It has been reported that David Cameron is currently hosting a series of "lasagne suppers" for Tory MPs, aimed at repairing relations after the EU referendum vote rebellion. Mending fences is all very well, but why lasagne?
As a political meal it may seem a trifle, well, Italian, especially if you're feeding eurosceptic Tories, but it's a nice compromise between shepherd's pie and moussaka. The former, of course, is for ever tainted by association with Jeffrey Archer's Christmas party, and the latter is too Greek for words. Some maintain that lasagne is actually Greek in origin; others say that it's based on a 14th-century English recipe for a dish called "loseyne".
Lasagne is a great comfort food, in that everybody likes it, but nobody likes it too much. When you invite people round to dinner, you know they're not coming just for the lasagne. It also demonstrates a certain confidence, because it's actually a bit of a drag to make. You have to do two sauces – bechamel and bolognese. You'll probably have to do two lasagnes, one vegetarian (mushroom or artichoke, your choice). Marcella Hazan's book says that, for true lasagne, you absolutely have to make your own pasta. Most other chefs agree that shop-bought dried sheets are fine, but they all say you have to cook them first, even though the box says you don't.
Cameron has form with lasagne – it was the staple diet of the Notting Hill set when they plotted their way to power last decade. This tells us one of three things: David Cameron has a very simple, corner-cutting recipe for lasagne, or Sam Cameron does, or one of them knows a shop where you can buy a whole one at short notice, as long as you leave a deposit for the dish. My money is on the last of those.
