With dried store bought pasta so easy and cheap to buy, you’d be forgiven for wondering if it's worth the time and effort to make your own from scratch. Well, it really is. While dried pasta is ideal for a quick, fuss-free weekday meal, homemade pasta is not only delicious, it is surprisingly easy to make. Once you’ve learnt the basic skills it’s an incredibly satisfying process-and really fun, too.
How to make homemade pasta
Pasta comes in hundreds of different shapes and sizes, and can work with so many different sauces or fillings, from classic household favourites to richly complex flavour combinations.
Here’s our guide to some of our favourite pasta shapes, and how they can be used to really enhance a dish. We’ll show you just how simple it is to make a host of different pasta shapes in your own kitchen, and hopefully you will feel inspired to experiment with your own creations. Most of these shapes can be simply created at home using our pasta shaper attachment, which fits both our kMix and Kenwood Chef ranges.
What are the different types of pasta shape?
There’s a world of different pasta shapes beyond the usual favourites. Each has a different origin and shape and works with the rest of a dish differently. Team the right pasta shape with your sauce and it can bring a whole new dimension to your dish; providing contrast and texture and enhancing the flavour of your sauce.
Macaroni (Maccheroni Lisci)
Macaroni are short narrow tubes of pasta with a hole in the middle. It is most famously used in the classic family crowd pleaser, macaroni cheese, but it’s an ideal pasta to use in any deliciously comforting pasta bake. Because of their small size macaroni also works well in soups, broths or stews.
Bigoli
Bigoli looks like a thicker version of spaghetti, but it has a roughly textured exterior which sauces cling to beautifully. It originates from the Veneto region and is traditionally eaten with a duck, game or sausage ragu.
Casarecce
Casarecce are short, slightly twisted pasta tubes with the long edges curling in on themselves, creating a groove running down the middle. Originally from Sicily, casarecce would traditionally be served with thick, chunky sauces bursting with the flavours of southern Italy; think aubergines, sweet tomatoes and basil.
Spaccatelli
Spaccatelli are tubes of pasta that have been split down the middle so they resemble a rolled up scroll. As with bucatini (link), this means the sauce and any chunky bits can collect within the tubes as well as coat the outside for a real taste sensation.
Spaghetti
Probably the best known pasta shape in the world, spaghetti are long string-like strands of pasta (‘spago’ means string in Italian). Spaghetti’s smooth surface makes it a really versatile pasta that works well with so many different types of sauces, especially the lighter ones, from looser tomato-based sauces to seafood favourites using olive oil like vongole or prawn spaghetti. We also think it makes for an unbeatable spaghetti alla carbonara.
Pappardelle
Originating from the Italian region of Tuscany, pappardelle are wide flat ribbons of pasta that are traditionally paired with a rich meaty or gamey sauce, like a hefty beef or pork ragu.
Silatelli
A long noodle shaped pasta from Naples that is similar to tagliatelle but shorter and slightly wider, and often pinched in the middle. Try serving with clams or mussels.
Linguine
Like spaghetti, linguine is a long, noodle-like pasta, but it has a flatter surface. Pasta shapes like this tend to work better with lighter tomato or olive oil based sauces, or with seafood. Try serving with crab meat, chilli, garlic, lemon, parsley and a good glug or two or olive oil for a quick and simple crab linguine- it never fails to impress.
Fusilli
Traditionally made by curling spaghetti around a thin rod, this curly, corkscrew shaped pasta works well with oil-based herby sauces like pesto, which can get stuck between the curves. It's also great in a pasta bake.
Conchigliette
The word ‘conchiglia’ is Italian for sea shell, which explains this pasta’s name, shaped as they are like little conch shells. Conchigliette are the smaller version of conchiglie which are often used in baked pasta dishes, but because of their size conchigliette are most commonly used to add texture to pasta salads or soups.
Bucatini
Bucatini is a long cylindrical shaped pasta that’s thicker than spaghetti and hollow in the centre, rather like a straw. So not only do the noodles get coated in a sauce, they can get filled with it too! Pair it with sauces that can really seep in to the hollows of the tubes, like a rich and spicy amatriciana sauce.
Orecchiette
Typical of the Puglia region of southern Italy, orecchiette are traditionally referred to as ‘little ears’. Their small, bowl-like shape really helps them hold a sauce and ensure every single mouthful delivers on flavour. Recreate the classic southern Italian dish cimi di rapa-made with broccoli, garlic, anchovies and red chilli.
Farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
Farfalle’s distinctive bow-tie shape originates from the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia regions of Northern Italy. It’s often served with creamy sauces, as the crinkled edges of the wings are perfect for capturing the sauce, but is also popular to use for cold pasta salads.
Lasagne pasta sheets
A favourite dish all over the world, lasagne is made by stacking thin sheets of pasta between alternate layers of filling and then baking. The traditional recipe uses ground meat, tomato, white sauce and cheese, but there are lots of mouthwatering versions meat-free options too. Lasagne sheets can also be used to make cannelloni (just roll them around the filling rather than layering them up) and stuffed pastas like ravioli.
