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lasagna

 
Dictionary: la·sa·gna  la·sa·gne (lə-zän') pronunciation
also n.
  1. Pasta in flat, very wide strips.
  2. A dish made by baking such pasta with layers of sauce and fillings such as cheese or meat.

[Italian, possibly from Vulgar Latin *lasania, from Latin lasanum, chamber pot, cooking pot, from Greek lasanon.]


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pl. lasagne [luh-ZAHN-yah] 1. A wide flat noodle, sometimes with ruffled edges. 2. A dish made by layering boiled lasagna noodles with various cheeses (usually including mozzarella) with the cook's choice of sauce, the most common being tomato, meat or béchamel. This dish is then baked until bubbly and golden brown.

WordNet: lasagna
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: baked dish of layers of lasagna pasta with sauce and cheese and meat or vegetables
  Synonym: lasagne

Meaning #2: very wide flat strips of pasta
  Synonym: lasagne


Wikipedia: Lasagna
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Lasagna, fresh from the oven.

Lasagna (singular, Italian pronunciation: [laˈzaɲa]; plural lasagne [laˈzaɲe] but always spelled lasagne in Italy and UK) is both a form of pasta in sheets (sometimes rippled, though seldom so in Northern 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.

Contents

Variants

Some recipes call for more than one cheese, most often ricotta and mozzarella. Mozzarella is made in the south of Italy, so the use of these two cheeses is typical of lasagne made in Naples or further south.

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

Lasagne alla Bolognese uses only Parmigiano Reggiano, Bolognese sauce and nutmeg flavored béchamel sauce (besciamella). Classic Bologna lasagne should be made with Lasagne verdi (green lasagne) which is egg pasta with added spinach, although in other towns of Emilia-Romagna, the lasagne need not be green. As with the term 'lasagne', the verdi variety can refer to the dish or the pasta. A vegetarian version of the traditional Bologna lasagne or “Lasagne alla bolognese" is sometimes found in adjacent in Tuscany – not traditionally a pasta region – and other regions. It substitutes a simple tomato and basil sauce for the Bolognese sauce, arranged with layers of noodles, nutmeg flavored béchamel sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Especially outside Italy, there are many variants, from artichoke spinach lasagna to spicy chipotle lasagna to vegetarian and seafood versions. The dish lends itself to creative use of ingredients by home cooks as well as chefs.

Today the term "Lasagne" is often chef speak for layering and baking, so you may find a Potato/Scallop or a Frittata/Shrimp "Lasagne" where there is no pasta in the dish at all.

In eastern Europe a similar dish called Łazanki is made.

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

Rippled sheets are typically packaged pasta made of durum or hard wheat which repels sauces – the ripples are designed to hold the sauce better. Emilia-Romagna egg pasta, which is made with soft wheat, drinks up sauce and does not need the help of rippling.

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"[1][2][3]. 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. It wasn't long before 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.[4][5][6][7][8]

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.[9] The claim is dubious, in light of the much earlier Roman use of "lasanum".[9]

Popular culture

  • In the comic strip Garfield, lasagna is said to be the favorite food of Garfield, an orange tabby cat who enjoys eating, but especially loves lasagna.
  • In the television series Friends, lasagna is one of the foods favored by character Joey Tribbiani.
  • In the animated television series Daria, Daria Morgendorffer's family is seen eating lasagna for dinner in nearly every episode.
  • Comedian and satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of "La Bamba" (song) by Richie Valens titled Lasagna on his album Even Worse. The song includes many references to Italian food and culture.
  • The Song Digsy's Dinner by the british rock band Oasis features the lyrics "I'll Wake You Up at Half Past Three We'll Have Lasagne" and "Then Your Friends Will All Go Green For My Lasagne".

References

  1. ^ Lasana, Liddell and Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
  2. ^ Muhlke, Christine (1997-04-02). "A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names". Cookbook Shelf: Book Review. Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/april97/food/cookbook970402.html. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
  3. ^ "lasagna". Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/dictionary?va=Lasagna. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
  4. ^ Laganon, Liddell and Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
  5. ^ "Food in the Ancient World from A to Z", Andrew Dalby, Routledge, 2003
  6. ^ "Everyone Eats: Understanding Food and Culture", Eugene Newton Anderson, NYU Press, 2005
  7. ^ The Real Italian Pasta
  8. ^ Lasagna recipes
  9. ^ a b Emory, David (July 15, 2003). ""Stop the Presses, Lasagna is British!"". About.com. http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/008887.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 

Translations: Lasagna
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - lasagne

Nederlands (Dutch)
lasagne

Français (French)
n. - lasagne

Deutsch (German)
n. - Lasagne

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λαζάνια

Italiano (Italian)
lasagne

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lasanha (f)

Русский (Russian)
лазанья

Español (Spanish)
n. - lasaña

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lasagne

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
长扁面条所做的一道意大利菜

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 長扁麵條所做的一道意大利菜

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 이탈리아 납작한 면류의 일종, 그 요리한 것

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ラザーニャ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لازانيا, نوع من أطعمه المعجنات الايطاليه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮לזניה (מאפה אטריות עם בשר/גבינה ורוטב)‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lasagna" Read more
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