Johnny Carino’s Angel Hair Pasta with Artichokes - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is angel hair pasta traditionally used for? ›

Angel hair pasta is a long, thin noodle with a rounded shape. Although it resembles spaghetti – another long, thin pasta – angel hair is much finer. This delicate shape is best used with simple, light sauces and vegetables, such as pesto sauce or a primavera dish.

Capellini is smaller in diameter than spaghetti and therefore more delicate. It needs a lighter sauce than ones used in spaghetti. But much smaller in diameter is the angel hair which is more delicate than the capellini. It is sometimes bunched up in a nest.

On the other hand, spaghetti is a tad thicker and pairs well with heartier sauces like marinara or bolognese. While these two types of pasta differ in thickness, texture, and cooking time, you can still substitute angel hair for spaghetti in certain recipes.

Capelli d'angelo has been popular in Italy since at least the 14th century and is known for its delicate, light texture. Its thinness best suits it for soups or dishes with light sauces, such as those made with seafood or vegetables.

Use sufficient water (4–6 quarts of water, about 5.5 liters, per pound of pasta) to ensure the pasta has room to move, and occasionally stir gently while cooking. Use really generous amounts of water to cook any pasta. Stir it occasionally as it cooks to keep the strands separate.

Angel Hair pasta, also known as capellini, or "fine hair," is the perfect choice when you want to pair a light, refined sauce with a delicate cut of thin pasta.

Capellini

A type of angel-hair pasta made from semolina flour has been popular since the 14th century in Italy. However, its more recent renditions date back to the 17th-century monasteries, when nuns used to prepare soups or light dishes for the sick.

Su filindeu—literally “threads of God” in Sardo—is unfathomably intricate. It's made by only three women on Earth, all of whom live on Sardinia. And they make it only for the biannual Feast of San Francesco. It's been this way for the last 200 years.

Spaghetti means "little twine," and variations include spaghettini (thinner), spaghettoni (thicker), bucatini (thicker and straw-like, with a hollow center), capellini (very thin) and angel's hair (thinnest). Spaghetti is traditionally served with simple, thin sauces such as olive oil or marinara (tomato sauce).

Angel hair pasta, also known as capellini, is made from semolina flour and water. It is a type of white pasta that is thinner and more delicate than other types of pasta. Angel hair pasta is lower in calories and fat than ramen noodles, but it is also lower in fiber and protein.

Why does angel hair pasta taste better? ›

That lovely, angel hair pasta would drown and be lost in a heavy sauce. But, if you get the right combination, it's sublime. Maybe it's the texture and mouth feel of the thinner strands. Maybe it holds sauces differently than spaghetti and you prefer the thinner strands.

While regular pasta cooks in about 8 to 10 minutes, angel hair pasta cooks in about 3 to 5 minutes. Angel hair pasta is similar to capellini pasta, but angel hair is actually a bit thinner. Both are best used with thinner, more delicate sauces according to the National Pasta Association.

Use enough water.

Pasta needs space to expand as it cooks. And the starch it releases makes the situation stickier. If there's not enough water for that starch to grow, it'll have no other choice than to make clumpy noodles.

While regular pasta cooks in about 8 to 10 minutes, angel hair pasta cooks in about 3 to 5 minutes. Angel hair pasta is similar to capellini pasta, but angel hair is actually a bit thinner. Both are best used with thinner, more delicate sauces according to the National Pasta Association.

When angel hair cooks in tomato sauce, it soaks up its tangy taste — and cuts down on dishwashing. The broken noodles are first toasted in oil to give them a deep richness and to keep them from sticking together or becoming mushy. That means leftovers reheat beautifully.

Pasta should never, ever be rinsed for a warm dish. The starch in the water is what helps the sauce adhere to your pasta. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when you are going to use it in a cold dish like a pasta salad or when you are not going to use it immediately.

The Best Ways To Cook Angel Hair Pasta

The first — and easiest — way is the traditional method of submerging the noodles in salted, boiling water and letting them cook. As mentioned earlier, be careful not to overcook them. When they are done, quickly transfer them into a bowl or pan so the noodles can be sauced.