Food item not found in the first part of the dictionary? (5)
I believe the answer is:
pasta
'food' is the definition.
(pasta is a kind of food)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
(Other definitions for pasta that I've seen before include "Tapas (anag)" , "E.g. fusilli" , "Course of Italian" , "Staple food of Italian origin" , "shells, perhaps" .)