LASAGNE

LASAGNE

Lasagne is a wide, flat pasta shape and possibly one of the oldest. As with most other types of pasta, the word is a plural form, lasagne meaning more than one piece of lasagna ribbon. The word also refers to a dish made with this type of pasta in several layers interspersed with layers of various ingredients and sauces.

Lasagne originated in Italy, in the region of Emilia-Romagna A traditional Bolognese lasagne is made by interleaving layers of pasta with layers of sauce, made with ragù, béchamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. In other regions and outside of Italy it is common to find lasagne made with ricotta or mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, various meats (e.g., ground beef, pork or chicken), and miscellaneous vegetables (e.g., spinach, zucchini, mushrooms). In all cases the lasagne are oven-baked. Lasagne is typically flavoured with wine, garlic, onion, and oregano.

Traditionally, the dough was prepared in Southern Italy with semolina and water and in the northern regions, where semolina was not available, with flour and eggs. Today in Italy, since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold pasta is durum wheat, commercial lasagne noodles are made of semolina (from durum wheat).

ETYMOLOGY

There are three theories on the origin of the word "lasagne", two of which denote an ancient Greek dish. The main theory is that lasagne comes from Greek λάγανον (laganon), a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips The word λαγάνα (lagana) is still used in Greek to mean a flat thin type of unleavened bread.

Another theory is that the word lasagne comes from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning "trivet or stand for a pot", "chamber pot" The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", meaning "cooking pot" in Latin.  The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagne is made. Later the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish.

A third theory proposed that the dish is a development of the 14th century English recipe "Loseyn"^[ as described in The Forme of Cury, a cook book in use during the reign of Richard II. This has similarities to modern lasagne in both its recipe, which features a layering of ingredients between pasta sheets, and its name. An important difference is the lack of tomatoes, which did not arrive in Europe until after Columbus reached America in 1492. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in a herbal written in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli while the earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources

   RECIPE

   ·         Cooking:
   70 min

   ·         Preparation:
   30 min

   ·         For:
   8 persons

 INGREDIENTs:

·         Lasagne: 500 g

·         Grated Parmigiano Reggiano 200 g

·         Bechamel: about 1 kg

BOLOGNESE SAUCE:

·       Carrot: 1

·       A dusting of pepper

·       Onion: 1

·       Olive Oil: 4 spoons

·       Milk: a glass

·       Butter: 50 g

·       Red wine: 1 glass

·       Salt

·       Bacon: 100 g

·       Minced beef: 259 g

·       Minced pork: 250g

·       Meat broth: 250ml

·       Pulped tomatoes: 250 ml

·       Celery: 1 rib

Prepare the meat broth. Then mince onion, carrot and celery and let them fry in a pan with the olive oil and butter.

Finely chop the bacon and a few minutes later, add it to the pan along with the chopped meat, then fry it all for a few minutes over high heat.

Add the red wine and let it evaporate keeping a high flame.

At this point add also the tomatoes, broth, pepper and a pinch of salt and let it cook in the pot partially covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding the broth remained and lastly the milk.

While your sauce is cooking, prepare the béchamel, remembering that for the lasagne  it should be fairly smooth. When sauce is ready, you preheat the oven to 160 degrees and begin to assemble your lasagne: Grease a rectangular pan (1), spread a couple of tablespoons of sauce (2) and line the bottom with pasta (3), then cover with a few tablespoons of béchamel (4). Then cover with plenty of sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (5). Cover with the other dough (6) and proceed in the same way to achieve the second layer.

Formed more layers depending on the baking sheet and until exhausting all the ingredients. In a saucepan, mix the sauce with a little of béchamel  (7) and finish your lasagne with a thin and light coating of the mixture (8). Finally, sprinkle your lasagne with plenty of Parmesan cheese (9) and bake the whole thing for at least 50-60 minutes. 

The lasagne will be ready when they have a beautiful colour and a golden crust. Once ready, remove from oven and let the lasagne cool for 10 minutes, then cut into the pan and serve while still hot.