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Lanterne from Italy

Lanterne

📍 Central and Southern Italy ★ 4.3
Last updated Aug 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the WhatWhereVacay editorial team

Lanterne is a short, grooved pasta from central and southern Italy, shaped so that its ridged surface catches and holds sauce in every fold.

About Lanterne

Lanterne is a short, ridged pasta from Italy, named after the shape of the small lantern it resembles. It belongs to the family of short, grooved pasta shapes made from durum wheat semolina, and its deep, spiralled ridges are the whole point of the design: they give the sauce plenty of surface to cling to. Each piece is roughly two to three centimetres long, with a channelled surface and a firm bite.

The shape has strong roots in central and southern Italian cooking, where substantial dried pasta of this kind is a weekday staple. Its texture makes it dependable for hearty, rustic sauces that would otherwise slide off a smooth noodle. Because the grooves trap sauce so well, lanterne carries everything from a simple tomato and basil mixture to thicker sauces based on vegetables, ricotta or cheese.

In the kitchen the pasta is boiled until al dente and usually finished in the pan with the warm sauce so the two combine. In southern households it is sometimes offered on Sunday with a light tomato sauce made from summer-ripe fruit and fresh basil. Outside Italy it is easy to find dried in Italian groceries and supermarkets, and it works equally well as a practical midweek pasta in salads, bakes, or as a side for braised dishes.

🏛️ History & Culture

Lanterne is a short, twisted pasta shape from southern Italy, most commonly associated with the Campania region. Its name, meaning "lantern" in Italian, reflects its ridged, slightly curved form, which is designed to catch and hold sauce. The pasta is typically served with simple, rustic preparations—tomato-based sauces, olive oil, garlic, and seasonal vegetables—that highlight its texture and the convivial, family-oriented style of southern Italian cooking.

While the exact origins of lanterne are debated, it is part of a broader family of hand-rolled or extruded pastas that vary from town to town across the Italian peninsula. Unlike more standardized shapes, lanterne is less common outside its home region, but it remains a beloved local staple, often featured in home kitchens and traditional trattorias. Its cultural significance lies in its role as a daily, sustaining food that reflects the resourcefulness of southern Italian cuisine, where simple ingredients are transformed into hearty, comforting meals.

🍳 How to make Lanterne

AI-assisted, not kitchen-tested

Lanterne Pasta with Tomato, Pancetta and Pecorino

Lanterne is a hand-rolled Southern Italian pasta, similar to calamarata or large rings of tagliatelle coiled into lantern shapes. In Campania it is traditionally served with a simple, robust sauce of tomatoes, pancetta, and sharp sheep's-milk pecorino.

Prep
25 min
Cook
20 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium

Recipe ingredients

  • 300 g (10½ oz) tipo 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 3 whole (3 large) eggs, plus 1 yolk if dough is dry
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 400 g (14 oz) ripe tomatoes, San Marzano if possible, peeled and chopped
  • 120 g (4¼ oz) pancetta, diced; guanciale is more traditional
  • 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pinch chilli flakes, optional
  • 5 g (1 tsp) salt-packed capers, rinsed
  • 80 g (⅔ cup) aged pecorino romano, finely grated
  • 20 g (¼ cup) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter

Steps

  1. 1 Mound the flour on a clean board, make a well in the centre, crack in the eggs and add the salt. Using a fork, gradually draw the flour into the eggs, then knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and slightly tacky. Wrap in cling film and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  2. 2 Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a sheet about 2 mm (1/16 in) thick. With a sharp knife or pasta wheel, cut into strips 6 mm (¼ in) wide. Lay a few strips flat on the board and, using the tip of a chopstick or skewer, coil each strip around it to form a loose spiral about 5 cm (2 in) across, sliding it off to make a 'lantern'. Place on a floured tray. Repeat; you should get 18 to 20 lanterne. Let them dry 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
  3. 3 Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat, add the garlic and pancetta and cook 3 to 4 minutes until the pancetta fat renders and edges turn crisp. Discard the garlic.
  4. 4 Stir in the tomatoes, chilli, capers and a pinch of salt. Simmer 12 to 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the oil begins to separate at the edges. Taste and adjust salt.
  5. 5 Bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil (about 10 g salt per litre). Drop in the lanterne and cook 4 to 5 minutes; they are done when they float and the centre spiral feels tender with no raw flour core. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer straight to the sauce.
  6. 6 Add the butter and a splash of the pasta water to the pan. Toss gently over low heat for 30 seconds so the sauce clings to the coils.
  7. 7 Divide among warm bowls, finish with the grated pecorino and parsley, and serve immediately.
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