The inventor was Giovanni Battista Capurro, from San Martino d’Albano. He patenting a new machine capable of cutting pasta diagonally in 1865.
Penne can be smooth (lisce) or ridged (rigate), with the ridged ones being a bit sturdier and more soak-up-the-sauce-able than its smoother siblings.
Penne complements virtually every sauce and are exceptional when paired with a chunky sauce. It’s best served in dishes that have a relatively thick, creamy sauce as it penetrates the tube and holds the sauce well, such as Penne Arrabbiata. This is also the best type of pasta to use in pasta bake dishes.
With its ends cut at an angle, penne has a particularly large surface area and plenty of room in its tubes for sauce. The shape is also what gives it the name penne, which comes from the Italian word for “quill.”
Type of pasta: Penne
