Lasagna

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This article is about the pasta dish. For the song by "Weird" Al Yankovic, see Lasagna (song).

Lasagna (singular, pronounced [laˈzaɲa] in Italian; plural lasagne pronounced [laˈzaɲe]) is both a form of pasta in sheets (sometimes rippled, though seldom so in Italy) and also a dish, sometimes named lasagne al forno (meaning "oven-cooked lasagne") made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and often ragù (a meat sauce) or tomato sauce.

The word lasagna, which originally applied to a cooking pot, now simply describes the food itself.^[1] Most English-speaking people follow the Italian usage and use the plural "lasagne" to refer to both the dish and the pasta, but Americans commonly use the singular "lasagna". For example, "Weird Al" Yankovic (an American singer and songwriter) used this spelling for his song "Lasagna", which is as a parody of "La Bamba".

[edit] Variants

"Lasagne verdi" (green lasagne); made with spinach and cheese.

Various recipes call for several kinds of cheese, most often ricotta and mozzarella. The classic Lasagne alla Bolognese uses only Parmigiano Reggiano. While most recipes use a tomato based sauce, many recipes also add béchamel sauce (besciamella).

There are hundreds if not thousands of variants of lasagna from artichoke spinach lasagna to spicy chipotle lasagna. The dish itself lends itself favorably to many creative changes of ingredients by a chef. A variant is Lasagne verde (green lasagne) which is the normal egg pasta with spinach added. Other variations include vegetarian or seafood versions of the dish. This concept is acknowledged by the writers of the Seinfeld episode called "The Butter Shave", in which "Vegetable Lasagna" was the nickname given by Elaine Benes to the airline passenger next to her.

Łazanki is a similar dish made in eastern Europe.

[edit] Origin

Rippled sheets of pasta are common in North America, but not in Italy.

Although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy^[2], the word "lasagna" is derived from the Greek word λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning "trivet or stand for a pot", "chamber pot"^[3]^[4]^[5]. The word was later borrowed by the Romans as "lasanum" to mean cooking pot. The Italians then used the word to refer to the dish in which what is now known as lasagne is made. Another theory suggests that lasagna might have come from Greek λάγανον (laganon), a kind of flat sheet of pasta dough cut into stripes.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

The recipe was featured in the first cookbook ever written in England, leading to an urban legend that the dish originated in the British Isles.^[2] The claim is dubious, due to the much earlier Roman use of "lasanum", and the Italian embassy in London particularly speaks out against such theories.^[2]