Penne
Penne are an extruded type of pasta in the shape of tubular pieces with ends cut at an angle. They are usually made from wheat flour.Etymology
Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna, and is a cognate of the English word "pen". When this shape was created, it was intended to imitate the then-ubiquitous steel nib of fountain and dip pens.Origins
Penne are one of the few pasta shapes with a certain date of birth: in 1865, Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino d'Albaro, obtained a patent for a diagonal cutting machine. His invention cut the fresh pasta into a pen shape without crushing it, in a size varying between mezze penne and penne.Description and variations
In Italy, penne are produced in two main variants: penne lisce and penne rigate, the latter having ridges on each penna. Pennoni is a wider version of penne. In English-language contexts, a version is called mostaccioli by various manufacturers, which may be either smooth or ridged in texture.Dishes
Penne is traditionally cooked al dente and its shape makes it particularly adapted for sauces, such as pesto, marinara or arrabbiata. The latter has been celebrated several times in Italian films, including featuring in Marco Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe and Federico Fellini's Roma.According to Vincenzo Buonassisi, Salvatore Fiume won a writer's cooking contest in Gardone with a baked penne rigate dish resembling the Italian flag which was later named Penne alla Salvatore Fiume. The dish features butter, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, oregano, parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.