Necessary Repertoire

Chef Batali,

     I'm a student of Culinary Arts in Hawaii, and I've always had a fascination with Italian cooking -- I suppose a subconscious escape from Escoffier!  I'm not Italian by heritage, but I have many Italian family members through marriages, so I have many "family" recipes.  However, I'm just curious to know if you could choose one recipe or meal that's a must have in any Italian kitchen, what would it be?  Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of these questions!

--Geoffrey Atkins