Did you know that pasta shapes are named after the most fun & interesting things?! Well here are some examples I sampled in Sicily.

The very large Mexican hat shaped ones are named Sombreroni as in Sombrero and the bow shaped ones are named Farfalle meaning butterflies.

The ones similar to Fusilli but having a swirl not quite so pronounced are called Gemelli meaning twins and Spaghetti stands for little twine. Spaghetti Al Nero means spaghetti made with a deep black colouring derived from Squid’s ink.

Do you have a favourite pasta noodle name?! One of mine has to be Radiatore, literally meaning and looking distinctly like a radiator!