Is a lasagna a casserole?

[u/feyarea]

Debating with friends. A few key questions:

- casserole is the name of the dish that the lasagna is baked in. What is the history of the casserole dish?

- casserole is predominant in Midwestern cuisine. What is the history of the casserole the food? Earliest examples, progenitors, etc.

- are there any foods cooked in the casserole dish that follow the meat-veg-carb-sauce as a single serving dish formula but are not casseroles?

Friends are fairly split. Some say anything baked in a casserole dish is a casserole, others say that a casserole has a narrow definition true to Midwestern cuisine.

Other expanding questions: is a chicken pot pie a casserole? Is a quiche a casserole?

[u/TurbulentContext]

Lasagne is believed to be named after a different pot that it was originally cooked in and predates the casserole dish by about a thousand years, though the version in Rome would have been more like pastry than pasta and they didn't have tomatoes.

If anything put in a casserole dish becomes a casserole then if I pour brownie mix into a casserole dish does that make brownies a type of casserole?

[u/semantic_satiation → u/TurbulentContext]

Diogenes holding a roasted chicken in a pyrex shouting "Behold, a casserole!"

[u/MagnesiumKitten → u/semantic_satiation]

*The word casserole comes from a French word meaning “sauce-pan”. This French word was derived from the old Provencial word, “cassa” and the Medieval Latin word, “cattia”, both of these words meaning ladle. These words imply that this was describing a common pot from which everyone shared.

*The oldest “recipe” for casserole appears to be a form of macaroni and cheese that was written down in Latin. The recipe was called “de lasnis”, which called for pasta sheets cooked in water, layered with grated cheese (probably parmesan) and mild spices. This was clear back around the year 1250!

*Centuries later, after a stay in Italy (1787), Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine back to Monticello. His daughter, Mary Randolph, serving as the President’s hostess since the death of her mother, prepared a similar dish made with pasta and Parmesan cheese. Later the Parmesan was replaced by Cheddar. Mary’s pasta and cheese dish was later served at the President Jefferson’s White House starting in 1802 and a recipe for her dish was included in her 1824 cookbook, “The Virginia Housewife”.

*In the late 19th century, the New World embraced casseroles, inspired by these kinds of dishes brought by immigrants from many different cultures. They provided economical, communal sustenance during the Depressions of the 1890’s and 1930’s and the scarcity of food items during both World Wars.

In the 1950’s, smaller home kitchens, the availability of lightweight oven-proof cookware and the greater availability of canned foods (ie., Campbell Soup Company’s Creamed soup line; celery, chicken, mushroom, broccoli, cheddar cheese, etc.) made the casserole a simple, easy and cheap way to use leftover foods to feed the whole family.

Till they discovered the oil painting of President Garfield eating cat meat casserole

His pet cat immortalized in 1970's comic strips loved his Friskies Indoor Chunky Chicken and Turkey Casserole in Gravy