Serie A teams as classic Italian pasta dishes

Is Juventus tomato-based? Is Milan better as pappardelle? Does Empoli need a wedge of bread to mop up any extra saucy-sauce? Oh yes, it’s the lowest hanging fruit on the pasta bush but whatever, you know you want this: Serie A teams as pasta dishes… God I’m hungry.

Bari - Spaghetti cacio e pepe

A team who only avoided relegation to Serie B by virtue of two other teams imploding last season, Bari (formerly known as Pink Sport Time) aren’t going to blow you away. Not a team to have the most lavish ingredients, there is a lot to be said for the humble Pecorino and pepper recipe and when you get it just right with the starch pasta water and melting cheese… oh damn.

Empoli - Tortellini di ricotta e spinaci

It’s familiar the world over, little filled tortellini bursting with creamy ricotta and vivid green spinach. With the filling hidden away inside the curled pasta, you never know quite what you’ll get when you sink your teeth in as Juventus found out at the start of the season – the reigning champions leaving it late to claim a win over the promoted team.

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Fiorentina - Linguine alla puttanesca

Instead of going down the rabbit hole of the origins of the name of the dish, it’s best to focus on the ingredients and busts of flavour you get from the Gaeta olives, anchovies and capers. Like all good pasta dishes, it’s not overly fussy but as the Viola have proved they’re still well capable of packing a punch and mixing it with the other professional teams. Although they’ve lost a little pace since winning their first Scudetto in 2017, when you champ down on one of their capers, it’s easy to remember they’re not to be messed with.

Florentina - Spaghetti al pomodoro

The classic, the staple, the uncomplicated marriage of tomatoes and basil. Le Rossobianche, founded just four years ago, haven’t had time to mature their flavours into a deep rich ragu but can still delight with the classic and distinctively Italian ingredients. A dish that won’t blow your socks off, but you know exactly what you’re getting.

Inter - Pappardelle al Ragù

Unlike their counterparts, Inter made sure not to rush themselves, going into Serie B instead of A last season and working their way up to the top tier through a hard-earned promotion. The result a hearty comforting bowl of ragù that you want to keep dipping your fork into.

Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post via Getty Images; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Juventus - Lasagne al forno

Oh god, meat and cream? I’m so full, why did I fill up on antipasto? It’s Juventus, decadent and rich, the big daddy of the pasta menu, one order and you’ll have no room left for Tiramisu.

Milan - Penne all’Arrabbiata

Spicy, just so damn spicy and moreish. Give me the biggest bowl and let me spill it all down my red and black shirt and no one will even know. AC didn’t immediately burst onto the Serie A scene when they took over Brescia’s licence last year, they came in with a fiery punch but failed to break into the top two but this season, there is little doubt, they’re bringing the calore.

Orbica - Penne alla Vodka

Go home Orbica, you’re drunk. Much like Bari, Orbica avoided the drop by virtue of Atalanta (Mozzanica) and Chievo Verona withdrawing but with five points from their 22 matches last year, it might not be long until Orbica are reaching for the top shelf spirits.

Roma - Spaghetti alla carbonara

Spaghetti, bacon, eggs and cheese? Where do I sign up? Although Roma’s first season in Serie A didn’t go to plan (with the eggs curdling instead of mixing properly with the melting cheese and drizzle of starchy pasta water), a quick look at the pot this season and the guanciale is crisping up nicely, the yolks ready to mix with the al dente spaghetti. A summer of spending and early win over fellow full-time Fiorentina the suggestion that a bowl of carbonara will see you through.

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Sassuolo - Spaghetti aglio, olio e pepperoncino

Another team expected to have a long season ahead, the uncomplicated dish is one that requires a certain shaking of old bottles and sniffing of garlic to determine the freshness. Using ample amounts of extra virgin olive oil, the dish comes together much like the team relies on the experience and goalscoring brilliance of Daniela Sabatino, the browed garlic and hot chili flakes the young players cutting their teeth in the league. Don’t rule Sassuolo out, and don’t write off a simple dish.

Tavagnacco - Ziti alla *Genovese

Not quite the team they were, having lost a handful of notable players, the Udinese team have begun to falter and a rich slow cooked onion-based sauce is what they’ve been left with. Although the confusingly named ziti alla Genovese is cooked with chunks of meat and melting lard, it’s the locally sourced onions that star.

Verona - Trofie alla Genovese

A long, long way from the onion-based [curiously named] ziti alla Genovese, this Genovese dish is native to Genoa and is known for the fragrant Ligurian basil native to the city. That’s right, Verona is pesto. Much like Tavagnacco, Verona (now falling under the Hellas umbrella) has seen its stature in Italian football dissolve (like salt in bubbling pasta water), the former Champions League staple left to battle in the middle of the table. Without an luxury meats or spices, the humble team is another that relies on local ingredients to pack the biggest punch possible.

Photo by: Paolo Reda/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Buon appetito.