Maccheroni with cuttlefish ink

Pasta is 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. Typically pasta is made ​​from an unleavened dough of a durum wheat flour mixed with water and formed into various shapes or sheets, then cooked and served in any number of dishes. It can be made ​​with flour from other cereals or grains, and eggs may be used instead of water. Pastas may be divided into two broad categories, dried (dry pasta) and fresh (fresh pasta).