Pasta, Risotto, Paella, Gnocchi, Potato Dishes, Pizza, and Quiches

The dishes in this section are based on a single theme. The theme is starch - in the form of pasta, rice, semolina, pastry, and potatoes.

Pasta dishes are an example of the Italian genius for elaboration from simple means. Risotto and Paella are two very different approaches to the same commodity - rice. The Italian risotto has a classical simplicity in which one flavour or ingredient tends to dominate. It has a delicacy in its many forms, to which the Spanish paella, incorporating a great variety of ingredients and in which no single one predominates, does not aspire.