The lasagna is not just a dish: it reminds us of home and its scents, takes us back to places we love, to family Sundays, to laughter and holidays Shared with the people we love.

The origins of lasagna actually go way back to the Romans, when the current delicacy was just a meat pie and sheets of wheat flour and water, and it is the same "lagana" that the poet spoke of. Horace In the first century BC.

There are several references to lasagna in the Middle Ages, for example in the works of writers such as Jacopone of Todi, according to which often "granel di pepe wins lasagna by virtue," or the Tuscan Cecco Angiolieri, "Chi de l'altrui farina fa lasagne, il su' castello non ha ne muro ne fosso"; peculiar, however, is the 1284 description in the chronicles of friar Salimbene of Parma Which, in reference to another monk, said "I never saw anyone who binged so willingly on lasagna with cheese as he did": this suggests that in its simplest version lasagna was nothing more than a pile of strips of flour and water, probably cooked in broth and then topped with cheese.

Already in the cookbooks of the angioin court the dish began to become more complex, and new seasonings such as the eggs, or in other cases actual compositions were created with the meat.

It is during the Renaissance that lasagna is vaguely beginning to take on modern culinary guises, particularly in Emilia Romagna, with the birth of the egg pasta. The introduction of the egg was essential to give the dough that "stiffer" texture, typical of puff pastry.

This is evidenced by an 1863 cookbook by Francis Zambrini, where we talk about alternating layers of pasta and cheese, to which meat was then added over time according to ancient Roman custom, including boiled ducks and capons. In fact, it was from the second half of the eighteenth century that the stuffing was added to the ham, gravy and a sauce obtained from the liquid of browning and subsequent stewing of meat and vegetables in broth.

From this variant come the famous vincisgrassi marchigiani, a typical dish of the region and very similar to lasagna, from which it differs mainly in its more spicy flavor, shredded rather than ground meat, and the béchamel more compact and firm.

The recipe, however, could not yet be said to be complete without a primary ingredient today: the tomato! And this is where the Neapolitan cuisine. It is no coincidence that it is the Campania tradition that takes ownership of this dish, let's see why together.

 In 1634 John Baptist Crisci public at Naples the book "La lucerna de corteggiani," which describes the "lasagna of stewed nuns, mozzarella and cacio cheese": it is the first written account of the sheets of pasta stuffed with a stringy dairy product, then passed first to the oven. The dish quickly began to spread among Neapolitan homes, and was enjoyed by every social class, so much so that the King Ferdinand II was also called "Lasagna king".

So the origins of lasagna are Emilian or Neapolitan? Let's say we cannot attribute a specific location to it; what is certain, however, is that Naples made an important contribution to the evolution and spread of this dish, especially after theUnification of Italy.

A Carnival lasagna is the queen of the Neapolitan table. It has already been talked about Ippolito Cavalcanti in his cookbook at Neapolitan dialect in 1837, where he described the abundance of toppings of the typical stuffing: small meatballs, slices of mozzarella o provolone, grated cheese mixed with sugar and cinnamon. An explosion of flavors!

Lasagna Bolognese

Over the centuries this specialty has conquered all of Italy, in fact each region has introduced its own variation. Very particular is the one bolognese.

The paradox of this version lies in the fact that it was born about half a century before the appearance of the famous ragout Bolognese style and in this case the layers of egg pasta are alternated with spinach boiled, chopped and pan-fried with the meat sauce; or, for a "lighter" alternative, with butter, onions and chard. In the twentieth-century recipe, the pastry took on its characteristic green color precisely because spinach was also introduced into the dough, while the filling continued to be the classic one with meat sauce, grated parmesan cheese and béchamel sauce.

The Neapolitan recipe

Follow the recipe and enjoy the meal! Of course, the composition of the layers, the quantities and the order in which the ingredients are placed will change from family to family according to preference.

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 200 g egg lasagna;
• 125 g provolone cheese;
• 125 g mozzarella cheese;
• 80 g parmesan cheese;
• 2 eggs;
• salt;
• 150 ml tomato puree;
• 400 g cottage cheese.

For the sauce:

• 500 ml tomato puree;
• 400 g pork (minced);
• 100 ml water;
• 1 onion;
• Half a glass white wine;
• extra virgin olive oil;
• salt.

For the patties:

• 300 g pork (minced);
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese;
• 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs;
• 1 egg;
• salt;
• pepper;
• peanut seed oil.

Proceedings

Peel the onion, slice it then chop it. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to brown the onion. Add the ground pork and brown together with the onion for a few minutes on high heat then deglaze with white wine and let it evaporate.

Add the tomato puree and with a little water recover the remaining tomato to introduce into the pot as well. Add a little salt and stir everything together; at this point let the ragout cook for about 2 hours on medium low heat before turning off.

Preparation of patties

Place the egg, ground pork, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together and, once you have created a firm dough, create small balls with your hands. Heat peanut oil and, once hot, fry the patties for about 8 minutes. Pat them dry on paper towels.

Variant with hard-boiled egg

In molte ricette si usa aggiungere anche l’uovo sodo tra gli strati, ma è a propria discrezione. Nel caso in cui voleste aggiungerlo dovete: far bollire in un pentolino con iniziale acqua fredda le uova ancora intere, poi aspettare 8 minuti prima di scolarle e passarle sotto acqua fredda corrente. A questo punto potete togliere il guscio e tagliare e pezzetti le uova sode. 

The layers

Unite un po’ di ricotta al ragù di maiale e mettetelo da parte. Sul fondo di una pirofila da forno aggiungete due cucchiaiate di ragù e adagiateci sopra la prima sfoglia di una lasagna fresca non cotta. Stendete uno strato di crema di ricotta e ragù che vada a coprire la lasagna. Mettete sopra alcune polpettine fritte poi cospargete con mozzarella sbriciolata (precedentemente asciugata) e provola grattugiata. Stendete altro ragù per completare il primo strato e copritelo con una nuova sfoglia e di nuovo la crema di ricotta con ragù e polpettine.

Adagiate sopra le fette di uova sode e continuate con mozzarella e provola. Coprite con ragù di maiale e parmigiano grattugiato. Coprite con un’altra lasagna e poi sopra con la passata di pomodoro.

Aggiungete le polpettine rimaste e cospargete tutta la superficie con abbondante formaggio grattugiato.

Non resta altro che cuocere il tutto in forno preriscaldato ventilato a 180° per 35 minuti circa.