Pasta with tomato and basil sauce: which are the most suitable types?
An ingredient that can bring everyone together, young and old? It is undoubtedly pasta, an authentic must of Italian cuisine that arrived in the United States almost 250 years ago where it immediately met with tremendous success, thanks also to its versatility and the ability to satisfy the palate of the entire family at very low costs.
However, a good plate of pasta today continues to be synonymous with conviviality and affection: what could be better than sitting at the table and sharing a succulent plate of spaghetti with tomato and basil?
Types and shapes of Italian pasta: a short guide to get your bearings
Before delving into the most suitable types of pasta to be seasoned with tomato and basil sauce, let's make a quick summary of the main categories of Italian pasta. We will mention only the most widespread types at national level, excluding the territorial typicalities that alone contribute to raising the total number of variants to hundreds and hundreds:
- Fresh egg pasta: this includes tagliatelle, fettuccine, tagliolini, pappardelle, maltagliati, lasagna and preparations for ravioli, cappelletti, tortellini
- Fresh semolina and water pasta: this includes orecchiette, trofie, trenette, strozzapreti, cavatelli
- Dry pasta: this is the typical pasta that makes up our pantries, obtained through special drying processes. Dry pasta as we all know it is divided into long pasta (spaghetti, vermicelli, bucatini, linguine, fettuccine) and short pasta (penne, maccheroni, paccheri, fusilli, farfalle, conchiglie, mezze maniche, rigatoni, tortiglioni).
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Pasta with tomato and basil sauce: the best types of pasta for an appetizing dish
To fully enjoy the goodness of pasta with tomato and basil sauce… not all types are the same!
The first piece of advice we want to give you is to choose dry striped pasta: long or short, the important thing is that it is not a type of smooth pasta because it would let the sauce “slip” off, allowing you to enjoy only half of the extraordinary pairing! Striped pasta instead, thanks to its knurled surface, favors the adherence of the sauce and better retains the condiment, triggering a real triumph of flavors once in contact with the palate.
But what are the types of pasta that Italians prefer to combine with tomato and basil sauce? Here are some suggestions:
- Spaghetti, among the most famous types of pasta consumed abroad
- Penne rigate, another must-have for a dinner full of true Italian taste
- Conchiglioni, able to contain rich amounts of sauce
- Rigatoni
- Penne mezzane.
The dish can be completed with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano.Would you like to learn how to cook real Italian pasta with tomato and basil sauce? Check out the list of upcoming cooking schools and sign up for your favorite!