Healthy pasta pairings
on how sauces can best stick to and
complement different noodle shapes.
“Lighter, more aromatic sauces are
typically paired with thinner pasta, and
thicker pasta, like linguine and fettuccine,
need a richer sauce to stand up to it.
Fettuccine Alfredo needs a heartier sauce
to stick to its wider, smooth-faced noodle,
and the cheese helps it stick. With thinner
pasta, the noodles intertwine, so there’s an
area for the sauce to embed itself.”
Stephen Hodge, CEC, senior executive
chef for ConAgra Mills, Omaha, Neb.,
says the company’s new Ultragrain
Pasta™ is a whole-grain product with
increased nutrition and fiber that mimics
traditional semolina pasta, and, thus,
pairs similarly with sauces. Shapes
include penne, spaghetti, macaroni,
rotini, lasagna and whole 9-grain orzo.
Ultragrain Pasta™
Ultragrain pasta was created to look,
taste and have a bite like traditional
pasta, Hodge says. “It pairs well with
everything from homestyle macaroni
and cheese to classics like Bolognese
sauce. So now patrons can still have the
menu selections they enjoy while feeling
better about what they are eating.”
like penne need a more robust sauce,
because they end up having a starchy
component,” he says. “So we try to add
a lot of flavor to something like a whole-
wheat penne, since there’s a need to
market to the health-conscious group.
Frank Scibelli, president of FS Food
Group, Charlotte, N.C., which operates
restaurants that include Mama Ricotta’s,
stands by a few personal philosophies
when pairing pastas and sauces. “The
way a dish is in Italy is the way I want to
do it,” he says. “Also, a lot of what we do
is influenced by what’s happening in New
York, such as dishes that originated there,
like penne alla vodka.”
At Bristol Bar & Grille in Jeffersonville,
Ind., executive chef Richard Doering
offers a whole-wheat pasta in penne
Santorini. “Thicker and bigger pastas
“We load it up with tons of garlic and
fresh pesto and feta cheese. It becomes
like a stew. The spinach will wrap itself
around the pasta. The feta cheese will
dissolve a little into the sauce and make
its own glue to bring it all together.”
Scibelli adds that there is also an element
of having to do what the market dictates.
“I’m not a giant angel hair fan, and it’s not
done in Italy. It’s more of an American
thing. People like it, though, so I have a
couple angel hair dishes on the menu.”
“The sauce and the pasta should
complement each other, neither one taking
over the dish. Having the right combination
of sauce, pasta and execution will turn a
plate of pasta into a culinary experience.”
TRADITIONAL PAIRINGS
Il Fornaio features classic, authentic Italian
dishes, so there is much tradition involved,
says Junga. “Generally, bigger pastas go
with bigger sauces. Rigatoni would go with
a ragoût of sausage or eggplant. Long
pastas go with a sauce that will coat, such
as a cream and Parmesan reduction or
marinara. Bolognese is generally served
with a long pasta, but works well with
pennoni (penne) or gnocchi, as well.
Il Fornaio features dishes from many
regions of Italy, and most are time-honored
recipes, such as the bucatini all’Amatriciana
from Rome, with a classic blend of flavors
with guanciale and pecorino. Junga says
the conchiglie al pollo, which features
shell pasta, was originally created with a
sauce made from the pan drippings left
after roasting a chicken. The paccheri alle
melanzane has wide pasta tubes tossed
with diced eggplant and tomatoes, and
is finished with smoked mozzarella. “This
gives the sauce a nice stringy, pizza-
like feel, similar to dishes from Sorrento
or Naples, known for their use of fresh
mozzarella with pastas.”
The simple capellini al pomodoro is a
classic dish, but tricky to get just right,
Junga says. “Linguine mare chiaro is the
same way, as it introduces seafood for more
complexity. You have to cook the pasta
to order and have the consistency of the
sauce just right so it’s not too dry or watery.
It’s important to finish the pasta in the
sauce to have the flavors come together.
Reserving the boiling water is the perfect
way to adjust the thickness of your sauce if
it reduces too far.”
Scibelli says one of the most basic
traditional pairings is with spaghetti.
“Spaghetti goes with everything in Italy.
Whether it’s a meat, EVOO or tomato
sauce, it goes with it. There’s a thin
spaghetti I became enamored with called
spaghettini. It’s between a spaghetti and
angel hair, and it also pairs well with any
kind of sauce.”
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