Roman Pasta Varieties (2024)

FAQs

Roman Pasta Varieties? ›

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and alla gricia. Each one is a variation on the other — alla gricia is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, carbonara is gricia plus egg, and so on. These four dishes are famous in all of Italian cooking, not just in Rome.

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and alla gricia. Each one is a variation on the other — alla gricia is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, carbonara is gricia plus egg, and so on. These four dishes are famous in all of Italian cooking, not just in Rome.

Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe and Amatriciana are the holy trinity of Roman pasta dishes on restaurant menus. Quite often, U.S. versions take liberties with the recipes, using bacon instead of guanciale (cured pork cheeks) or even Parmesan!! That will not happen in Rome.

Despite some similarities, the Romans ate neither pizza or pasta. That said, descriptions from ancient sources do reveal a popular food made from flour and water that, on the surface, resembles the ingredients for making pasta. At the risk of being pedantic, however, that is where the similarities end.

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and alla Gricia.

Pasta Corleone. One of our best sellers. Italian sausage sautéed with fresh spinach in our homemade spicy vodka sauce and tossed with penne pasta.

Capellini: With ultra-thin strands that measure between 0.85 and 0.92 millimeters, this pasta is delicate and falls apart if overcooked. It's often labeled as “angel hair” pasta.

Farfalle, which means “butterflies” in Italian, is a pasta shape as fun as its name. This iconic Italian pasta is pinched in the middle to resemble butterflies or little bow ties—in fact, you'll often see it referred to as bow tie pasta.

They didn't have pizza, pasta, tomatoes or lemons, and garlic was only used medicinally. Today we gape at some of the foods that the ancient Romans ate, foods that now seem quite bizarre to many of us, including fried dormice, flamingo tongue (and peaco*ck and nightingale tongues) and more.

What was the most eaten food in ancient Rome? ›

The Romans primarily ate cereals and legumes, usually with sides of vegetables, cheese, or meat and covered with sauces made out of fermented fish, vinegar, honey, and various herbs and spices. While they had some refrigeration, much of their diet depended on which foods were locally and seasonally available.

Pastina ( lit. 'little pasta') is a variety of pasta consisting of tiny pieces, typically of a round (irregular) shape with a diameter of about 1.6 millimetres (1/16"). It is the smallest type of pasta produced.

Fusilli Pasta

This long, thick, spiral-shaped pasta adds an unexpected twist to any recipe that calls for spaghetti. Its crevices are perfect for carrying thick sauces, but it's often also used in pasta salads. Browse our entire collection of Fusilli Recipes. Salami Lover's Italian Pasta Salad | Photo by CookinBug.

The four main types of ancient Roman columns are the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Tuscan styles. Each style is distinguished by its own characteristics including a large base or pedestal for support, a shaft, and a capital at the top.

There are many different varieties of pasta. They are usually sorted by size, being long (pasta lunga), short (pasta corta), stuffed (ripiena), cooked in broth (pastina), stretched (strascinati) or in dumpling-like form (gnocchi/gnocchetti).

Gricia is pork-forward; the noodles are punctuated with chewy bits of meat and glossed with its savory fat, as well as the pepper and cheese. Carbonara adds an egg, which makes the “sauce” creamy, while amatriciana loses the egg and adds tomatoes, their acidity balancing the richness of the pork and cheese.