You're probably bolognese all wrong.
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t put a lot of thought into the kind of pasta you use when you cook. Instead, you grab whatever happens to be in your pantry, dump it in a pot to cook, and use it with the sauce you’ve created. But chefs aren't like most people—and they don’t randomly match noodles and sauces together. They take a beat to think about how they’ll compliment each other.
“It's important to pair the correct type of noodle with a particular type of sauce so that the sauce can bind to the pasta or allow the pasta to absorb the sauce dependent on its style,” says chef Barry Tonkinson, Director of Culinary Research & Development at the Institute of Culinary Education. There’s also texture to keep in mind, he adds. “Different pasta shapes and styles add a good contrast in texture to the sauce you're using.”
Not only that, using the wrong noodle with your sauce can cause one or the other to get “lost” or “overwhelmed” in the dish, says chef Lance Rood, a culinary demonstrator at The CIA at Copia in Napa Valley.
And then there’s the super important fact that pairing the right pasta with the right sauce means you’ll get more per mouthful. “When you have a pasta that doesn’t necessarily pair well with a specific sauce, parts of the sauce might slide off, and you’ll end up eating a noodle without the maximum amount of flavor,” says Tal Ronnen, founder and chef of Crossroads and author of New York Times bestseller, The Conscious Cook.
Sure, your pasta isn’t necessarily going to suck if you don’t perfectly match up your noodles and sauce. But adding the right noodles to your sauce and vice versa can make your dish next-level amazing.
In general, you want to keep a few rules in mind. “The most important thing is understanding that it’s all about the eating experience,” says Hari Cameron, owner and chef at grandpa (MAC) and a 2016 James Beard Best Chefs in America semifinalist. That means taking into account how heavy the noodle is compared to your sauce and making sure the two are balanced.As a whole, a “big, thick, hearty noodle can stand up to big, thick, hearty sauces, whereas thinner and lighter noodles need to be treated with lighter style sauces and more finesse,” Cameron says.
Here are the noodle-sauce pairings chefs swear by.
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For a light cream sauce...
Lighter sauces are great with longer-style noodles like fettuccine or spaghetti, Ronnen says. Tagliatelle and pappardelle are also good options, Tonkinson says. “They carry the sauce well and add some good texture to counteract the thin and smooth sauce,” he says.
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For a seafood sauce...
Seafood sauces tend to be lighter, which is why Cameron prefers finer noodles (think: angel hair, vermicelli, and thin spaghetti noodles). “Lighter-style noodles match the texture and lightness of the seafood,” he explains.
Feed your seafood spaghetti craving.
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For a tomato-based sauce...
Long, thin shapes are great here. The sauce “pairs well with shapes such as spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair, and binds well with the thin noodle,” Tonkinson says.
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For a vegetable-based sauce...
Orecchiette, both smaller and larger cup sizes, are good to use with this kind of sauce. “They lend themselves to a good texture on the palate and hold the sauce well so you get a perfect bite on the spoon,” Cameron says.
For bolognese or ragu...
The meaty chunks in these sauces are easily mopped up by tube-shaped pastas like penne, bucatini, tubini, and tortiglioni. “The meat can enter the tubes and the pasta acts as a great vehicle to carry the sauce,” Tonkinson says.
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For an oil- or butter-based sauce...
Stuffed pastas are the way to go. “A filled pasta like ravioli or tortellini is like a present where all the good stuff is inside,” Cameron says. “With an oil- or butter-based sauce, you’re able to get a nice coating of flavor to glaze what’s inside the pasta.”
For pesto...
Fusilli, cavatappi, and rotini are good options. The curves and grooves in each “hold pesto sauces well and allow for the herb-based oil to stick to the pasta,” Tonkinson says.
For a broth-style sauce...
If you’re dealing with a thin broth, your pasta isn’t going to catch much of anything—but it can help enhance the dish. “Orzo, fregola, and ditalini are best bets here,” Tonkinson says. “These pasta shapes will add texture to the broth or soup.”
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