[Sca-cooks] Medieval Italian recipes for Lasagna was Re: Medieval English Lasagna

[Louise Smithson]

And what is lasagne (to most of the modern world this
means lasagne bolognese or some close variant thereof)
made of? I mean, apart from the tomato ragout? Largely
flat pasta and cheese, no? 

OK had to weigh in on this one.  The earliest Italian
MS on cooking seem to come from the 14th/15th century
with very little accurate dating other than that. 
Here are the earliest examples I could find in my
collections (newly expanded by some ILL).

De le lasagne
Togli farina bona, bianca; distempera con acqua
tepida, e fa che sia spessa: poi la stendi
sottilmente, e lassa sciugare: debbiansi cocere nel
brodo del cappone, o d'altra carne grassa: poi metti
nel piattello col cascio grasso grattato, a suolo a
suolo, come ti piace.

Of the lasagna
Take good white flour, temper with tepid water and
make it that it is dense/thich: then stretch it thin,
and let it dry: one has to cook it in capon broth or
other fat meat broth: then put it in the plate with
grated cheese, layer on layer, as you please.

Il Libro della cucina, del sec XIV, Bologna  Presso
Gaetano Romagnoli 1863.  From MS  N 143 University of
Bologna. 

Chi vole fare alesagne, tolla bona farina bianca et
falla bollire in brodo de capuni.  Se non fosse tanta,
mictice de altra acqua, et mectace del sale a bollire
con essa, et tragala in uno catino, et mectano del
cascio assay, et burla sopra il tagliaturi del grasso
del capone.

If you want to make lasagna, take good white flour and
let them boil in capon broth.  If perhaps you don't
have enough add more water and add salt to boil with
these, and take out and put in a bowl/dish, and add
enough cheese and butter above and chopped capon fat.

Anchi se possono fare lesagne in pavese.  Tolale  et
facale cocere che non sciano troppo cocte, et tragale
del vaso, et lavale ad dui acque frede, ad cio ch'el
siano desillo metereace spetie et caffarano, et poy se
volionu frigere. 

Also one can make lasagna of Pavia. Take them and put
them to cook so that they are not too much cooked, and
pull from the pan, and wash twice in cold water and so
that they are (of yellow ?? dubious trans) add spices
and saffron, and then you want to fry them. 

Bostrom Ingemar, ed. Anonimo Meridionale, Due Libri di
Cucina.  Acta Universitatis, Romanica Stockholmiensia,
11. Stoclholm.  Almqvist & Wiksell 1985.  Libro B
dated to the first half of the 15th Century. 

Couldn't find any lasagna made from pasta in the
Maestro Martino collection.  Claudio Benporat.  Cucina
Italiana del Quattrocento.  Biblioteca dell Archivum
romanicum Seri I.  Storie Letterature, Paleografia 272
(this is 14th Century
Per fare lasagne di pelle di capone
Togli la pelle del cappone cotto e tagliala inpezuoli
e ponila in brodo di capone grasso e fallo bollire per
ispatio di meza hora con uno pocho di zaffarano dipoi
fa le minestre con un pocho di caso di sopra e con
spetie. 

To make lasagne of capon skin.
Take the skin of cooked capons and cut into pieces and
put in fat capon broth and let it boil for the space
of half an hour with a little bit of saffron then make
the dish with a little bit of cheese above and with
spices.  

Last one, something with nuts not cheese. 

XXXVIII. Lasagne.
Se tu voy fare lansagne de quaressima, toy le lasagne
e mitile a coxere, e toli noxe monde e ben pesta e
maxenate, e miti entro le lasagne, e guardale dal
fumo; e quando vano a tavola, menestra e polverizage
de le specie, del zucharo. 

XXXVIII. Lasagne.
If you want to make lasagne in lent, take the lasagne
and put it to cook, and take walnuts peeled and well
beaten and ground, and put into the lasagne, and guard
from smoke, and when it goes to the table, serve and
powder with the spices and sugar. 

Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco
(14th/15th c.)  (Anonimo Veneziano)

In conclusion, yup the italians had lasagna.  Lots of
variants too.

Helewyse de Birkestad.




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