For my money, the greatest attribute of dried pasta is that it’s the one capable of truly reaching that paradise stage of doneness called al dente, which means “to the tooth,” or just pleasantly chewy. Thanks to this fact alone, as far as I’m concerned, dried pasta has bragging rights over fresh.
Dried pasta is also exceedingly user-friendly, almost to the point of obsequiousness. If you’re planning to add pasta to one of the recipes in this book, you should precook it rather than cooking it right in the pot to keep the starch from clouding the liquid. (See instructions.) When you’re ready to use it, just add it to the dish at hand, where it’ll warm through in a matter of seconds.
As for which pasta to add to which dishes, it all depends on how much you want the pasta to stand out. If you want to turn a stew or leftover braised or roasted meat into a “Pasta and . . .” affair, then opt for a larger or longer pasta like spaghetti or fresh pastas like fettuccine, linguine, or pappardelle. When you simply want to add some texture to a soup or stew, look to the smaller pasta shapes such as pastina and orzo.