uva

Uve are grapes.

uva- grape; plural, uve.

Si ottiene il vino dalle uve.
Wine is made from grapes.

cipolla

A cipolla is an onion.

cipolla- onion; plural, cipolle.

Mi vengono le lacrime quando trito le cipolle.
I get tears in my eyes when I cut onions.

penne (rigate)

Penne are short, tubular pasta shaped like pens. One of the most popular type of penne are penne rigate. Plain penne are smooth tubes. Penne rigate have ridges.

Penne- a type of short pasta that resembles a pen in its tubular shape (penne is always used in the plural, there is no singular).

Mi piaccino le penne arrabbiate.
I like penne-style pasta in spicy sauce.

forchetta

A forchetta is a fork.

forchetta- fork; plural forchette.

Il bambino non sa mangiare con la forchetta. Mangia con le dita.
The child doesn't know how to eat with a fork. He eats with his fingers.

pane

Pane is the general term for bread.

pane- bread; plural rarely used.

Mi piace il pane fatto à mano.
I like home made bread.

melone

A melone is a cantaloupe.

melone- cantelope; plural, meloni.

Hanno servito melone con prosciutto come antipasto.
They served cantaloupe with prosciutto as a starter.

prugna

A prugna is a plum.

prugna- plum; plural, prugne.

Ho comprato la confettura alla prugna.
I bought plum jam.

secondo

The protein course of a classic Italian meal is the secondo. It follows the primo. The secondo is normally a meat course, but cheese or egg dishes may also be served.

secondo- second course, protein course; plural, secondi.

Il secondo è stato arrosto d'agnello.
The second course was roasted lamb.

piatto

Piatto literally means plate. In its figurative sense, piatto is a dish, a specific food preparation.

piatto- 1. plate 2. dish; plural piatti.

Ci sono quattro piatti sul tavolo.
There are four plates on the table.

Qual'è il tuo piatto preferito? Mi piace la pasta alla genovese.
What is your favorite dish? I like pasta alla genovese.

cece

Ceci are garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas).

cece- garbanzo bean; plural ceci.

Gli ingredienti principali dello hummus sono ceci e semi di sesamo.
The main ingredients in hummus are garbanzo beans and sesame seeds.