There is an interesting theory about the origins of the basic Lasagna recipe, as to whether it was always an Italian dish. Dating back to the fourteenth century, with the publishing of the first British cook book, it referred to Lasagna as a British dish called loseyns. The belief that maybe the Romans introduced the dish to Britain during their conquests or that Britain did have a Lasagna recipe of a dish with layered meat, noodles and white sauce. Another theory is that the origin was Greek, from the Greek word lasanon meaning “chamber Pot.” However, whatever the various theories, today, classic Lasagna recipes are definitely Italian. Throughout the Western world, people enjoy the popularity of this noodle dish that has become prepared in so many numerous ways, with everybody adding their own personal variation of ingredients to the basic recipe.

Lasagne (the plural of Lasagna) in Italy are flat strips of noodles, while in the United States they are ruffled looking at the edges to enable the sauces that are layered on them to spread more easily. The best noodles are those made from Durum Wheat, as they maintain a hardy resilience, without disintegrating while cooking. In addition, a variety that is not precooked often in use when baking Lasagna.

Lasagna is a dish frequently used at entertainment, as it is universally popular. Any lasagna recipe is ideal for feeding crowds of people, being so easy to prepare in large quantities. 

A classic meat Lasagna recipe is,

Ingredients required for 6 – 8 servings:

•  Lasagna noodles that are cooked according to the instructions that are on the box, then drained and separated
• 4 cups of meat sauce
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 2 pounds of ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces of Mozzarella cheese thinly sliced

Grease a casserole dish, and then add several spoonfuls of the meat sauce covering the bottom, followed by a crisscross layer of noodles, then ricotta, mozzarella, meat sauce and parmesan. Repeat layering ending up with sauce topped with Mozzarella

Bake at 350 deg. for fifty minutes.

For a meat-free version here’s a classic spinach lasagna recipe.

Ingredients:

• One large jar of tomato pasta sauce
• ½ pound of ricotta
• 12 ounces of cottage cheese
• ½ pound of mozzarella 
• One cup of parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
• 8 ounces of spinach Lasagna noodles

Cook the Lasagna for about 8 – 10 minutes. You do not want it to be too soft.

Grease a baking dish and add in layers:

• Pasta sauce
• Spinach noodles
• Ricotta
• Cottage cheese
• Mozzarella

End with a layer of sauce, and sprinkle parmesan liberally on top. Bake for about fifty minutes at 350 deg.

Although many chefs have tried experimenting with pasta it has never made a successful transition to the dessert course. You might find recipes for puddings made from sheet pasta but fruit lasagne will never be classed as a classic lasagna recipe.