Review & Recipe: Homemade Lasagna with Figure Libre Freestyle Rouge Wine*

The history of French wine dates back to the 6th Century, so there’s no need to wonder if the French know about wine, as we very well know they do! But they are often stuck in tradition due to laws that have been created in the production of wine in France. However, over the years, there are vineyards out there who are prepared to take a stance against these often strict traditions and begin to break the rules, producing beautifully blended wines, from a varied selection of grapes.

If you want to know what we thought of one of three bottles of Figure Libre Freestyle wines which were sent to us from Domaine Gayda Vineyards then look no further….and not only that, we have paired the wine with a recipe, that you can try at home.  This is an easy go-to lasagna that can be doubled up so that you can also pop one in the freezer for another day.

Homemade Lasagna Recipe

This recipe makes 2 dishes and each one serves 2 adults three children – or 4 adults comfortably
(1/2 all the ingredients of the recipe if you just want one lot)

Ingredients

The Meat/Lentil mixture
2x tbsp of oil
1x courgette – chopped
2x medium onions – chopped
6x cloves of garlic – minced
4x carrots (no need to peel) chopped
1kg of lean minced beef or 1kg pre-cooked lentils
x2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1.5 tomato tins of water
1x beef stock cube or veggie stock cube
A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
1x tsp of sugar (optional)

The white sauce
50g butter
4 heaped tbsp flour
5 cups of milk
2 cups of mature cheddar cheese grated

9 sheets of lasagna pasta for each dish

Method

Preheat the oven to 175-180 C (this is for a fan oven check the internet for conversions on this)
Add the oil to a frying pan, add in all the veg, and garlic and cook until softened, on medium heat.
Add the meat and cook until browned, and veg is cooked through – if adding lentils, add once the veg is fully cooked through.

Add the chopped tomatoes, and use the tins for the tomatoes to measure out the water, I use one tin and filled it and for the second tin, I filled it halfway. (This means that you get all the tomato juice out of the tin) and add this to the meat/lentil mixture.

Add the stock cube and stir, then add the sugar, and Worcestershire sauce, and let the mixture simmer covered on a low heat for 30 minutes.

Whilst this is cooking, make the white sauce.

Add the butter to a saucepan and melt on a medium to low heat.
Add in the flour and stir until it forms a ball and no longer sticks to the pan.
Add in the milk around a tbsp at a time and stir continuously – don’t leave this sauce at all as it will get lumpy.
Keep string and adding the milk once its been incorporated, once you have added all the milk again keep stirring and allow the mixture to bubble up – this ensures the flour has been cooked (it will taste odd if you miss out this step)
Once the mixture has bubbled take it off the heat and stir in the grated cheese until melted and then season to taste. The mixture should be slightly thicker than double cream – if it is too thick add a little more milk, and if it is too thin – mix a tsp of flour in around a tbsp of cold milk and add it to your mixture – return it to a low heat and stir until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Half your mixtures – and either put them in the freezer as they are – or assemble into two lasagnas.

In your dish add a thin layer of the meat mixture then three pasta sheets, then add another layer of meat and then a layer of the white sauce, report this with the remaining sheets. On the top layer once you have added your final bit of white sauce, grate a bit of cheese on the top.

Cook covered with foil for 30 minutes at 175-180 and then uncover for the final 15 minutes.

And serve with either basil or a simple salad.  When she isn’t writing she is excising and researching. She has a website called www.lunchboxdr which provides resources on health and nutrition around the family and has a whole load of tasty recipes to try out. Not only has she worked on family health but also eating healthily with cancer and also sports nutrition. So you can see hear how experienced and knowledgeable Tschiesche is in the field of lunchtime fodder!

What did I think of the wine?

I decided to pair this wine with a lasagna which to me felt like a great dish, as its a fairly all-round dish and can work with e refreshing white wine or a light red, which is exactly what the Figure Libre Rouge Wine is.

This is a really easy drinkable wine, with a really pleasant and light taste. its has notes of fruit but worked well with the savoury taste in the lasagna. It had a well-rounded flavour and no harsh after taste that you sometimes get with unpleasant red wines. Some friends of ours were impressed with its quaffable qualities.

More and more vineyards now are choosing to blend grape varieties – in the past this was frowned upon,  and there was much more rapport using the appellation controllée method, where one grape variety is used from one area. This sometimes meant that if the grapes hadn’t reached their peak that year that the wine quality would also be affected. But this is how its always been done in France and this is the way many French people feel it should be done

However, when you think about it it makes sense to make wines out of the best grapes from serval varieties, rather than using a whole variety of grape that may not have reached it best potential. So using a selection of grapes from different areas and different varieties mean that you are essentially getting the best of the best.

This is what I think gives this wine its perfect-ably palatable taste. But that being said due to the fact it is blended, I find there is no distinction to its taste either. It simply is a nice ‘red’ wine. I would definitely recommend this as one you would take to friends houses when invited for a meal, as it will pretty much go with everything and suit anyone who enjoys a red wine.

Where can you buy the wine?

You can buy it here online at Majestic or take a look on their website to find out if they have any stores located close to you.

How much is it?

The online price is £14.99 for one or if you buy a section of six wines or more its £12.99. Prices may vary in store, always check prior to your purchase.

About Figure Libre

This Figure Libre Freestyle Rouge, is a blend of Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah grapes, and is made in the Domaine Gayda and is an organic wine. This wine albeit untraditional in blend has been made in a fairly traditional manner, with a lack of intervention making it a lively and riveting red. Its light taste means it pairs well with most dishes.

About Domaine Gayda

Situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounded by its organic vineyards, Domaine Gayda can be found 25km south-west of Carcassonne in the village of Brugairolles.  Owners Tim Ford and Anthony Record have joined forces with winemaker Vincent Chansault to create an outstanding facility where the team handcrafts the Domaine Gayda range of wines.  Domaine Gayda has a pioneering philosophy based on a new approach to winemaking, viewing things from a new perspective free from the constraints of convention. Inspired by the diversity and compatibility of our ‘terroirs’, our wines truly reflect the aspirations of the whole team at Domaine Gayda.  Innovation and tradition, integrity and excellence: ‘Spirit of the Languedoc’

About Majestic

Majestic pride themselves of being a fun and accessible seller of wine. Training their staff to move away from the stuffy approach often associated with wine suppliers, and encouraging them to have a relaxed and knowledgeable attitude, which they hope will encourage more people to try the huge selection of wines they have on offer.

They are passionate about their customer-focused perspective and really love to continuously explore new wines. This means that if you want to try something new, they’ve tried it for you, ensuring its good and then made it available in their shops or online, for you to buy. This means that you don’t have to be stuck with the same mediocre wines, you can try something new with the assurance of its taste based on their great online information provided alongside all their wine descriptions.

Review by: Lex Ward

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*We were sent the wine in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.