PASTA FRESC A

The ""fresca"" in the title signifies neither freshly made pasta, as it might in Italy (this collection includes both fresh and dried forms), nor cold-and-room, temperature service, as it did in the same authors' modish Cucina Fresca (1985), but rather, in their own words, ""vivid"" and ""uncomplicated,"" with fresh, fast sauces. Included here are traditional dishes, snappy inventions of the authors and their Italian friends, even some happy accidents. La Place and Kleiman call one dish ""fun and chic,"" and that's a good enough characterization of the whole collection. It's far from essential in a market swamped with pasta cookbooks, but an attractive option for home cooks with more taste than time.