NYC chefs use their noodles when it comes to creative pastas

1. PI FASACC

Served at: Il Ristorante Rosi (903 Madison Ave.; 212-517-7700)

Served Thursdays only as a limited special, the pi fasacc ($43) at Il Ristorante Rosi on the Upper East Side is a Lombardian treat — filled with tangy taleggio, grana and herbs — that resembles a swaddled baby. “Traditionally, families would make it together as a team project, because it takes a long time,” says chef Cesare Casella, who says it’s typically more of a special-occasion pasta. The dough is rolled flat, then cut into a circle and folded in, resembling a braid. Served with Italian truffles and butter, each 2 ½-inch “papoose” is a rich, flavorful bite you do not want to miss.

2. TORCIA

Served at: Osteria Morini (218 Lafayette St.; 212-965-8777)

At Michael White’s Soho spot, you’ll find the torcia, a torch-shaped pasta made in-house with squid ink. “I was in Italy last March. I saw this shape, and wow!” says chef de cuisine Asi Maman. The hearty dish is served with an outstanding shrimp and seppia ragu ($22) and is among the restaurant’s top sellers.

Maman credits technology for expediting the evolution of inventive pasta shapes. “Back in the day, they rolled everything by hand,” he says. “Now we can create pretty much any shape there is.”

3. BRONZE FENNEL RADIATORS

Served at: Riverpark (450 E. 29th St.; 212-729-9790)

“Shapes add dimension and texture to a dish,” declares chef Sisha Ortúzar of the bronze fennel radiators ($29) at his Midtown East restaurant. The dish is made with bronze fennel from Riverpark’s adjacent garden, and is served in a succulent gravy derived from rabbit, golden raisins, pistachios and delicate bronze fennel fronds, flowers and pollen. It’s a dish as amazingly varied as it sounds: at once sweet, aromatic, crunchy and tender.

4. RAVIOLPIZZA

Served at: Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina (75 Ninth Ave.; 212-370-0975)

Served with a pizza wheel for slicing, Rana’s Raviolpizza ($24) is a 7-inch handmade raviolo filled with mozzarella and tomato, then flash-fried to provide just enough bite to support the melty, tangy goodness inside. Co-owner Antonella Rana says the popular pasta — the Chelsea Market restaurant sells 150 of them a day — was created like her other dishes: Start with a memory, then reinvent it. “Someone said ‘giant raviolo,’ someone else said ‘fried,’ ” she says. “Food is never just food — it’s a story.”

5. VESUVIO

Served at: La Pizza & La Pasta (Eataly, 200 Fifth Ave.; 212-229-2560)

Does the pasta support the sauce? Executive chef Alex Pilas must answer “yes” to that question when developing every single dish at his Flatiron restaurant. One dish, the Vesuvio ($17), is a ridged cone that, when standing upright, is reminiscent in shape of Italy’s volcanic Mount Vesuvius. The plate is served with the classic combo of sausage, escarole and tomato. “[With] this pasta, sauce gets caught, like a slide, in the ridges,” he says, “[whereas] spaghetti and meatballs don’t make sense. You eat the spaghetti and end up with a bowl of
chili.”

6. AQUILONE

Served at: Ribalta Pizza (48 E. 12th St.; 212-777-7781)

Aquilone, in Italian, means kite. And at Ribalta, each one is cut by hand. These painstakingly crafted pasta creations arrive dressed in an olive oil base, which gets a flavor boost from Italian cherry tomatoes that break up to become part of the sauce. Zucchini, pecorino cheese, pistachio and littleneck clams complete the dish ($20).

Chef Pasquale Cozzolino learned from a master: He grew up in Naples watching his grandmother knead and roll gnocchi and fettuccine on a floured, rectangular wood board. “This is really, really homemade, handmade pasta,” he says.