Tonnarelli is a pasta that you don’t see passing by very often. Therefore the chance is high that you do not know this pasta. What a shame! This versatile pasta is delicious and super easy to use. We tell you all about tonnarelli in this blog.
What is tonnarelli?
Tonnarelli may look similar to spaghetti at first glance, but there a few distinct differences between these two types of pasta. Tonnarelli is thicker than spaghetti and is rectangular instead of round. The similarity is that they are both versatile, long, types of pasta. These types of pasta are easy to use in all kinds of pasta dishes!
Another difference lies in the fact that tonnarelli are traditionally made with eggs. This means that during the kneading of the pasta dough, eggs are added to the dough. This makes the tonnarelli even tastier.
How is tonnarelli pasta made?
Like most pasta types, making tonnarelli is simple. The difference with most pasta types is that in addition to durum wheat and water, egg is added to the dough. This makes the dough extra creamy and nutritious. These three ingredients are kneaded together into a beautiful pasta dough.
Then the dough is pressed through a bronze mold. This creates the desired shape. In this case the shape of tonnarelli. As a final step, the pasta only needs to dry and be packaged.
Of course, making pasta is a lot more elaborate and involves a lot more than what we have described now. In order not to make this blog too long, we wrote a whole blog about making pasta. You can read all about it in the blog: “How is pasta made?”.
Tonnarelli recipes
There is one classic Italian dish that tonnarelli is often paired with: cacio e Pepe. For this delicious recipe with cheese and pepper, tonnarelli is the ideal base.
Furthermore, tonnarelli can be combined well with all kinds of dishes. Because egg is one of the ingredients in this type of pasta, the tonnarelli is tasty. Keep this in mind when you want to use the pasta in a dish.
Would you like more inspiration for pasta recipes? Take a look at all our pasta recipes and get inspired!
How should you cook tonnarelli?
Tonnarelli on average needs about 10 minutes to cook. So with this pasta you don’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen.
Do you really have little time? No problem, in our blog “How to cook pasta quickly” you can read how to cook tonnarelli even faster.
Below are a number of steps that you can use to cook the tonnarelli. Stick to these steps and you’ll see that the tonnarelli are cooked just right.
Tonnarelli are cooked in the following 6 steps:
Use a large pan to cook the tonnarelli in
Take a large pan, the bigger the better. The tonnarelli must be able to move around in the pan. This will prevent the tonnarelli from sticking together. Fill the large pan for 75% with hot water, by using hot water you save time because the water needs less time to boil. Do you want to save a lot of time? Then use a kettle so the water is already boiling.
Add some salt to the water
Make your pasta dish more delicious by adding a little extra salt to the boiling water. The salt gives the flavors in a dish an extra boost. This makes all the flavors more intense and delicious! Be careful, because too much salt can ruin your dish. We keep a guideline of about 10 grams of salt per 3 liters of water. You can read more about pasta cooking and salt in our blog: ‘Cooking pasta with or without salt?’
Do not use a lid when cooking tonnarelli
By not using a lid, the cooking water will not foam. For this reason, we always recommend not using a lid. This also makes it easier to keep the pasta moving. Read more about this in our next tip.
Keep the tonnarelli moving
Like any pasta, tonnarelli have a tendency to stick together. By keeping the pasta moving, you can prevent this from happening. Stir every minute with a spaghetti spoon in the pan. In this way you keep the tonnarelli moving sufficiently.
Taste the tonnarelli before pouring it out
If you want to know whether the tonnarelli is good, it is wise to taste it. You do this before pouring off the pasta, so you can determine whether it is necessary to cook it longer. In addition, you can immediately taste whether you have put enough salt in the water. You can choose to add some more salt to taste.
Add the tonnarelli immediately to the pasta sauce
In Italy, they always add the pasta to the pasta sauce right away. This makes it less likely that the lumaconi will stick together. By doing this, you never have to deal with sticky pasta. This is a good tip that we would like to pass on to you!
How long should you cook tonnarelli?
The cooking time for tonnarelli is 10 minutes. This means that you need 10 minutes to cook the tonnarelli just right. To find out the exact cooking time, we recommend always looking carefully on the packaging.
Some people like a pasta with a bite. This bite is caused by the pasta being cooked for a shorter time. In Italian this is called “al dente”. You cook pasta ‘al dente’ by cooking it one minute shorter than stated on the package. The most important tip we can give you is: taste! Taste when you like the pasta before you drain it.
You can read more tips on how to cook pasta ‘al dente’ yourself in our blog: ‘How to cook pasta al dente!
How many tonnarelli do you need per person?
Always take a good look at the type of dish you want to make before deciding on the amount of pasta. Our tip is: for a hearty, well-filled sauce, use a little less pasta and for a light pasta, use a little more.
To keep it simple, we generally use the guideline of 100 grams of pasta per person. If you are a large or small eater, we recommend adjusting the number of grams.
We also advise you to look at the type of sauce you want to combine the pasta with. Do you choose a hearty sauce? Then use a little less pasta, 80 grams per person.
Determining the right amount of pasta for each person can be tricky. If you’re having trouble determining how much pasta you need, read more about the quantities of pasta per person on our blog: “How much pasta do you cook per person?”.