Know Your Noodles: A Guide to Summer Pastas

We do the math, you reap the results: These permutations of noodles and salad ingredients equate to the perfect summer pastas.

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Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Photo By: Armando Rafael Moutela ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved. 2014, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Nuance of Noodles

If there's one thing we love in the summertime, it's a great pasta salad. But the twisty tendrils of fusilli are not equal to orecchiette's button-shaped cups. Sauces of varying thickness and add-ins like herbs, meats and cheeses will cling more readily to a perfectly paired noodle. So study this pasta glossary and then prep your picnic accordingly.

 

Row 1: Rotini, Whole-Wheat Penne, Tortellini

Row 2: Orecchiette, Orzo, Fusilli

Row 3: Farfalle or Bow Tie, Vermicelli

Artichoke Pasta Salad

With its ribbonlike pleats, farfalle — better known as bow-tie pasta — is the ideal vehicle for scooping up chopped artichokes, roasted chicken and grape tomatoes.

Get the Recipe: Artichoke Pasta Salad

Tricolore Penne Pasta with Chicken

With its long, cylindrical shape and sturdy texture, penne is the pasta of choice for salads with coarsely chopped ingredients. This recipe's chunks of chicken, greens and shards of Parmesan won't overpower the ridged tubes.

Get the Recipe: Tricolore Penne Pasta with Chicken

Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion

This beady Sardinian pasta boasts a toothsome bite and nutty flavor that Giada balances with bright summer herbs like basil and mint and slivers of orange and grapefruit.

Get the Recipe: Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion

Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange and Arugula

Oil-based sauces such as Giada's zesty lemon vinaigrette cling to every twist and turn of this spiral-shaped noodle.

Get the Recipe: Fusilli with Shrimp, Orange and Arugula (Summer)

Tortellini Salad with Fresh Herb and Tomato Vinaigrette

Stuffed with various meats, veggies or cheeses, tortellini should be dressed with light ingredients, such as the chopped tomatoes, arugula and fresh herbs found in Michael Chiarello's warm-weather dish.

Get the Recipe: Tortellini Salad with Fresh Herb and Tomato Vinaigrette

Spinach-Ricotta Pesto Pasta with Crisp Prosciutto and Asparagus

Thick sauces like this creamy spinach-ricotta dip nest inside the pocket of each orecchiette noodle, making this dish as satisfying as a bowl of miniature dumplings.

Get the Recipe: Spinach-Ricotta Pesto Pasta with Crisp Prosciutto and Asparagus

Creamy Latin Pasta Salad

The diced ham, bell peppers, peas and jicama in this Latin-inspired salad easily hug the grooves found in rotini, the shorter and more tightly wound cousin of fusilli.

Get the Recipe: Creamy Latin Pasta Salad

San Francisco Pilaf

Broken bits of vermicelli — a noodle that's thinner than spaghetti but thicker than angel hair — are browned in butter to give this fluffy pilaf sweet flavor and slightly crunchy texture.

Get the Recipe: San Francisco Pilaf