Pasta & Risotto

An Italian cook will look first in the cupboard to see what pasta there is and depending on the type of pasta, will then decide what sauce to make. Our Italian friends would not dream of serving a carbonara sauce with any other pasta than penne, or a vongole with anything other than spaghetti. There is a logic to these rules: creamy thick sauces need the support of the sturdier, thicker shapes of pens, tubes, and shells; oil-based sauces such as those made with crab, vongole or anchovies are best with long thin pasta – spaghetti, linguine or bucatini.