List of pasta dishes

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, with the first reference dating to 1154 in Sicily. It is also commonly used to refer to the variety of pasta dishes. Pasta is typically a noodle traditionally made from an unleavened dough of durum wheat flour mixed with water and formed into sheets and cut, or extruded into various shapes, then cooked and served in a number of dishes. It can be made with flour from other cereals or grains, and eggs may be used instead of water.

Pasta was originally only made with durum, although the definition has been expanded to include alternatives for a gluten-free diet, such as rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils. Pasta is believed to have developed independently in Italy and is a staple food of Italian cuisine, with evidence of Etruscans making pasta as early as 400 BCE in Italy. Pastas are divided into two broad categories: dried (Italian: pasta secca) and fresh (Italian: pasta fresca). Most dried pasta is produced commercially via an extrusion process, although it can be produced at home. Fresh pasta is traditionally produced by hand, sometimes with the aid of simple machines. Fresh pastas available in grocery stores are produced commercially by large-scale machines.

Both dried and fresh pastas come in a number of shapes and varieties, with 310 specific forms known by over 1,300 documented names. In Italy, the names of specific pasta shapes or types often vary by locale. For example, the pasta form cavatelli is known by 28 different names depending upon the town and region. Common forms of pasta include long and short shapes, tubes, flat shapes or sheets, miniature shapes for soup, those meant to be filled or stuffed, and specialty or decorative shapes. As a category in Italian cuisine, both fresh and dried pastas are classically used in one of three kinds of prepared dishes: as pasta asciutta (or pastasciutta), cooked pasta is plated and served with a complementary sauce or condiment; a second classification of pasta dishes is pasta in brodo, in which the pasta is part of a soup-type dish. A third category is pasta al forno, in which the pasta is incorporated into a dish that is subsequently baked in the oven. Pasta dishes are generally simple, but individual dishes vary in preparation. Some pasta dishes are served as a small first course or for light lunches, such as pasta salads. Other dishes may be portioned larger and used for dinner. Pasta sauces similarly may vary in taste, color and texture.

For example, baasto is a traditional pasta dish from Somalia, it includes a specific cooking style, and a specific sauce or condiment. There are large number of evolutions and variants of the traditional dishes. Pasta is also often used as a complementary ingredient in some soups, but these are not considered "pasta dishes" (except for the category pasta in brodo or 'pasta in broth').

The various kinds of pasta are categorized as: pasta secca (dried pasta), pasta fresca (fresh pasta), pasta all’uovo (egg pasta), pasta ripiena (filled pasta or stuffed pasta, like ravioli), gnocchi (soft dough dumplings). The cooking styles are categorized in: pasta asciutta (or pastasciutta, in which the pasta is boiled and then dressed with a complementary sauce or condiment), pasta al forno (baked pasta, in which the pasta is incorporated into a dish, along with the sauce or condiment and subsequently baked), and pasta in brodo (pasta in broth, in which the pasta is cooked and served in a broth, usually made of meat). Pasta sauces (mostly used for pasta asciutta and pasta al forno) are categorized into two broad groups: sughi rossi (red sauces, with tomatoes) and sughi bianchi (white sauces, without tomatoes).