STRAIGHT PASTA includes some of the most famous types of pasta, namely –

• Spaghetti, which as a rule is a long, thin and with a round section. Their name is the plural for spaghetto, which is the Italian for “string” or “rope”. They are usually cooked with tomato sauce in which there’s olive oil, oregano, basil, green peppers, onions and mushrooms, sometimes minced meat and grated hard cheese, like Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano or Asiago.
• Capelli d’Angello (Angel Hair) and Capellini are even thinner. They go well with light, delicate sauces and can be part of a soup, just like vermicelli – the thin pasta sometimes called fide.
• Fettuccine are а centimeter-wide bands which complement heavy sauces with cheese, tomatoes or meat.
• Tagliatelle are even thinner and demonstrate the skill of the chef who dares to prepare them by hand. As legend has it, they were invented in Italy in 1487 by a gifted master chef who got inspired by the wedding hairdo of Lucrezia D’Este.

SMALL PASTA is led by its most popular representative –

• Couscous – an embodiment of the Arab contribution to pasta.
• In turn, the Alphabet pasta in the soup has provided entertainment for generations of kids.
• Orzo resembles barley or rice in shape and size and is delicious with various sauces as well as in meat dishes.
• Stelle and Stelline are cute small stars.

STUFFED PASTA is another big group which includes:

• Ravioli – two flat pasta squares or circles joined at the rim. A filling of meat, cheese, spinach, potatoes or tofu is placed between them.
• Tortellini are the bigger version of ravioli and are stuffed with cheese or greens, like spinach.