers. A pantry sauce. Short shapes and small tubes.

Pennette · Farfalle · Conchiglie · Fusilli

Norma

Fried eggplant, tomato, ricotta salata, basil. Sicilian. It needs a wide tube or a short shape to carry the eggplant.

Busiate · Penne lisce · Casarecce · Paccheri

Cime di rapa

Turnip greens with garlic, anchovy, and chili. The Puglian classic. Orecchiette, whose cups hold the greens.

Capunti · Orecchiette · Cavatelli

Broccoli and anchovy

Broccoli or cauliflower cooked down with anchovy, garlic, raisins, and pine nuts. Short shapes and small tubes.

Cavatelli · Orecchiette

Vegetable ragu

Diced vegetables cooked slowly in tomato or oil. Zucchini, peppers, eggplant. Short shapes with folds.

Foglie d'ulivo · Fusilli · Lumache · Pipe rigate

Porcini

Fresh or dried porcini with butter, garlic, parsley, sometimes cream. Egg ribbons, tajarin, pappardelle.

Tagliatelle · Tajarin · Agnolotti · Caramelle

Pasta e fagioli

Beans, soffritto, a little tomato, and small pasta cooked in the soup. Ditalini, tubetti, or broken spaghetti.

Ditali · Ditalini · Maltagliati · Pizzarelle

Pasta e ceci

Chickpeas, rosemary, garlic, and a small pasta. Roman. Ditalini, quadrucci, or maltagliati.

Quadrucci · Ditali · Ditalini · Maltagliati

In brodo

A clear meat or chicken broth. Pastina or filled pasta, cooked and served in the liquid.

Acini di pepe · Alphabet pasta · Anelli · Anolini

Minestrone

A thick vegetable soup with beans and a small pasta added at the end. Ditalini, conchigliette, or anellini.

Farfalline · Acini di pepe · Alphabet pasta · Anelli

Baked (al forno)

Pasta finished in the oven with sauce and cheese, or stuffed and baked. It needs a sturdy shape that survives twice cooking.

Cannelloni · Conchiglioni · Lasagne · Manicotti