National Lasagna Day

Celebrated annually on July 29, National Lasagna Day celebrates the Italian food lasagna. Select restaurants, such as Buca di Beppo and Spaghetti Warehouse, have historically given away free lasagna in honor of the holiday. Other Italian style restaurants may feature specials of the day with discounts on the dish.

Lasagna is a main dish that traditionally features layers of sheet pasta, tomato sauce and cheese. Lasagna may use a meat sauce containing beef, pork, or sausage or may be served as a vegetarian dish. To celebrate at home, check out Mahalo's guide to How to Make Lasagna.

The word lasagna takes its name from a Greek name of a cooking pot, lasanon. The cooking pot name transitioned to lasagne, the Italian plural of lasagna when the pot was used to cook flat sheets of pasta. http://www.foodreference.com/html/flasagna.htmlLasagna eventually became the common name of the noodle itself.

Origins of the Italian dish go back to the 8th century when the Arabs invaded the area and introduced Sicily to dried noodles. By the 1300s dried pasta was popular because of it's long shelf live but it was not until the 19th century when the combination of pasta and tomatoes are first documented.http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pasta-history.asp

In honor of the day celebrating the Italian dish, consider making lasagna at home using fresh ingredients. If time doesn't allow making the sauce from scratch, try a jarred sauce with seasonings already added to obtain a taste close to a homemade simmered sauce. For other celebration activities, choose a local Italian restaurant and join in the festivities planned in honor of the food holiday.