Lasagna, also known by the plural formlasagne, is atype of pasta made in wide, flat sheets. It originates inItalian cuisine, where it is served in a number of ways , including inbroth (lasagne in brodo), but is best known for its use in a baked dish made by stacking layers of pasta, alternating with fillings such asragù (ground meats and tomato sauce),béchamel sauce, vegetables, cheeses (which may includericotta,mozzarella, andParmesan), and seasonings and spices.[1] Typically, cooked pasta is assembled with the other ingredients, topped with grated cheese, and then baked in an oven (al forno): regional variations of this dish are found across Italy.[2]
Name
As with most other types of pasta, the Italian word is a plural form:lasagne (Italian:[laˈzaɲɲe]) meaning more than one sheet oflasagna (UK:/ləˈzænjə/,[3]US:/ləˈzɑːnjə/;Italian:[laˈzaɲɲa]). When referring to the baked dish, regional usage in Italy favours the plural formlasagne in the north of the country and the singularlasagna in the south.[4] The former plural usage has influenced the usual spelling found inBritish English, while the southern Italian singular usage has influenced the spelling often used inAmerican English.[4] Bothlasagna andlasagne are used as singularnon-count (uncountable) nouns in English.[5]
Etymology
Inancient Rome, there was a dish similar to a traditional lasagna calledlasana orlasanum (Latin for 'container' or 'pot') described in the bookDe re coquinaria byMarcus Gavius Apicius,[6] but the word could have a more ancient origin. The first theory is thatlasagna comes fromGreek λάγανον (laganon), a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.[7][8][9][10] The word λαγάνα (lagana) is still used in Greek to mean a flat thin type ofunleavened bread baked for theClean Monday holiday.[11]
Another theory is that the word lasagna comes from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning 'trivet', 'stand for a pot' or 'chamber pot'.[12][13][14] TheRomans borrowed the word aslasanum, meaning 'cooking pot'.[15] The Italians used the word to refer to the cookware in which lasagna is made. Later the food took on the name of the serving dish.[citation needed]
Another proposed link or reference is the 14th-century English dishloseyn[16] as described inThe Forme of Cury, a cookbook prepared by "the chief Master Cooks ofKing Richard II",[17] which included English recipes as well as dishes influenced by Spanish, French, Italian, and Arab cuisines.[18] This dish has similarities to modern lasagna in both its recipe, which features a layering of ingredients between pasta sheets, and its name. An important difference is the lack oftomatoes, which did not arrive in Europe until afterColumbus reached the Americas in 1492. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in aherbal written in 1544 byPietro Andrea Mattioli,[19] while the earliest cookbook found with tomato recipes was published inNaples in 1692, but the author had obtained these recipes from Spanish sources.[19]
Origins and history
Lasagna originated in Italy during theMiddle Ages. The oldest known written reference to lasagna appears in 1282, in aballad transcribed by a Bolognesenotary, "Pur bii del vin, comadre, e no lo temperare" ('Just drink some wine, my woman, and do not dilute it'), part of theMemoriali Bolognesi (lit.'Bolognese Memorials'):[20]
Italian
Giernosen le comadre trambedue a la festa, de gliocch'e de lasagne se fén sette menestra
The first recorded recipe was set down in the early 14th century in theLiber de Coquina (The Book of Cookery).[22] It bore only a slight resemblance to the later traditional form of lasagna, featuring afermenteddough flattened into thin sheets, boiled, sprinkled with cheese and spices, and then eaten with a small pointed stick.[23] Recipes written in the century following theLiber de Coquina recommended boiling the pasta in chicken broth and dressing it with cheese andchicken fat. In a recipe adapted for theLentenfast,walnuts were recommended.[23]
Variations
Pasta
Mass-produced lasagne with a ruffled edge is calledlasagna riccia,doppio festone,sciabò, andsciablò.[24] In recent times, lasagne used in the baked dish have tended to be of a long, narrow rectangular shape called alasagna a nastro orpappardella, although a more traditional square shape is still found.[25]
In theVeneto, factory-producedlasagne are calledbardele orlasagnoni.[24] Narrowerlasagne aremezze lasagne, and if with a ruffled edge,mezze lasagne ricche.[24] Similar pastas are the narrowerlasagnette and its longer cousin, thelasagnotte (cappellasci [sic] inLiguria[24][26]), as well as thesagne ofSalento (the "heel" of the Italian "boot"),[24] andlagana in the remainder ofApulia.[24]
Dish
Lasagne al forno
