A rich beef & sausage meat sauce is made by first browning them with garlic & onion, then slowly simmering with store-bought pasta sauce, juicy Italian tomatoes, flavourful herbs, and of course, a generous splash of dry red wine! Layered with lasagna and a trio of cheese – stringy mozzarella, strong Parmesan & creamy cottage cheese – it is then baked to bubbly goodness!
Meat Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 Lasagna Sheets cooked as per package instructions
- 700 gn Minced lean beef
- 250 gm Italian sausage You can opt for mild/ sweet or hot; either is fine.
- 400 gm Pasta sauce 1 Jar
- 400 gm Diced Italian tomatoes 1 Can
- 250 ml Pinot Noir or Shiraz 1 Cup
- 200 X 2 gm Cottage cheese tubs
- 195 gm Mozzarella cheese 7/4 cup
- 1 x 100gm bag Grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Eggs – beaten
- 1 Onion – peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves – peeled and minced/ grated
- 7.6 gm Finely chopped parsley leaves and stalks 2 tbsp
- 2 gm Dried oregano leaves 2 tbsp
- 0.7 gm Dried basil leaves 1 tbsp
- A generous pinch of chilli flakes – Optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking spray or melted butter, for greasing
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the beef, sausage meat, onion and garlic.
-
Brown the meat in a large cast iron pan or frying pan. It’s the best to do this in batches – simply spread a thin layer over the hot surface of the pan and once the side touching the base browns, break the meat up, crumbling & browning it all over. If there are any pan juices, reduce the heat to low and cook until dry. Drain excess fat. Remove the browned meat to a clean bowl. Repeat.
-
Transfer the meat to a large saucepan and add the pasta sauce, tomatoes (along with their juice), wine, oregano and basil. Place on low heat. Season with salt and pepper, remembering that the sausage meat and pasta sauce had their own seasonings. Cover and cook until thick, for about an hour.
-
In the meanwhile, take the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and parsley in a bowl. Sprinkle with chilli flakes if you can stand the heat, pepper if you can’t. Mix well and set aside.
-
Start assembling the dish once the sauce is done. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Spoon enough meat sauce to cover the base. Then arrange 3 lasagna sheets in a layer. Liberally spread the cheese and egg mixture over the pasta and follow with a generous sprinkling of mozzarella. Repeat the layers until you have used all the lasagna. (The topmost layer will be of mozzarella cheese.)
-
Preheat your oven to 375°F/ 190°C/ gas mark 5. As it heats, cover the baking dish with aluminium foil.
-
Bake for about 40 minutes, during which the cheeses will melt and infuse their milkiness into the sauce. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes to get a browned top. (You can also place it under a hot grill for a couple of minutes.)
-
Let the preparation rest for 10 minutes. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Italian sausage is pork meat and fat that is primarily seasoned with fennel. It is also flavoured with wine vinegar, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder and dried herbs, i.e. parsley, basil, oregano & thyme.
I love lasagna. This looks so delicious!