Macaroni is dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes. Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machines can make macaroni shapes but, like most pasta, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite sides of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.
Pasta is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are sometimes used in place of wheat flour to yield a different taste and texture, or as a gluten-free alternative. Pasta is a staple food of Italian cuisine.
Spaghetti is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta. It is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Like other pasta, spaghetti is made of milled wheat, water, and sometimes enriched with vitamins and minerals. Italian spaghetti is typically made from durum-wheat semolina. Usually the pasta is white because refined flour is used, but whole wheat flour may be added. Spaghettoni is a thicker form of spaghetti, while spaghettini is a thinner form. Capellini is a very thin spaghetti, sometimes known colloquially as "angel hair pasta".
Lasagna is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ragù, béchamel sauce, vegetables, cheeses, and seasonings and spices. The dish may be topped with grated cheese, which becomes melted during baking. Typically cooked pasta is assembled with the other ingredients and then baked in an oven. The resulting baked pasta is cut into single-serving square or rectangular portions.
Carbonara is a pasta dish made with eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century.
Tortellini are pasta originally from the Italian region of Emilia. Traditionally they are stuffed with a mix of meat, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, egg and nutmeg and served in capon broth.
Ravioli are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though other forms are also used, including circular and semi-circular (mezzelune).
Penne is an extruded type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces, their ends cut at an angle. Penne is the plural form of the Italian penna, deriving from Latin penna, and is a cognate of the English word pen. When this format was created, it was intended to imitate the then-ubiquitous steel nib of fountain and dip pens.
Spaghetti alla puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish invented in Naples in the mid-20th century and made typically with tomatoes, olive oil, olives, anchovies, chili peppers, capers, and garlic—with vermicelli or spaghetti pasta.
Orzo, also known as risoni, is a form of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice. Orzo is traditionally made from flour, but it can also be made of whole grain. It is often made with semolina, a type of flour made from durum wheat.
Rigatoni is a type of pasta originating in Italy. They are larger than penne and ziti, and sometimes slightly curved. They are not as curved as elbow macaroni. Rigatoni characteristically have ridges down their length, sometimes spiraling around the tube, and unlike penne, rigatoni's ends are cut square (perpendicular) to the tube walls instead of diagonally.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Pasta e fagioli, meaning "pasta and beans", is a traditional Italian pasta soup. It is often called pasta fasul or pasta fazool in the New York Italian dialect, derived from its Neapolitan name, pasta e fasule.
Al forno is food that has been baked in an oven. Italian dishes commonly prepared in this way include pizza, breads and pasta dishes, notably lasagna.
Corzetti or Croxetti are a kind of pasta typical of the Ligurian cuisine of north-west Italy, and traditional also in the area of Novi Ligure just across the border with Piedmont in the Province of Alessandria. Corzetti originated in Liguria, in Northern Italy along the border with France, during the middle ages. The name itself derives from a 14th century Genoan coin, the corzetto.
Casoncelli are a kind of stuffed pasta, typical of the culinary tradition of Lombardy, in the north-central part of Italy.
De Cecco is an Italian company producing dried pasta, flour and other related food products. It is the third largest manufacturer of pasta in the world.
Pasta alla Norma, earlier called "pasta con le melanzane" is an Italian dish of pasta and eggplant. It is typical of Sicilian cuisine, from Catania in particular.
