National Linguine Day Date in the current year: September 15, 2024

Pasta is a staple of Italian cuisine. The first concrete information regarding pasta products in Italy dates from the 13–14th centuries, but it is believed that pasta has been around for much longer. It comes in many shapes and varieties; there are more than 300 specific shapes of pasta and over 1,300 documented names (many pasta varieties are called by different names in different regions).

Linguine (sometimes anglicized as linguini) is a type of long pasta similar to bavette, fettuccine, tagliatelle, trenette, and spaghetti. The main difference between these pasta types lies in their section and width: linguine has an elliptical section and is about 4 mm wide, whereas fettuccine and tagliatelle are flatter and wider than linguine, trenette is slightly thicker, bavette has a rectangular rather than elliptical section, and spaghetti is cylindrical and thinner than linguine.

Linguine originated in Genoa, the capital of the Italian region of Liguria. Its name means “little tongues” in Italian. Linguine is traditionally served with light sauces such as pesto, but it also pairs well with vegetable or fish and seafood based sauces. If you’re not a “pasta purist”, you can pair linguine with a wide range of sauces, including béchamel (French white sauce), marinara, clam sauce, mushroom sauce, and many others. Generally, sauces that pair well with spaghetti will pair well with linguine, too.

The origins of National Linguine Day are unclear, but you shouldn’t let it stop you from celebrating this amazing holiday. You can go out to your favorite Italian restaurant and order linguine, cook linguine at home, sign up for a cooking class focused on authentic Italian pasta dishes, or even plan a trip to Italy. Don’t forget to take a photo of your linguine and post it on social media with the hashtag #NationalLinguineDay to spread the word about the holiday.

If you’ve decided to celebrate by indulging in a homemade linguine dish, try this quick, easy, and delicious seafood linguine recipe. Cook 400 g linguine in a large pan of salted water according to instructions on the pack. While the pasta is cooking, thinly slice 2 garlic cloves and finely chop ½ red chili pepper (deseeded).

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the chili and garlic and cook until they start to turn golden (30 seconds – 1 minute). Pour in 200 ml dry white wine and let simmer until reduced by half. Stir 200 g halved cherry tomatoes into the pan and cook for 1–2 minutes. Once the tomatoes begin to soften, add 200 g seafood mix or cooked prawns (when using a frozen seafood mix, defrost it first) and cook for 1–2 more minutes or until fully heated through.

Drain the pasta; reserve about a cup of the water it cooked in for later. Return the pasta to the empty pan, add the seafood and tomato sauce, and a little of the cooking water. Toss everything together until well-mixed, adding more water to loosen if needed. Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh parsley before serving. Serve with a lemon wedge.