Ed Balls faces flak over a 'lasagne plot', but far from being pretentious, this dish has roots in 14th-century England
The veteran socialist Dennis Skinner is often good for a throwaway line. But his latest quip to Ed Balls in the Commons on Tuesday night – "What is lasagne, anyway?" – was unconvincing. Lasagne is hardly pretentious fare. It was, of course, a reference to the so-called lasagne plot, in which Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper were said to be conspiring over dinner to seize control of the Labour leadership. But what the Derbyshire MP may not know is that one disputed theory about lasagne is that it traces its origins to a 14th-century English recipe book and a similar-sounding dish called loseyn. This book was popularised by one Samuel Pegge, who was born in Chesterfield, a stone's throw from Mr Skinner's constituency. Perhaps the MP for Bolsover ought to pop down to his local Italian restaurant, where they offer "layers of pasta, mince beef and tomato topped with mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven" – all for £11.95.