Which pasta shapes do you use?

The orichette we used the other night had durum wheat prominently displayed on the front of the packaging as an ingredient.
 
But, but... Who doesn't need a little extra amori in their life?

As I get older, things tend to be more cavatapping, though.
 
Big topic! Love it.

I use a different pasta shape depending on the dish.

I have a “thing” about “spaghetti bolognese” which is the only pasta dish my mother in law makes. I prefer conchiglie/shells for this which is typically made using minced beef in Australia. If I make a slow cooked ragu I might use a wide flat pasta but never spaghetti.

I prefer spaghetti for pesto type dishes.

I use a few different shapes for soups too. I love a chicken broth with little stars.

We eat penne in a tomato sauce with black olives, chilli & bacon. That’s my version of arrabiata & my go to quick meal.

I always buy durum wheat pasta & use Tipo 00 durum flour & good eggs for making dough for ravioli or lasagna etc.
 
Most of the time, for convenience, I use bought penne and home made lasagne sheets, but I do occasionally make other types of pasta too. There is a pack of home made gnocchi in the freezer, and of course you mustn't forget spätzle :D Pasta sauces are always home made - bought stuff tastes much too salty for my liking.

Somewhere I do have a DVD of cookery programmes, one of which shows some rather elderly ?Italian women making penne by hand. I don't think I'd have the patience, but I may give it a try one day.
 
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It's a semi-free form shape of long but manually curled pasta. I looked up the meaning, and it's understandable that it could be confusing. The pasta name comes from the word "homemade" in Italian.
I think I've seen it made before at a childhood friend's house. The strips of pasta are cut, then curled by rolling with a small dowel. Hence, the "homemade" aspect of it, in a way.
 
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