lasagne

Pasta-ologists believe the pasta that goes into Italy's most famous oven dish (properly known as lasagne al forno) may go back to the ancient Greeks, who called pasta strips láganon.

The sauce used in the best-loved bechemal-topped recipe that went viral around the world long before the internet resembles a classic ragù bolognese, so in Italian it's properly known as lasagne alla bolognese al forno. The Italians have many other recipes as well, among them:

lasagne al forno bianche: vegetarian version with zucchini, artichokes, mushrooms etc, in a white sauce

lasagne bastarde (or lasagne matte): 'bastard' or 'crazy' lasagne is made with wheat and chestnut flours, and usually baked with tomatoes, leeks, lardo and cheese (Lunigiana, Tuscany).

lasange di carnevale: speciality of the south, with pancetta, pork meatballs, sausage, hardboiled eggs, ricotta and scamorza, in a rich tomato sauce

lasagna al papavero: sweet poppy seed lasagne, from Friuli Venezia Giulia

lasagna al sangue made with pork blood, sausage paste. pork and calf giblets, and milk, cooked in a big pot (from La Langhe, Piedmont)

lasagne verde: pasta coloured with spinach or basil