Meat Lasagna with Red Wine

I can say with confidence that I know how to cook a good piece of meat lasagna. Why, because this is one dish that I have served to all my past boyfriends since college. No, I only had 3. Of course, my husband thinks that this is his special meal, so let this be our little secret. =)

Anyway, I don’t know what the fascination with men and lasagna is. Yes, the dish tastes good,(and yes, my lasagna is exquisitely delicious). But it’s as if cooking lasagna for your boyfriend, and now in my case, husband, puts a smile on their faces that rivals the one they make when their favorite football team is winning.

Anyway, enough of my love story and let’s get you started.

Your Ingredients:

250g packet of instant lasagna sheets

For the Cheese Sauce:

60g of butter or margarine

For the Meat sauce:

How to make your Meat Lasagna with Red Wine

First, you need to preheat your oven to 180°C.

Next, get an ovenproof dish and brush it with oil or melted butter. You then line the dish with sheets of lasagne, making sure to fill in any gaps. Set aside the dish.

You then start making your cheese sauce by melting butter in a medium sized pan.

Add flour to the pan, let it sit for a minute, and then remove from heat.

You then add milk into the mixture and stir until it becomes smooth. Once done, return the pan to heat.

Over medium heat, continuously stir the mixture till it boils and becomes thick. You then reduce the heat and let it simmer for not more than three minutes.

Once done, remove the dish from the heat, and your cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir the mixture well and set it aside for later.

And now for the sauce;

Get a large pan and heat some oil.

Once the oil is heated, add in your garlic and onion and stir over low heat till the onion softens.

Add in your beef and cook until it becomes brown.

Once done, throw in your (undrained) crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, wine, salt and pepper and bring everything to a boil.

Once it starts boiling, reduce heat and let the dish simmer for 20 minutes.

Going back to the lasagne sheet:

Spoon in a third of your newly cooked meat sauce over the sheet.

You then top it off with another third of your cheese sauce.

You then finish this layer with another coat of lasagne sheets.

Continue doing this until the dish is full or till you run out of filling.

At the top part of your lasagne dish, give it a hefty sprinkling of cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

Pour your cream over the top with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan.

Bake dish for no more than 40 minutes or when you see it start to turn golden brown or bubble.