Originally from the North of Italy, dried mezze maniche pasta tubes are usually grooved (rigate) and about half the size of rigatoni. The name ‘mezze maniche’ means short sleeves (or half sleeves). Many recipes for this pasta are either vegetarian or with seafood, but you can also find quite a few with sausage, speck or pancetta. Italians also use mezze maniche in some classic recipes that would traditionally be eaten with a different kind of pasta, for example all’arrabbiata, all’amatriciana, alla norma and alla gricia, as well as carbonara and puttanesca.