Pasta
Sauce

Pasta is generally served with some type of sauce; the sauce and the type of pasta are usually matched based on consistency and ease of eating. Northern Italian cooking uses less tomato sauce, garlic and herbs, and béchamel sauce is more common. However, Italian cuisine is best identified by individual regions. Pasta dishes with lighter use of tomato are found in Trentino-Alto Adige and Emilia-Romagna regions of northern Italy. In Bologna, the meat-based Bolognese sauce incorporates a small amount of tomato concentrate and a green sauce called pesto originates from Genoa. In central Italy, there are sauces such as tomato sauce, amatriciana, arrabbiata, and the egg-based carbonara.

Tomato sauces are also present in southern Italian cuisine, where they originated. In southern Italy more complex variations include pasta paired with fresh vegetables, olives, capers or seafood. Varieties include puttanesca, pasta alla Norma (tomatoes, eggplant and fresh or baked cheese), pasta con le sarde (fresh sardines, pine nuts, fennel and olive oil), spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (lit. ' spaghetti with garlic, oil and hot chili peppers '), pasta con i peperoni cruschi (crispy peppers and breadcrumbs).

Pasta can be served also in broth (pastina, or stuffed pasta, such as tortellini, cappelletti and agnolini) or in vegetable soup, typically minestrone or bean soup (pasta e fagioli).
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