Cooking With Wine – Lasagna

A new way of cooking with wine

Welcome to our blog series on cooking with wine in which we continue our culinary adventure with our family recipe for Lasagna. This is comfort food at its best.

Before we begin, there’s one thing that we find really handy and that’s to know a few things up front. First, how long will it take to prep, cook, set aside, refrigerate, etc. before it’s ready to eat? Second, how many people will it serve? Lastly, the grocery list.

Nice to know details

As a general rule, set aside the following times:

1. 1 hour preparation
2. 1 and 1/2 hours cooking
3. 10 minutes set aside
4. Serves 8-10 people

Grocery List

• 2 bottles of dry red wine
• 1 pound of hot Italian sausage (3 links)
• 2 cooking onions
• 1 jar of sundried tomatoes in oil
• 4 bell peppers (one of each green, orange, red and yellow)
• 6 ounces of fresh kale or spinach
• 2 large carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves
• 2 796 ml cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of fresh basil leaves
• 156 ml can of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano leaves
• 18 dried lasagna noodles
• 6 ounces of Ricotta or cottage cheese
• 3 eggs
• 6 ounces of Feta or goat cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces of Parmigiano Reggiano or Asiago Cheese
• Pepper corns
• Sea salt

Sauce

First, prepare the meat and onion mixture:

• Remove the sausage casings from 3 hot Italian sausages and discard
• Crumble the sausage into a Dutch oven
• Chop 2 cooking onions and place in the Dutch oven
• Sauté over medium heat for 20 minutes

Second, prepare these ingredients and set aside in a medium bowl

• Cut sundried tomatoes in oil into small pieces to make 1/4 cup
• Chop 1/4 cup of each of the bell peppers
• Slice 6 ounces of spinach lengthwise and crosswise
• Shred carrots to make 1/3 cup
• Mince 4 garlic cloves
• Once

Third, add these ingredients to the Dutch oven:

• 2 796 ml cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of fresh basil leaves
• 1 156 ml can of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• Mix everything in the Dutch oven well
• Bring to a boil
• Reduce to medium heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

Pasta

You’ll need a large pot for this stage.

• Place 2 quarts of water to the large pot
• Add 1/4 tablespoon of sea salt
• Bring to a boil
• Place 18 dried lasagna noodles in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes until al dente
• Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse it under cold water
• Dry the pasta noodles on paper towels

Soft cheese mixture

• Add 6 ounces of each of the Ricotta and Feta cheeses to a small bowl
• Crack 3 eggs into the bowl
• Grind 1/2 teaspoon of pepper into the bowl
• Add 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• Mix ingredients together well

Make the lasagna

Just to be safe, it’s a good idea to have extra bottles of the red wine you’re using in the recipe. You might want to have a few sips during the cooking stage. Also, you’ll need to serve some with dinner!

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
• Grease the bottom of each of 2 deep oven-proof lasagna casseroles with 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Place 1 layer of 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of each casserole
• Spread 1/2 of the meat sauce over the noodles
• Dollop 1/2 of the soft cheese mixture over the meat sauce
• Add another layer of 3 lasagna noodles on top
• Spread 1/2 of the meat sauce over the noodles
• Dollop 1/2 of the soft cheese mixture over the meat sauce
• Add another layer of 3 lasagna noodles on top
• Grate 4 ounces of Parmigiano Reggiano over the lasagna
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes
• Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving

Serving

• Cut the lasagna into 3-inch squares
• Serve with your favourite green salad

Pairing

We recommend serving this meal with a bottle of your very own DIY craft red wine. It’s always best to serve the same wine used during cooking. This always helps to enhance both the flavours in the dish and also the wine.

Tips

• You can substitute ground beef for pasta but you’ll need to add 3 crushed red chili peppers
• If you’re using fresh made lasagna noodles, you don’t need to cook them in water first
• Leftovers freeze beautifully

We hope you enjoy this Cooking With Wine – Lasagna recipe.