There are many regional variations of the dish in Italy; these were often traditionally served during religious celebrations, which were some of the few times in the year that many people would eat meat.[27] The lasagna ofNaples,lasagne di Carnevale, is layered with localsausage, small friedmeatballs, hard-boiled eggs,ricotta andmozzarella cheeses, and sauced withNeapolitan ragù, a meat sauce.[28] The dish is eaten atCarnival, and is not held in high esteem locally; food writer Arthur Schwartz details that "almost without fail", Neapolitans tell visitors "the really good lasagne is fromBologna".[29]Italian-American recipes show an influence of Neapolitan lasagna, often using ricotta cheese in place of thebesciamella orbéchamel sauce found in northern Italian recipes.[30] Another southern Italian recipe,lasagnePugliese, is also associated with a religious festival, in this caseChristmas: it uses acapon broth in place ofragù, and is layered with veal meatballs, mozzarella,prosciutto, and Parmesan cheese.[31]
Lasagne al forno, layered with a thickragù and béchamel and corresponding to the most common version of the dish outside Italy, is traditionally associated with theEmilia-Romagna region of Italy. In its capital, Bologna,lasagne alla Bolognese is layered with ragù (a thick sauce made with onions, carrots, celery, finely ground pork and beef, butter, and tomatoes),[32][33] béchamel sauce, andParmesan cheese.[34][35]Lasagne alla Ferrarese, from the town ofFerrara, features sheets of green pasta (created by mixing spinach into the pasta dough) and may includepancetta, chicken livers, and other meats.[36] A version from theMarche, known asvincisgrassi, features mushrooms and offal such as chicken livers andsweetbreads.[37]Lasagne alla Genovese, fromGenoa, combines a light béchamel withpesto and is then baked, although some more modern Genoese versions omit the béchamel and use boiled pasta.[38]
Traditionally, pasta dough prepared insouthern Italy usedsemolina and water; in thenorthern regions, where semolina was not available,flour andeggs were used. In Emilia-Romagna the dough orsfoglia was traditionally rolled paper-thin by hand, often by a professionalsfogline.[25] In modern Italy, since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold dried pasta isdurum wheat, industrial dried lasagne sheets are made from durum wheat semolina.[39]
^"Lasagna". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved30 June 2017.
^MacAllen, Ian (2022).Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 123.
^The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.
^abBuccini, A. F. (2013)."Lasagne, a layered history". In McWilliams (ed.).Wrapped & Stuffed Foods: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. Prospect. p. 95.ISBN9781903018996.... in referring to baked versions of the dish, regional usage in Italy favours the plural formlasagne in the north and the singular formlasagna in the south; from the former usage stems the British use of 'lasagne' and from the latter the American 'lasagna'. Neither usage can be considered 'more correct' ....
^Laurie Bauer, Rochelle Lieber and Ingo Plag.The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology. Oxford University Press, 2015.p. 139.ISBN9780198747062.
^abZancani, Diego (2010). "Notes on the vocabulary of gastronomy in literary works from Boccaccio to Giulio Cesare Croce".The Italianist.30 (sup2):132–148.doi:10.1080/02614340.2010.11917482.
^Rebora, Giovanni; Sonnenfeld, Albert (2001).Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Everyday Food and Haute Cuisine in Europe. New York & Chicester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press. p. 28.ISBN0-231-12150-4.
^MacAllen, Ian (2022).Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 123.
^De Peppo, Marinella (1994).L' Arte della Cucina secondo la Tradizione napoletana. A. Mondadori. p. 119.
^Hess, Reinhardt; Sälzer, Sabine (1999).Regional Italian cuisine: typical recipes and culinary impressions from all regions. Barron's.ISBN9780764151590.OCLC42786762.
^Root, Waverley.The Cooking of Italy. New York: Time-Life, 1968. Print.
^Svitlana (11 December 2021)."Lasagna Al Forno".Italian Recipe Book. Retrieved12 February 2025.
^Bugiali, Giuliano (1977).The Fine Art of Italian Cooking. Quadrangle. p. 190.
^Ayto, John (2012).The Diner's Dictionary. OUP. p. 388.
^Bugialli, Giuliano (1982).Giuliano Bugialli's Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking. Simon and Schuster. p. 159.
^"Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica n. 187" [Presidential Decree n. 187](PDF).Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana (in Italian).117: 5. 9 February 2021.Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved22 June 2022 – via translation by Union of the Organizations of Manufacturers of Pasta Products in the E.U.
.jpg)
