Pasta

Inexpensive, easy to prepare, wonderfully filling and practically imperishable in storage, pasta - as typically Italian as Grand Opera and Chianti - has much to recommend it as one of the great dishes of the world.

Though all pasta is made of the same basic wheat flour dough, the different shapes and sizes it comes in are as varied as the different towns and regions of Italy. Some varieties -pasta asciutta - are eaten with sauce and freshly-grated Parmesan; others are stuffed with finely-chopped meats, spinach, ricotta cheese and other ingredients. Still others -pasta in brodo - are meant to be served in soups.