Today, July 29th, is National Lasagna Day. The origins of the holiday are obscure. Nor is it known who first came up with the idea. But whoever did should be given his or her weight in what has to be the perfect dish.
Lasagna comes in all forms. Some people put pesto sauce in between the thick, soft noodles that comprise the body of the lasagna. Some people put weird things like artichokes, spinach, or even sea food in their lasagnas. Some people are crass enough to put things that tofu and cottage cheese in their lasagna.
These are not proper lasagnas. Take this as gospel from the husband of a lady of Sicilian descent.
There is only one proper way to make a proper lasagna. In a greased or spayed baking pan place a layer of thick, lasagna pasta. On top of that, ground beef and/or ground Italian sausage mixed with tomato sauce. On top of that ricotta cheese (not cottage cheese; only a barbarian would do that), on top of that, spread shredded mozzarella. Repeat as often as one wants the lasagna to be large. Top it off with more beef/sausage in tomato sauce and then parmesan cheese. Bake for about an hour.
The tomato sauce should be similar to what one puts on spaghetti, with garlic, herbs, and spices as appropriate.
Just like National Lasagna Day, the origins of lasagna are obscure. Some historians place the origin of the perfect dish as far back as the ancient Greeks or Romans. The modern version of the lasagna, as described above, was likely invented, as was most great Italian food, by a sweet, old Italian grandmother laboring in her kitchen somewhere near Napoli or Bologna.
My wife’s family has a story, almost certainly apocryphal, that lasagna was invented by an ancestor named Sergio, who is said to have been the Sicilian henchman of one Marco Polo, the great Venetian explorer and diplomat. It is said that upon discovering pasta in China, Sergio invented the dish and called it “La Sagna” after his lost lady love back in Messina, from where he had to leave in a hurry for his health.
This story very likely has little if any truth to it. For one thing, pasta was well known in Europe since the Greeks and Romans, contrary to popular belief. For another thing, tomatoes, a crucial ingredient for the modern lasagna, was not discovered until Europeans happened upon the fruit somewhere in South America. For yet another thing, the person telling the story is notorious for telling whoppers.
In any case, if you have the perfect dish, as the heady smells fill the dining room, as you prepare to plunge your fork into its gooey goodness, raise a good glass Chianti in honor of National Lasagna Day.
Sources: National Lasagna Day, Holiday Insights
The Joy of Pasta, Mark R. Whittington, Associated Content, October 2nd, 2005
Hearty Meat Sauce, Mark R. Whittington,Associated Content, October 18th, 2007
