Did you know that there are over 500 different shapes of pasta? Incredible isn't it? Hollow, striated, twisted, they are classed into 3 categories. Long pastas, like spaghetti, capellini, tagliatelle and other fettucine. Short pastas, with conchiglie rigate, farfalle, penne, torti, fusilli, etc., and finally filled pastas or pastas you can fill, like lasagne or even canneloni.
Associated with hundreds of different sauces, that gives you thousands of recipe combinations.
The Italians always serve pasta on soup plates, it's tradition. But that doesn't mean you can't be creative. Don't hesitate to change the utensils, to be daring with other containers, all the while keeping common sense in mind !
Long pastas:
All soup plates are ideal for long pastas, the idea being to avoid them laying flat, as they will lose their sauce and will therefore be more difficult to pick up. So you should go for receptacles with higher edges. For more originality, you can serve them in large bowls, often used for salad, ramekins or even individual mini casseroles, in cast-iron or enamel.
Short pastas:
Farfalle or penne can also be served on soup plates or flat ones, the choice is yours. In this case, you can decorate the edge of the plates in accordance with the flavors and colors of your recipe : cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, olives, quartered lemons, mini-prawns, mushrooms, finely chopped mushrooms, etc.
Gratins:
Pasta gratins are generally cooked on a large family platter where everyone can serve themselves. However, you can also go for a more sophisticated presentation with mini individual gratin dishes, which will go directly on the table. Perfect for cannelloni, macaroni or torti gratin. The advantage is that each dish is hot when it is ready to be eaten. There is just one precaution to take, reduce the cooking time, as the small dishes heat up more quickly !