Penne

Penne are tubes of pasta cut at an angle so that they have pointed ends, like a quill. After spaghetti, this is arguably the next best-known pasta shape in the world. It comes in two varieties, penne lisce (smooth) and penne rigate (ribbed) and in many different sizes. The smallest are pennettine and pennine and the largest penne di ziti, penne a candela and penne di natale - which has a huge length of 15-18 cm (6-7 inches).

Penne is most popular in Liguria and Campania, where there are many recipes for sauces, including the Campanian sauces based on tomatoes with meat and chilli. The smaller varieties, called pennette, are best served in a much lighter fresh tomato sauce with basil and little cubes of Mozzarella which melt when they come into contact with the hot pasta. Penne are also used for timbales.