Penne

Penne is a type of pasta made from durum-wheat flour and water in its most basic form. It is characterized by its oblique cut and can come in smooth or ridged version, in different sizes. The pasta is usually boiled in plenty of salted water. The name penne is literally translated to quills, referring to their shape, and the shape refers to pennino, or pen, that had to be dipped in ink.

The pasta has copied that same tubular form, making it possible to collect the sauce, just as the pen collects ink. Originally, penne were colored with saffron, giving them a unique flavor, while many other types of pasta were colored with a tasteless yellow coloring.

When penne became popular and widespread, they were adopted in both the rural areas and the cities. Regional varieties also exist: in the south, there is a very long penna used in pasta timballi during the Christmas festivities; in Genoa there are long penne lisce; and in Sicily, they are called maltagliati and are traditionally served with a hearty aggrassatu sauce, consisting of meat, spices, and onions.