Lasagna - one of the world's best loved Italian dishes. The enduring popularity of this savory meat not only provides its excellent taste, but also the opportunity to endlessly change the recipe, inspired improvising and inventing ever new variations. Lasagna can be prepared with different fillings and different sauces, but they always come out juicy and tasty.

Treasure Italian cuisine

Time and place of invention, the lasagna is unknown. It is believed that the dish appeared in Italy, but his name has Greek roots: similar-sounding word in Greek means "hot plate." In fact, the lasagna is hot casserole Casseroles. The variety and economy   plates of unleavened dough, so it is likely that the sonorous name of this dish has received thanks to the Greeks.

Whatever naming dishes and cook it just started in Italy, Emilia-Romagna. The original dish baked in the oven in special pans. Lasagna consisted of a number of layers of dough, which interlayer stew meat with vegetables and parmesan cheese. Later in the steel lasagna add the sauce and then cook began experimenting with flavors, and these experiments have not ceased to this day.

Today, you can bake the lasagna, not only in Italy, but almost anywhere in the world. In supermarkets sell special pasta of the same name, of which cook lasagna can even inexperienced cook. Dry sheets of dough is ready, as well as other kinds of Italian pasta Italian pasta: tasty, easy, fast Only from durum flour. Sometimes this lasagna is ready to color, such as pink (from the dough with the addition of tomatoes) or green (if the dough add the mashed spinach). At home, pasta for lasagna made from soft wheat flour with eggs.

Interestingly, the dish was borrowed from the Italians, the Poles: the national dish lazanki is nothing other than a plate cooked dough, filled with a mixture of fat and fried vegetables. Baked in the manner of Italian lasagna lazanki called lamantsami.

What should be the lasagna

Today is considered a classic lasagna of six layers of dough stuffed with meat, poultry or vegetables with sauce and grated cheese, baked in the oven. But in this case, the classic recipe - a basis for creativity, rather than the rule, which can not be broken.

So, often cooked lasagna stuffed with cream sauce and seafood. Bechamel sauce is often replaced with a tomato and Parmesan instead of the traditional use other cheeses or a mixture of several varieties of cheese. For example, there are recipes for lasagna with ricotta and mozzarella Mozzarella: an authentic Italian taste   or lasagna with different types of cheeses, including a deli, with mold. For those who avoid animal products, lasagna prepared with only vegetable stuffing. But if meat can be waived without prejudice to taste the lasagna without cheese - it's not lasagna, and some other dish. Of course, you can try to use instead of the usual cheese tofu, but this lasagna will probably have very little in common with the original.

Lasagna of the dough

The easiest way to prepare the dishes, of course, use ready-made sheets of pasta. It is necessary to pay close attention to their method of preparation. Some varieties of lasagna sheets before baking is necessary for a few minutes in salted boiling water, boil, while others need only be soaked in hot water.

If the plate to digest, during baking, they will not soak up the juices filling, and the dish will turn out not so good as we would like. If the sheets are not Dowar, the dish can get harsh. Boil lasagna sheets only to half if the package for some reason not specified the exact cooking time, you should focus on the appearance of the test: it must be pliable but not too soft.

To prepare lasagna is better to use a square shape with thick walls, suitable glass, ceramic or metal utensils. From the use of thin-walled aluminum shapes and molds the foil is better to abandon: the casserole can propechsya unevenly or even burn.

It is important to put in the form of test plate: layers must be stacked in a different direction. Thanks to this method of stacking test lasagna will not fall apart when cut. The plates are placed overlapping dough to filling did not wake up.

Homemade dough

Experienced cooks can prepare the dough for lasagna yourself - this casserole surprise their fans unexpectedly pleasant taste and delicate texture. To prepare the dough using flour or flour mixture of soft and durum wheat.

On the shelves of flour or flour mixture should take four large eggs, a spoonful of flavored olive oil and a little salt. Knead the dough necessarily a time to "rest" in the refrigerator. Then you can start rolling out in his. The most convenient way to do this with the help of special machines for pasta cooking, but you can turn lumps of dough into sheets of lasagna and a conventional rolling pin. The thickness of the finished plate must be less than 2 mm.

Secret delicate taste

To lasagna turned gentle, do not skimp on the sauce. Although this Italian sauces casseroles there are so many, the most common of them is the bechamel sauce. Cooking it is comparatively simple: flour fried in butter and then diluted with hot cream or broth. Depending on the composition of the filling lasagna sauce may vary. For example, you can season with pepper or herbs, lemon juice and garlic, roasted onions or mushrooms.

The more sauce, the more gentle get a taste of the finished dish. The filling should also be juicy. That is why for the preparation of meat lasagna usually use quite fatty beef, overcooked onions.

Maria Bykov

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