The layered masterpiece of Emilia-Romagna
Lasagna is architecture: pasta sheets, béchamel, ragù, Parmesan – stacked layer upon layer in a dish until a golden-brown crust forms that audibly cracks under the fork.
The earliest recipe dates from 14th-century Naples, where a Latin text mentions “Lagana”. In Bologna, Pellegrino Artusi’s 1886 ragù recipe is seen as the dish’s birth – lasagna alla bolognese is now an Italian national dish.