Fresh Versus Dried Pasta

• Fresh and dried pasta are very different products. Dried pasta usually contains only two ingredients, water and durum semolina flour. This is an ancestral form of wheat that makes a chewy, pale-gold noodle that can be stored for extended periods once it's dried. Fresh pasta is very different, usually made from all-purpose flour or its Italian equivalent. The dough consists mainly of flour and eggs, and some recipes add a pinch of salt or a few drops of olive oil. It's intended for immediate use, though it can be refrigerated or frozen for another occasion. Neither type is innately better; they're just different.

Lasagna Noodles

• Commercial lasagna noodles are broad strips of dried semolina pasta, usually with rippled edges. Most varieties must be pre-cooked before use because they won't absorb enough liquid from the lasagna's sauce to soften completely as the lasagna bakes. Some varieties are manufactured to be extra-porous, allowing them to cook in the sauce. That's more convenient for time-pressed cooks, though some find the texture inferior. Fresh pasta, like the quick-cooking dried variety, doesn't require pre-cooking before it's used in the lasagna. Most sauces contain enough moisture to cook the pasta, and extra liquid can be added if necessary.

Using Fresh Pasta

• Store-bought pasta comes in uncut sheets, referred to in Italian as "sfoglia." If you're rolling your own at home, most pasta rollers turn out a strip four to six inches in width. You can cut the sheets of pasta lengthwise to resemble commercial lasagna noodles, but it isn't necessary. You can simply trim the sheets to fit your lasagna dish, and then layer them with your sauce and cheeses as you normally would. By the time your lasagna is bubbling, golden and fully-baked, the fresh pasta will be cooked.

Making Your Own

• If you've never made your own pasta from scratch, it's relatively easy and rewarding. You don't need a pasta roller unless you become a serious enthusiast. For casual pasta-making, a regular rolling pin will do the job. A basic batch of dough requires 3 to 4 cups of flour and four eggs, Keep back a half-cup of flour, and mound the rest on your counter. Make a well in the middle, and break the four eggs into it. Using your fingers, gather flour from the edges of the well into the eggs. Eventually you'll work almost all the flour into the eggs, making a stiff dough. Rest the dough for 20 to 30 minutes, then divide it into six pieces and roll each one into a thin sheet. Use them immediately in your lasagna.