- Shape
- Long ribbons with ruffled edges
- Try with
- Ragù with ricotta or seafood sauce
Loosen the ricotta before adding the ribbons
For a ragù-and-ricotta dressing, stir a little hot pasta water into the ricotta until it becomes creamy, then combine it with the ragù before dressing the drained pasta. This helps spread the ricotta instead of leaving separate clumps between the ribbons. Keep a little cooking water aside so you can adjust the coating as you mix.
For a pan-finished sauce, drain the mafaldine while they still have some bite and finish them briefly in the pan. A wide pan makes it easier to move the long ribbons through the sauce without working them into a tight bundle. Serve when the sauce clings to both the smooth centres and the ruffled edges.
Let the sauce reach the ruffles
The flat middle and curled borders give each ribbon contrasting textures, and the folds hold sauce. Try a meat ragù softened with ricotta, or a seafood sauce that can work between the edges. Choose one clear direction: a generous meat sauce does not need several extra cheeses and toppings to make the pasta satisfying.
Look for mafaldine or reginette
Mafaldine are also sold as reginette or reginelle. Check that the pack contains the long ribbons you want, rather than assuming that every similarly named shape is identical. De Cecco Mafaldine n° 2 list seven minutes for al dente and nine minutes for the full cooking time. These are timings for that product: your packet and a taste test should guide the saucepan.
Questions worth asking
What can I use if I cannot find mafaldine?
For a practical substitute in a sauced pasta dish, try another broad ribbon such as tagliatelle. It will lack the curled borders, so expect a different texture and use its own cooking instructions.
