Outstanding recipes from the owner/chef of Quartino, one of Chicago's finest restaurants.

For hundreds of years, pasta dishes have been the family favorites that home cooks rely on regularly. The purpose of this book is to provide key instructions, skills and great recipes for authentic Italian pasta dishes. These easy-to-prepare recipes range from old favorites to personal innovations, each carefully tested by the well known Chef John Coletta.

Organized in chapters such as Pasta Express, Meatless Pasta, Poultry and Meat Sauces, Seafood, Leftover Pasta, Pasta Salads, Pasta for Kids, Fresh Pasta, Baked Pasta, Filled Pasta and Pasta Desserts, Coletta provides easy access to his traditional and new recipes. Here is just a small sampling:

• Penne with prosciutto and asparagus
• Spaghettini with tomatoes and basil
• Linguine with salmon and tomato sauce
• Leftover oven-browned ziti with leeks and onions
• Radiatori salad with carrots and mint
• Rigatoni with turkey and fennel
• Tagliolini with fava beans
• Four cheeses filling
• Apricot ravioli with rosemary.

Packed with professional tips and techniques, 250 True Italian Pasta Dishes presents pasta as it was meant to be prepared and enjoyed.