A Pasta Gallery
The multiplicity of shapes and sizes of dried and fresh pasta in the west, particularly in Italy, mirrors the plethora of noodle forms in
the east. Here's a brief selection:
Agnolotti
"priests' caps," small, crescent-shaped, stuffed pasta.
Anelli
small rings of pasta.
Bavettine
narrow linguine.
Cappelletti
small, square, stuffed pasta.
Cavatelli
small, ridged pasta shells
Conchiglie
pasta shells resembling conch shells. Conchigliette are very small shells and conchiglioni are large shells.
Ditali
tiny tubes.
Farfalle
bow-tie pasta. Farfallini are tiny bows and farfallone are the largest.
Fedelini
very fine spaghetti.
Fideos
vermicelli-type noodles used in Spain and Mexico.
Fischietti
smallest of the small pasta tubes.
Fusilli
spiral spaghetti.
Gemelli
"twins," a short twist of pasta that looks like two strands of spaghetti wrapped together.
Gnocchi
a dumpling made from potato, wheat flour, or farina (a flour of cereal grains).
Lumache
large pasta shells for stuffing.
Mafalde
broad, flat noodles.
Magliette
curved, small pasta tubes.
Margherite
narrow, flat noodles with a rippled edge.
Mostaccioli
2-inch long pasta tubes.
Orecchiette
tiny pasta disks that look like ears -- hence the name, which means "little ears."
Orzo
rice-shaped pasta.
Pansotti
"pot-bellied," triangular and stuffed pasta.
Pappardelle
wide noodles with rippled sides.
Perciatelli
thin, hollow pasta.
Pezzoccheri
thick buckwheat noodles.
Quadrettini
small, flat pasta squares.
Radiatore
short, chunky pasta shaped to resemble "little radiators."
Spaetzle
tiny noodles or dumplings from Germany.
Stelle
star-shaped pasta.
Tagliarini
long, thin, ribbon noodles.
Tripolini
small pasta bow-ties with rippled edges.
Vermicelli
very thin strands of pasta.
