Layered Love: Top 10 Fun Facts About Lasagna You Never Knew!

1. Lasagna's Name Game

Like angel hair pasta on a cactus: surprising but oddly intriguing—did you know lasagna goes by different names in Italy? In the northern regions, it sashays as "lasagne," while in the south, it struts as "lasagna." But wait, there's more! These plurally perplexing titles actually sauntered out of the Greek word "laganon," a flat pasta dough cut into slim, chic, catwalk-worthy strips, evolving into the deliciously layered phenomenon we now know and love.
Source => mitaliakitchen.com

2. Medieval England's Trendy Dish

Guess who served lasagna before it was cool – medieval England, that's who! Those trendy culinary time travelers took "dinner and a show" to a whole new level: Turns out, the first recorded recipe for a lasagna-based dish can be found in the 14th-century English cookbook, The Forme of Cury, written by King Richard II's cooks. Called Loseyns, this early version featured thin pasta sheets, cooked in broth and layered with cheese and spices known as powdour douce. As for tomatoes, Europe wouldn't even lay their eyes on them for another 200 years!
Source => madeupinbritain.uk

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=> Fun Facts about Pasta

3. Spinach Joins the Party

When spinach decided to crash the lasagna party, history was forever changed: Bolognese lasagna emerged during the Renaissance, when cooks incorporated spinach into the egg pasta dough, adding delightful color and flavor – seasoned with ragù and béchamel sauce – to the already scrumptious Parmigiano cheese-layered dish.
Source => italymagazine.com

4. Fiesta with Mexican Lasagna

When life gives you lasagna, make it a fiesta: Mexican Lasagna switches up the classic Italian dish by swapping pasta for flour tortillas and adding taco seasoning, diced green chiles, and refried beans into the mix, while ditching the standard tomato sauce for a sour cream and chili powder concoction, resulting in a spicy casserole garnished with extra mouthwatering toppings like cilantro, avocado, black olives, and pickled jalapenos.
Source => spicysouthernkitchen.com

5. Ancient Greek Garfield's Delight

Imagine if ancient Greeks and Romans had a version of Garfield, grumpily demanding a cheesy, comforting pasta dish: Oh, wait, they sort of did! The history of lasagna dates back to their time, with a similar dish called laganon: This hearty concoction has evolved through the centuries, including a medieval version cooked in meat or fish broth, to the late Renaissance where it was baked with lavish ingredients like cheese, cinnamon, and butter, courtesy of culinary maestro Bartolomeo Scappi. Today, lasagna remains a global staple, donning countless scrumptious variations to delight taste buds on every continent.
Source => historicalitaliancooking.home.blog

6. Aussie Kangaroo Lasagna

Hopping down the lasagna trail with a little Aussie twist: Kangaroo meat can be used as a lean and flavorful alternative in traditional lasagna recipes, with a combination of onion, garlic, tomato paste, and bush tomato chutney, cooked to medium rare to prevent toughness, and served with lemon myrtle béchamel sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese.
Source => multiculturalcookingnetwork.wordpress.com

7. Sweet Lasagnas for Dessert

When life gives you lasagnas, make dessert: it turns out that not just the savory type, but delectable sweet lasagnas layered with rich ricotta cheese, whipped cream, and scrumptious fruit slices exist to satisfy those sugar cravings while still staying true to the lasagna essence of cheesy, stacked goodness.
Source => nationaldaycalendar.com

8. Cheesy Medieval Medicine

Feeling a little "cheesy" at the dinner table with your fabulous lasagna and wondering why? The answer might just be medieval medicine: Turns out, lasagna was once believed to possess both culinary and medicinal properties, with the semi-hard cheese used in it supposedly helping to close off the stomach and speed up digestion - not to mention its name "losyns" possibly derived from the traditional shape of medicines too!
Source => leobalecelad.wordpress.com

9. Popeye Power-Up with Spinach

Popeye's secret weapon has infiltrated Italian cuisine, flexing its nutrient-packed muscles to elevate the classic lasagna to even greater heights: By adding spinach to the dish, you're not only enhancing its flavor but also reaping the benefits of iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A, C, and K, and alpha-lipoic acid, which aids in diabetes management and promotes healthy skin and hair.
Source => orlandodietitian.com

10. Decadent Chocolate Lasagna

In a topsy-turvy world where lasagna throws caution to the wind and indulges in its sweet side, it dons an irresistible disguise of cookie crumbs, cream cheese, and chocolate pudding: Behold the decadent Chocolate Lasagna, a no-bake dessert layered with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips, perfect for potlucks, parties, and holidays; much to the chagrin of the calorie-counting community, this heavenly dessert stays fresh in the fridge for up to three days.
Source => amandascookin.com