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Lasagna or Lasagne??

ChrisB , , ,

So is it lasagne or lasagna? As I go through the pasta aisle shopping for my amazing lasagna dish ingredients I come across a box marked lasagne. After a bit of research it all comes full circle into that juggernaut linguistic origin Latin, with a modern twist in Italian.   Simply put in Italian lasagna is a single noodle whereas lasagne is plural. There is your fun fact for lasagna today; now onto the history and preparation of, you guessed it: lasagna

To put is simply, an entire book could be written on the history of this dish. The elementary basics are as follows: the Romans were great expansionists, and a part of that expansion was lasagna. A Greek dish, pastitsio, was adjusted and adapted by the Romans and spread across the Holy Roman Empire. There has been a recipe for lasagna dating back to 1390 found in a medieval cookbook in Britain.

Differing from the original I am sure, this is what we are putting in front of you today. This dish is (in our opinion) a perfect blend of meat, cheese, pasta, and tomato sauce for a cooler February evening.

Ingredients:

6 Lasagna noodles

1 can tomato sauce

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

3 Bay Leaves

Recipe:

  • Brown ground beef until well cooked.
  • Cook lasagna noodles as directed until al dente
  • Combine tomato sauce and cooked ground beef in a separate container
  • In the bottom of a bread pan spoon small layer of meat sauce
  • Lay 2 noodles side by side atop the sauce.
  • Spoon enough meat sauce over the noodles to cover
  • Layer of cottage cheese & mozzarella
  • Repeat until 3 layers have been achieved.
  • Top lasagna with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese mix and place 3 bay leaves atop the dish.
  • Cover with tin foil and bake in a 325F oven for 30-45 min.

If you do not like a mix of meat, cheese, pasta and sauce you probably have not read this far, but most people do. This is one of the reasons why pasta is such a popular menu option for the masses. Yes there are many different types of pasta, and this one is relatively labour intensive, but this cheese heavy pasta casserole style option takes pasta to new heights.