Ring-shaped pasta, also known as annellini when smaller, is a versatile Italian pasta used in dishes and soups. Traditional ingredients include flour, salt, eggs, and water, with variations such as corn and wheat flour or infused flavors. The dough is extruded through a noodle maker and cut into thin ringlets before boiling. It can be found in a variety of dishes, including Sicilian rings with ground veal and pork marinara.
Suitable for both wedding receptions and ordinary dinners, ring-shaped pasta is one of dozens of Italian pasta creations. When made four to five times smaller, this tubular style of pasta is called annellini. Meaning “rings” or “little rings” in Italian, respectively, both are used in pasta dishes and soups that may need a change of pace.
Although ingredients will vary widely around the world, traditional Italian pasta contains simple pantry ingredients such as wheat flour, salt, eggs, water, and perhaps a touch of olive oil. Often, chefs will include a blend of corn and wheat flour in their recipes, or leave out the egg. These doughs can also be infused with other flavors – from garlic to greens like spinach. However, the proper measures are required to achieve the proper texture and flavor. A recipe on the Coquinaria cooking website mixes two eggs with 1 cup (about 220 g) of flour and salt to taste, using as much water as needed to roll into a malleable ball.
To form the rings, this noodle paste is fed from a noodle maker. Called extruding, the dough is forced, like Play-Doh, through various attachments that can form thin, flat or fatty noodles as well as tubular macaroni. After the dough passes through the attachment for fatty or thin macaroni, it is cut into thin ringlets for rings or rings. According to Recipe Suggestions’ online ingredient glossary, acceptable substitutions for this ingredient in soups, salads, or pasta dishes include longer tubes or fatter pasta thimbles.
Ring pasta makers will likely have large pasta machines with attachments that precisely shape and slice the dough. Home chefs are more likely to have a small countertop noodle maker that operates a hand crank to feed the dough through a roller mechanism or various accessories. Before boiling, many chefs will allow the pasta to dry for at least 15 minutes and often overnight to achieve a firm, tender texture.
Rings and Rings can be found in a variety of dishes. While it’s often used in soups and pasta salads, others use it in iconic pasta dinners like Sicilian rings. This recipe, available online on the Mangio Italiano website, has a ground veal and pork marinara infused with wine and spices, then mixed with al dente rings and topped with grated cheese and boiled peas. It is then cooked like a casserole for a long wait of half an hour.
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