In the last year I discovered Gemelli pasta for the first time and it became an immediate favorite. It's incredibly versatile, holds up well when cooking for a lot of people and can take a fair amount of abuse, i.e. doesn't fall apart or turn into mush if a bit overcooked.
I found it when planning a pop-up dinner for a friend's wine bar using a fantastic recipe for a tomato based dish where the pasta is cooked in the sauce and arugula is added at the end. I needed something that could be kept warm to serve throughout the evening as diners would arrive anytime during a 3 hr period. The dish was a hit and no one complained about mushy pasta. Gemelli for the win!
ah "twins" !!! I like how there are so many supporting-actor pastas each with their own fans. Gemelli is certainly one...strozzapreti, cavatappi, lumache, mezze maniche. I know what you mean about that shape, its a bit compact, with very small openings so it isn't like a hollow tube that is going to eventually collapse. It's funny how we obsess about getting perfect al dente texture in one pasta dish, but then will happily eat mushy layers of noodles in lasagna and not think twice about it!
I used to make it for my kids when they were younger and really needed to change things up, they are easy to hold onto with saucy fingers and have a certainly wow factor with the under 5 crowd. But I find it really hard to make look good in photos and there is something so manufactured looking about the evenness of the spiraling...its a tough one for me to love.
What, Chris, no penne rigate?!?! I find it delightfully versatile! As for wagon wheels, that's not rotini to me; but then I use tri-color rotini for color and appealing variation.
Penne is great! A total workhorse. I actually like it baked since it holds it shape even when overcooked. But for most applications I want big tubes, or bucatini, and nothing in between!
Wouldn't you say that's more personal preference than anything else? I'm not particularly a fan of angel hair either; but the large tube, at least for me, can be unwieldy at times.
In the last year I discovered Gemelli pasta for the first time and it became an immediate favorite. It's incredibly versatile, holds up well when cooking for a lot of people and can take a fair amount of abuse, i.e. doesn't fall apart or turn into mush if a bit overcooked.
I found it when planning a pop-up dinner for a friend's wine bar using a fantastic recipe for a tomato based dish where the pasta is cooked in the sauce and arugula is added at the end. I needed something that could be kept warm to serve throughout the evening as diners would arrive anytime during a 3 hr period. The dish was a hit and no one complained about mushy pasta. Gemelli for the win!
ah "twins" !!! I like how there are so many supporting-actor pastas each with their own fans. Gemelli is certainly one...strozzapreti, cavatappi, lumache, mezze maniche. I know what you mean about that shape, its a bit compact, with very small openings so it isn't like a hollow tube that is going to eventually collapse. It's funny how we obsess about getting perfect al dente texture in one pasta dish, but then will happily eat mushy layers of noodles in lasagna and not think twice about it!
Fusilli, the darling of American pasta salad recipes just shouts mediocrity, not Italian
I used to make it for my kids when they were younger and really needed to change things up, they are easy to hold onto with saucy fingers and have a certainly wow factor with the under 5 crowd. But I find it really hard to make look good in photos and there is something so manufactured looking about the evenness of the spiraling...its a tough one for me to love.
What, Chris, no penne rigate?!?! I find it delightfully versatile! As for wagon wheels, that's not rotini to me; but then I use tri-color rotini for color and appealing variation.
Penne is great! A total workhorse. I actually like it baked since it holds it shape even when overcooked. But for most applications I want big tubes, or bucatini, and nothing in between!
Wouldn't you say that's more personal preference than anything else? I'm not particularly a fan of angel hair either; but the large tube, at least for me, can be unwieldy at times.
I'm truly shocked by orecchiette for the reasons that you stated so diplomatically.