We recommend using our Lasagne Roller KAX980ME attachment to help you create authentic sheets of fresh pasta with ease.
Penne
Originally from the Liguria region, penne is popular the world over. It’s a short tubular pasta that is cut diagonally at each end. The ridges on the outside help chunkier sauces cling to every piece, so it works well with a rich ragu or bolognese, or within a hearty pasta al forno.
How to make pasta shapes
Our Kenwood Pasta Shaper Attachment allows you to make your own homemade pasta in a range of different shapes, quickly and easily.
Fitting both the kMix and Kenwood Chef ranges, this attachment includes the Maccheroni rigati die which will allow you to make a range of pasta shapes. The die gives the pasta a really authentic roughly textured surface which is ideal for holding the pasta sauce and bringing maximum flavour to every mouthful.
Not only does using a machine make creating homemade pasta quicker and easier, but with 12 other dies also available there are just so many more different pasta shapes and recipes for you to try compared to when making it by hand; from noodles to tubes and twists, stuffed to baked, layered to rolled. Simply pop on the appropriate die, push your homemade pasta dough down into the machine and cut to the desired length. It really is as simple as that.
For more information on how easy it is to use the pasta shaper attachment, watch this short video:
Hoe maak je pastavormen met de hand?
Je kunt natuurlijk ook met de hand pasta maken - inderdaad, traditioneel werd pasta gewoon uitgerold op een met bloem bestoven oppervlak en gemaakt met weinig tot geen apparatuur behalve een deegroller. Het belangrijkste om te onthouden is dat de pasta moet worden gerold. heel dun om de textuur te krijgen waarnaar je op zoek bent - en dat kan even duren, en een beetje moeite!
Hier zijn enkele tips voor het met de hand snijden en vormen van drie klassieke pastavormen:
Lasagnebladen Rol je pastadeeg uit tot een dikte van ongeveer 2 mm op een licht met bloem bestoven werkvlak. Bij lasagne moet het dun zijn, maar niet zo dun dat het uit elkaar valt als je laagjes op je gerecht legt. Snijd je deeg in ongeveer 4-6 gelijke rechthoekige vellen voor elke laag.
Noedels (zoals linguine of pappardelle) Rol de pasta zoals voorheen uit tot een dunne plak. Gebruik een scherp mes om in lange, gelijkmatige stroken te snijden - een liniaal helpt u om ze recht en gelijkmatig te houden. Richt voor linguine op reepjes van ongeveer 0,5 cm breed. Als je pappardelle maakt, moet je grotere stroken maken van ongeveer 2,5 cm breed.
Farfalle Dit is geweldig om de kinderen bij te betrekken. Snijd je uitgerolde pastavel in gelijkmatige rechthoeken van ongeveer 2,5 cm x 4 cm breed. Knijp met uw duim en wijsvinger het middelpunt van de lange randen van elke rechthoek naar het midden toe, waardoor een plooi ontstaat. En daar heb je het, een vlinderdasje van pasta.
Smaken alle pastavormen hetzelfde?
Nogal verwarrend, ja en nee. Gekookte pasta gemaakt met dezelfde ingrediënten zal hetzelfde smaken, of het nu spaghetti of orecchiette is. Zelfgemaakte verse pasta neemt echter meer saus en smaak op dan gedroogde soorten, en hoeveel dit gebeurt, hangt af van de grootte en het oppervlak van de pastavorm. Onze hoogwaardige bronzen matrijzen geven de pasta een ruw gestructureerd oppervlak waardoor hij nog meer smaak absorbeert wanneer hij wordt geserveerd met een saus.
De juiste pastavorm kiezen
Als je deze vraag aan een Italiaanse kok stelt, zouden ze zeggen dat je als algemene regel langere vormen zoals spaghetti of linguine moet combineren met zachtere sauzen op basis van olie of room, die hun lengte licht zullen bedekken. Dikkere, stevigere sauzen, zoals als een vlezige ragu, zijn ze beter geschikt voor pastavormen zoals penne, met holle middens, groeven of rondingen die de saus kunnen vangen.
Op basis hiervan is spaghetti bolognese, een klassiek gerecht dat over de hele wereld wordt geserveerd en geliefd, natuurlijk volkomen onauthentiek. En het is waar dat het in Italië onwaarschijnlijk is dat een bolognesesaus ooit zou worden geserveerd met een pasta zoals spaghetti. Dus terwijl nadenken over welke pastavorm het beste uit de door jou gekozen saus zal halen, je gerecht echt kan verbeteren, laat het maar zien dat er geen vaste regels zijn in de keuken. Het is een plek om te experimenteren en te creëren, en vooral om plezier te hebben. Dus waarom zou u vandaag niet iets anders proberen? Tenzij je natuurlijk een Italiaanse chef-kok over de vloer krijgt…