Three Cheese Beef Lasagne with Red Wine & Fresh Herbs

Beef cooked in red wine and fresh herbs topped with a béchamel sauce and three cheeses.

Beef Lasagne

1kg beef mince

1 brown onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 bay leaves

Fresh thyme

Fresh rosemary

2 tbsp mixed herbs

2 beef stock cubes in 300ml boiling water

300ml red wine

20 dry or fresh lasagne pasta sheets

300g mature cheddar, grated

50g mozzarella

50g parmesan

White Sauce

30g unsalted butter

45g plain flour

500ml whole milk

75g cheddar, grated

50g parmesan, grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4, 180 degrees

2. On a medium heat, add the onion, garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes

3. Add in the mince beef and continue to cook, breaking it up with the spatula

4. Cook until the meat is brown all over and then drain the fat

5. Add in the red wine and simmer on a low heat for 3-5 minutes until it slightly reduces

6. Add in the chopped tomatoes, beef stock, tomato purée, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, mixed herbs and continue to simmer on a low heat for 10-15 minutes (add in more stock if it starts to dry out)

7. For the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, add in the flour and stir to combine

8. Cook for roughly 1 minute, whilst stirring and slowly pour in one third of the milk whisking constantly, until smooth

9. Slowly add in the remaining milk, little by little, while whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens

10. Add in the parmesan, season with salt, pepper and mix until smooth

11. Spread one-quarter of the meat across the bottom of a medium sized oven proof lasagne dish (removing the bay leaf first) and top with one-fifth of the white sauce, a small sprinkle of cheddar and add the pasta sheets on top (it is not necessary to cook the dry pasta sheets beforehand)

12. Repeat the process creating a further 3 layers

13. Finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets and the remaining béchamel sauce ensuring all pasta is covered

14. Top with cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella and cook (20 minutes if using fresh pasta sheets or 35-40 minutes if using dry) until the top is golden brown and crispy