The Ultimate Lasagna and Pasta Recipes for Beginner

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

INTRODUCTION

Lasagna are probably one of the oldest forms of pasta. The ancient Romans ate a dish known as ‘lasana’ or ‘lasanum’ which is believed to have been similar to today’s lasagna al forno (baked lasagna). This was a thin sheet of dough made from wheat flour, which was baked in the oven or directly on the fire. Some food historians believe this pasta to be even older, claiming that the word originally comes from the Ancient Greek word laganon and was ‘borrowed’ by the Romans. In both cases, the original words referred to a cooking pot and eventually the dish was named after the ‘pot’ it was prepared in.

In the Middle Ages, baked lasagna became so widespread that many Italian poets and writers mentioned it in their writings. Many of the recipes from the Middle Ages onwards describe a dish more like the one we know today which had layers of pasta sheets that were cooked with meat and or cheese between them. However, it wasn’t until tomatoes started to be used in Italian cooking around 1800 that lasagna al forno started to look more like the dish many of us call ‘lasagna’.