Linguine

Linguine takes its name from lingua, "tongue": the strand is a flattened spaghetti, oval in cross-section, and the little ovals read as little tongues. It belongs to Genoa and the Ligurian coast, documented there by the 1700s, and Liguria still eats the festive dish the shape was first tied to — the flat strand tossed with basil pesto, green beans, and potatoes, all cooked in one pot. Linguine is the best known of a close Ligurian family that also includes trenette and the slightly convex bavette, shapes so near one another that even Italians argue where the lines fall. What sets it apart from round spaghetti is that flattened face, which gives a thin sauce more to hold.

A long strand like spaghetti pressed flat — elliptical rather than round, roughly four millimeters across, wider than spaghetti but narrower and thinner than the egg ribbons of fettuccine, and made from durum semolina and water, not egg. The oval section is the whole idea: it keeps the twirl and bite of a round strand while offering a broader surface for sauce to cling to. Its close cousin bavette is essentially the same strand with a convex belly.

That flat face makes linguine a natural for sauces that coat rather than lodge in crevices, which is why the coast claims it. It shines under pesto and under seafood — clams, mussels, a little olive oil and garlic — where the broad surface carries a light, bright sauce the length of every strand. It wants dressings on the lighter, oilier side; a heavy, chunky ragù belongs on a sturdier shape.

1. 01Alle vongoleClams, white wine, garlic, parsley; the definitive linguine plate.
2. 02Al pesto genoveseBasil, pine nut, and cheese, the Ligurian homecoming.
3. 03Allo scoglio"Of the rocks": mixed shellfish, the seafood showcase.
4. 04Al limoneLemon, butter, and cheese; bright and spare.