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cappellacci, pumpkin-filled ravioli

• Butter and Parmesan Cheese

• Cream and Butter

fettuccine

• Fried Zucchini with Garlic and Basil

• Butter and Rosemary

• Pesto

• White Clam

• Pink Shrimp with Cream

• Butter and Sage

• Cream and Butter

• Gorgonzola

• Mushroom, Ham, and Cream

• Prosciutto and Cream

garganelli, hand-turned macaroni

• Peas, Peppers, and Prosciutto with Cream

• Gorgonzola

• Asparagus with Ham and Cream

lasagne

• With Meat Sauce, Bolognese Style

• With Mushrooms and Ham

• With Artichokes

• With Ricotta Pesto

maltagliati, short, irregularly cut soup noodles

• With all soups that call for pasta, and particularly apt with pasta e fagioli, Pasta and Beans

orecchiette pappardelle, broad noodles

• Broccoli and Anchovy

• Tomato with Porcini Mushrooms

• Pink Shrimp with Cream

• Red and Yellow Bell Pepper with Sausages

• Cranberry Beans, Sage, and Rosemary

• Chicken Liver

pizzoccheri, short buckwheat noodles

• Tossed with sage, and garlic, and gratinéed with soft cheese

tagliatelle noodles, broader than fettuccine

• Bolognese Meat Sauce

tonnarelli, thick, square noodles

• Tomato with Porcini Mushrooms

• Smothered Onions

• Butter and Rosemary

• Pesto

• Sardinian Bottarga

• Prosciutto and Cream

tortellini

• Tomato with Heavy Cream

• Pink Shrimp with Cream (when the tortellini is filled with fish)

• Cream and Butter

• Prosciutto and Cream (most desirable with green tortellini)

• Bolognese Meat Sauce

• When it is the classic meat-filled tortellini made with yellow dough, the traditional service is in meat broth

tortelloni

• Tomato with Heavy Cream

• Butter and Parmesan Cheese

• Butter and Sage

Here are some varieties of cut pasta.

maltagliati

pappardelle

quadrucci

tonnarelli

fettuccine

tagliatelle

RISOTTO

Defining risotto The risotto technique exploits the uncommon properties of certain Italian rice varieties whose kernel is enveloped by a soft starch known as amylopectin. When it is subjected to the appropriate cooking method, that starch dissolves, creamily binding the kernels together and fusing them, at the same time, with the vegetables, meat, fish, or other ingredients in the flavor base. The resulting dish is a risotto.

The flavor base Virtually anything edible can become the flavor base of a risotto: cheese, fish, meat, vegetables, legumes, even fruit. Such ingredients are usually there to contribute more flavor than texture, flavor that must be bound to the rice as the grains’ soft starch dissolves during the special cooking process.

In most instances, the ingredients of the base are put in before the rice. When making risotto with Parmesan, however, the cheese goes in during the final stage of cooking. Occasionally there may be an ingredient that one must protect from overcooking. The most obvious example is clams or mussels. In that circumstance, the juices of the seafood must be extracted in advance and incorporated into the flavor base from the beginning, while the clam or mussel meat itself can be stirred into the rice when it is nearly done.

The cooking method The ingredients of a risotto’s flavor base usually rest on a foundation of chopped onion sautéed in butter. In some infrequent instances, olive oil replaces the butter, and garlic may be added.

Raw, unwashed Italian rice is added to the hot butter or oil base, and it is lightly toasted in it. Immediately thereafter, a ladleful of cooking liquid is added to the pot. The rice is stirred until the liquid is gone, partly through absorption, partly through evaporation. More liquid is added, and the procedure is repeated, until the rice is done.

It is only through the gradual administration of small quantities of liquid, through its simultaneous absorption and evaporation, and through constant stirring, that the rice’s soft starch is transformed into a clinging agent, pulling the grains together and fastening on them the taste of the flavor base. Rice that is not stirred, that stews in too much liquid, that cooks in a covered pot, may turn into