Lasagne
Lasagna (the plural being lasagne) is the
wide pasta sheet that is layered to create
the baked pasta dish of the same name –
lasagne al forno. Lasagna is actually one
of the oldest Italian pasta shapes, with the
name cited in historical texts dating back
well before the 13th century. It ranges from
a square of pasta to wide strips, and its
thickness varies throughout Italy. In Bologna,
spinach is sometimes added to the dough,
while in the south it can be made without
eggs. It’s meant to be rolled very thinly, even
thinner than tagliatelle, but I prefer to keep it
on the thicker side because I double-cook it.
Equipment: n/a
Level: easy
Make your desired quantity of egg pasta
dough following the recipe on page 34.
• Roll your dough to about 1.2 mm thick.
• Cut the sheets to t your chosen baking dish.
• Cover with tea towels to stop the pasta
drying out, until you are ready to plunge the
sheets (three to ve at a time, depending
on the size of your pot) into boiling salted
water for 30seconds before assembling
your lasagne.
Maltagliati
Translating to ‘badly cut’, this is a brilliant
shape for hiding pasta mistakes. Nothing goes
to waste in Italy, so originally maltagliati were
the left-over scraps from making tagliatelle.
I collect my pasta scraps, cut them into rough
shapes and leave them to dry, then after
a few Saturday nights I end up with enough
for them to star in their own mid-week
pasta dish. The shape has taken on a range
of dierent names all over Italy – my
favourite is ‘malmaritati’, which translates
to ‘badly married’.
Equipment: n/a
Level: easy
Instructions for this shape couldn’t be easier.
Simply cut your left-over pasta into 4–6 cm
rough strips, squares or diamonds.