Penne

Penne are a type of extruded pasta, shaped like small tubes with diagonally cut ends, typically made from wheat flour. The name comes from the Italian penna (meaning "feather" or "pen"), which itself derives from the Latin penna ("feather" or "quill") and is related to the English word "pen." The shape was designed to mimic the steel nib of fountain and dip pens common at the time.

Unlike many pasta shapes, penne have a known origin: in 1865, Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino d'Albaro in Genoa, patented a diagonal cutting machine. This invention cut fresh pasta into a pen-like shape without crushing it, producing sizes from mezze penne to penne.

In Italy, penne come in two main varieties: penne lisce (smooth) and penne rigate (ridged, with grooves along the length). A wider version is called pennoni. In English-speaking countries, some manufacturers call a similar shape mostaccioli ("little moustaches"), which can be either smooth or ridged.

Penne are usually cooked al dente. Their shape works well with sauces like pesto, marinara, or arrabbiata. Penne all'arrabbiata appears in several Italian films, including Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe and Fellini's Roma.

One specific dish, Penne alla Salvatore Fiume, originated when artist Salvatore Fiume won a writer's cooking contest in Gardone with a baked penne rigate dish that resembled the Italian flag. According to Vincenzo Buonassisi, the dish includes butter, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, oregano, parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.