Lasagna

Lasagne, fresh from the oven.

Lasagna is a classic Italian pasta casserole dish which consists of alternate layers of pasta, cheese, a sauce, and often other ingredients. As with many Italian dishes, significant regional variations exist. In some areas, the sauce is likely to be a simple tomato sauce or a ragù; this is mainly common to the southern regions of Italy, in others, a Béchamel sauce, more commonly used in the Northern regions. Ingredients may include meatballs, sausage and sliced hard-boiled eggs.

The word applies to both the dish and the sheets of pasta used. Lasagna is singular, whereas lasagne is plural. ^[1]

In the UK the plural term (lasagne) is used for the dish.

The word lasagna, which originally applied to a cooking pot,^[2] now simply describes the food itself.

Lasagna on a plate with the rippled layers of pasta visible.

Origin

Although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy, one theory is that the word "lasagna" comes from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning "trivet or stand for a pot", "chamber pot".^[3][4][5] The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", in Latin, meaning "cooking pot". The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. Later the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.

Another theory suggests that lasagna might come from Greek λάγανον (laganon), a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

A lasagne recipe was featured in the first cookbook ever written in England, leading to an urban legend that the dish originated in the British Isles.^[11] The claim is dubious, in light of the much earlier Roman use of "lasanum".^[11]

See also

• Baked ziti
• Moussaka – a layered Greek casserole, with eggplant, meat, and a white sauce
• Timballo – an Italian casserole
• Pastitsio – a baked Greek, layered pasta dish

References