Fusilli

Fusilli takes its name from fuso, the spindle, because the traditional shape was made by winding a strip of dough around a thin iron rod — a ferretto — and sliding it free to leave a tight coil. It belongs to southern Italy, claimed most fiercely by Campania, where the towns of the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts and pasta-famous Gragnano each keep their versions, though Molise and Calabria press claims of their own. Some food historians trace the spun technique back further, to Arab-influenced Sicily and Sardinia, where related coiled shapes are still called busiata and busa. What's often sold abroad as "rotini" is the machine-extruded cousin; true fusilli is that hand-wound spring.

A short, tight helix — a corkscrew or spring of pasta, its coils twisting around an open center. The spiral is a sauce trap: every turn of the coil holds a little more, and the springy structure gives a satisfying chew. This is the short fusillo; the long coiled strand called fusilli lunghi is a separate shape, and the tighter machine-made spiral sold abroad as rotini is a close relative, not the same thing.

Those coils are built to catch what a smooth shape would shed. Fusilli holds pesto in its grooves, carries chunky vegetable and meat sauces, and grips the dressing in a cold pasta salad better than almost anything. It wants sauces with texture — the more there is to catch, the more the spiral earns its shape.

1. 01Al pesto genoveseBasil, pine nut, and Parmigiano lodged in every coil.
2. 02Al ragùA hearty southern meat sauce the spiral holds fast.
3. 03Con verdureRoasted or sautéed vegetables caught in the twists.
4. 04Insalata di pastaCold with tomato, mozzarella, and herbs; a summer staple.