We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Pasta, and They All Said the Same Thing
The term “comfort food” means something a little different to everyone; to me, it means a big bowl of pasta, preferably with a snowdrift of Parmesan cheese on top. When I was growing up, my dad didn’t cook very much, but one of the things he made well was pasta — usually spaghetti, sometimes with homemade marinara, sometimes with a perplexing but well-loved combination of tomato soup and butter (don’t knock it until you try it), and sometimes with nothing more than a pat of butter and a bunch of cheese.
Now, whenever I’m having a total day, a big bowl of noodles gets me through it. I had a hunch I wasn’t alone on this one, so I reached out to some of my chef friends to find out what kind of store-bought pasta they reach for on tough days, and they all said the same thing.
The Best Pasta to Buy, According to Chefs
Michelin-starred chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Joe Isidori knows pasta. The lifelong chef and son of restaurateurs may, in fact, be 30% red sauce (which he calls gravy). Isidori says Barilla’s Al Bronzo line, which is made with bronze dies, is the kind of pasta that sauce just loves to cling to. Bronze die cut pasta is special because the pasta is extruded through cutters made of bronze, and that process gives the pasta a rougher exterior that improves the texture of each individual piece.
Barilla Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni Pasta
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“I always go with a bronze cut pasta, and Barilla makes a bronze die edition that is excellent,” Isidori says. “I especially love the rigatoni — the rough edges and texture, which is the characteristic of bronze-die pasta, is perfect to serve with my Sunday gravy. And, yes, I said it! It’s gravy not sauce!”
“Barilla’s consistent quality and reliability has made it a popular choice among chefs and home cooks alike,” affirms Emshika Alberini, chef/owner of Chang Thai Cafe and The Catch in Littleton, New Hampshire. The wide variety of shapes, “from classic spaghetti and penne to specialty pastas like orzo and farfalle,” she says, “cater to different culinary preferences and recipes.”
Evan Hennessey, chef/owner of Stages at One Washington and The Living Room in Dover, New Hampshire couldn’t agree more. Although he prefers pasta from Italy, when it comes to pasta made in the United States, Hennessey also recommends Barilla’s Al Bronzo line: “The keys to selecting the best dry pasta are to find something made from 100% durum wheat and water, bronze cut, and slow dried.” He adds that you can also look for pasta with a lighter color and rough texture, both of which indicate a higher-quality pasta (and both of which you’ll see in Barilla’s Al Bronzo offerings).
Buy: Barilla Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni, $3.62 (on sale!) for 14.1 ounces at Instacart
This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Pasta, and They All Said the Same Thing
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