Testaroli was a peasant food consumed as a one-course meal, topped with grated cheese and olive oil. A common and specialty dish in the Lunigiana region and historical territory of Italy, which is located between the Liguria and Tuscany regions, testaroli is an ancient pasta originating from the Etruscan civilization of Italy.
The Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization, were skilled farmers and cultivated crops including grain, pine nuts, olive oil, and wine. Etruscan, member of an ancient people of Etruria, Italy, between the Tiber and Arno rivers west and south of the Apennines,
They exported their foodstuffs as far as North Africa; but their greatest contribution to both seafaring folk and society was a special starch-based recipe, testaroli. Testaroli was made with water, flour, and salt. The ingredients were mixed into a batter and then cooked on a hot terra cotta or cast iron device called a ‘testo’.
In the 1st century AD writings of Horace, lagana were fine sheets of fried dough and were an everyday foodstuff.
An early 5th century cookbook describes a dish called lagana that consisted of layers of dough with meat stuffing, an ancestor of modern-day lasagna. Lasagna appears to have diffused north-westward Piedmont Region where they are known as testaroli, southwestward in the Marche Region, where it become vincisgrassi.
History of pasta testaroli
