There are over 300 shapes of pasta produced in Italy, dozens of which now line the shelves of supermarkets and delis in the UK. While we wouldn’t use lasagne sheets in a carbonara and know cannelloni are best baked rather than boiled, when it comes to varieties such as farfalle, penne rigate and linguine we often use them interchangeably with all sorts of different pasta sauces.
This is certainly not the case in Italy. For one thing, certain pasta shapes are associated with specific regions, and the average Italian nonna knows that farfalle can drown in a thick ragù while a smooth tomato sauce simply doesn’t sit right with a bowl of tortiglioni. If you’re wondering what to serve with a nice plate of conchiglie, read on to see which sauces pair perfectly with some of the most popular pasta varieties in the UK today.