10 Favorite Pasta Shapes of Chefs Around the World

If you start digging a little deeper into pasta shapes and types, it can honestly blow your mind HOW MANY have ever been invented and devised! The count stands at around six hundred different shapes, and they can be divided into various ‘functions’.

We wrote about that before: when do you use which type of pasta? It all depends on what kind of sauce comes with it. And just as you might have a favorite type and shape of pasta at home, professional chefs naturally do too! These are ten of their much-loved types of pasta:

Pappardelle

Chef Carlos Gaytan from Chicago loves pappardelle; the wide, flat ribbons that you can easily try making yourself at home, too. ‘They’re so easy to make, and when it comes to sauces, you can take them in many directions. I also think they look very soft and elegant on a plate.’

Conchiglione

For chef Thomasina Miers from London, conchiglione are currently a favorite: those giant shells pictured above this article. ‘That size alone! They look stunning, and they’re fantastic for scooping up plenty of ragù.’

Fusilli

Fusilli, or rotini, is affectionately called ‘telephone-cord pasta’ by chef Agustin Balbo. Yes, young readers, we used to have telephones attached to the wall by a cable, and the handset was connected to the keypad or rotary dial with a coiled cord, and we used those devices to call one another! But besides being nostalgic, this chef also considers it the perfect shape for holding on to sauce and having a good ‘bite’.

Pici

Pici is a thick strand pasta rolled by hand. Because this gives it a slightly irregular thickness, chef Max Venning from London considers it the most delicious of all, because every bite offers a different textural experience.

Orecchiette

‘Little ears’ pasta with a thinner center and slightly firmer edges, where (hopefully) there’s always a little piece of something delicious in the middle (a piece of pancetta or a pine nut), and which you can slide onto your fork so wonderfully in generous amounts at once—delicious! Chef Bill Kim from Chicago can’t get enough of them either, thanks to the sauce that clings so well inside and to them.

Ravioli

Perhaps an obvious choice, but the fact that you can fill ravioli to your heart’s content makes it very popular with chefs. ‘It takes love to make them yourself, but the balance between dough and filling is simply perfect. I always return to ravioli when I’m coming up with new dishes for the menu,’ says Prashant Chipkar, who cooks in Dubai.

Cavatappi

Those beautiful wide, curly, ridged tubes—simply stunning. ‘The grooves catch every drop of sauce, as well as the vegetables and meat, but most importantly: cheese! This is the only pasta I use when I make Mac ’n’ Cheese, and as it happens, that’s also one of my award-winning dishes!’ says Kristen Ashley from Chicago.

Trofie

‘For me, nothing beats trofie,’ says Travis Strickland from Los Angeles. ‘Small, hand-rolled, and slightly tapered. A wonderful dish is trofie with pesto Genovese, and it’s also fun to make yourself because it looks rustic and each one is just a little different.’

Mafalde

Mafalde or mafaldine (or reginette) is a beautiful ribbon-shaped pasta with ridged edges. ‘Absolutely delicious with hearty sauces containing beef and red wine, because that sauce also clings so beautifully to the curly edges.’ One of chef Jeff Baker’s favorites from London.

Bucatini

Former Top Chef contestant and chef Nyesha Arrington from Los Angeles is absolutely crazy about bucatini. ‘The fact that they’re long strands shaped like thin tubes, with a hollow center, makes them ideal for holding sauce. And whether that sauce is classic or modern, the texture of bucatini is simply wonderful!’

Read also:

• 5 pasta rules for perfect pasta
• Italians lose it on Twitter: THIS IS NOT PASTA
• The simple yet surprising pasta pesto recipe from famous chef Massimo Bottura***

Source: TimeOut