Together, the heartiness of meat and the tenderness of pasta make a nearly perfect dish. Beef, pork, veal, lamb, sausage, and the lovely Italian exports, prosciutto and pancetta, all deepen and enrich the flavor of pasta without overwhelming it. Ground meat, especially, marries well with pasta, nestling into the curves and holes of twist and tubular shapes. The result is a heady contrast in textures and a medley of flavors—spicy, smoky, and full-bodied. In the pasta recipes that follow, meat is a player is an ensemble production. It is not the star; but without meat, the show could not go on.