Deceptively simple, cooking pasta requires focus and attention to time-honored rules.   As Italian food expert Marcella Hazan comments: 

"In the course of civilization's long and erratic march, no other discovery has done more than, or possibly as much as, pasta has to promote man's happiness.  It is therefore well worth learning how to turn it out at its best."

Given all the types of sauces and shapes of pastas, it is important to know which ones are classically put together.  Every shape has a purpose.  Different shapes, due to their distinctive size and thickness, absorb and combine with sauces in different ways.  The shape of the pasta also influences its flavor: cappelli d'angelo (angel's hair) is very different from that of rigatoni or cavatelli. 

As a general rule, the dried pastas, because of their textures and flavors, hold up well to robust and rustic sauces, such as ragus.  Tomato and other simple sauces of butter and cheese combine well with most all shapes and types.  Long dried pasta shapes tend to integrate best with oil-based sauces, keeping it lubricated without over saturation.  These shapes tend to not combine well with most meat sauces, unless the meat has disintegrated into small pieces.  Large pieces of meat tend to fall to the bottom of the plate, staying separate from the pasta. 

Short varieties, such as pennette, farfalle, fusilli and radiatore are easily coated by thick cream or cheese sauces.  The large tubular shapes, such as penne, rigatoni and ziti, are perfect for capturing meat and beans, which nestle in all the little tunnels and grooves.  The very largest shapes, such as giant shells and cannelloni, are designed to be stuffed. 

Eight Steps to Perfect Pasta
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