Spaghettini are, as one would expect, similar to spaghetti. However, the ini suffix means thinner, and indeed spaghettini are -- the strands are a little more than half as thick as spaghetti, and they cook in about half the time spaghetti require. Like spaghetti, spaghettini are Neapolitan in origin, and are now most popular in Central Italy.
To get technical, spaghettini are about 10 inches (25 cm) long, a little more than 1/32 of an inch (1 mm) thick, and cook in 5 minutes or so.
Substitutions: Spaghetti or tagliarini
In terms of sauces, spaghettini work very well with liquid sauces, for example aglio e olio, or with liquid sauces that contain chinks of larger ingredients, for example these Spaghettini Di Mare (Seafood Spaghettini):
The recipe This is quick and simple; the trick is to time when you begin cooking the sauce so the pasta is ready when it is. To serve 4 you'll need:
Set pasta water to boil
Shell the shrimp and scampi, devein them, and cut them up. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the shellfish. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp have become pink and the clams have opened (this will take a few minutes).
Stir in the diced tomatoes and the hot pepper, and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Let it cook for a few minutes, and while it's doing so, salt the pasta water and cook the spaghettini. Drain them stir the sauce into them, dust with the minced parsley, and serve, with a lively white wine, for example a Vermentino or a Falanghina.
More About Pasta Shapes
To get technical, spaghettini are about 10 inches (25 cm) long, a little more than 1/32 of an inch (1 mm) thick, and cook in 5 minutes or so.
Substitutions: Spaghetti or tagliarini
In terms of sauces, spaghettini work very well with liquid sauces, for example aglio e olio, or with liquid sauces that contain chinks of larger ingredients, for example these Spaghettini Di Mare (Seafood Spaghettini):
The recipe This is quick and simple; the trick is to time when you begin cooking the sauce so the pasta is ready when it is. To serve 4 you'll need:
- 14 ounces (350 g) spaghettini
- 1 pound (400 g) plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
- 12 ounces (300 g) shrimp
- 10 scampi
- 20 clams (see preparation instructions if you're using live clams -- a can of clams will also work here)
- A hot pepper, shredded
- A medium-sized bunch of parsley, minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
Set pasta water to boil
Shell the shrimp and scampi, devein them, and cut them up. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the shellfish. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp have become pink and the clams have opened (this will take a few minutes).
Stir in the diced tomatoes and the hot pepper, and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Let it cook for a few minutes, and while it's doing so, salt the pasta water and cook the spaghettini. Drain them stir the sauce into them, dust with the minced parsley, and serve, with a lively white wine, for example a Vermentino or a Falanghina.
More About Pasta Shapes