No-boil meat sauce and cream lasagna

Dice an onion and a big carrot finely: thin slices, then long sticks, then small cubes.

Cook the vegetables in a little olive oil over high heat in a wide pan, moving constantly, 4 to 5 minutes until soft and starting to brown.

Push the vegetables aside and smash the ground beef into a thin disc; leave a couple of minutes until it smells browned.

Scrape it up before it burns; the water from the rest of the meat deglazes the pan.

Add a big squeeze of tomato paste and brown it briefly, then deglaze with the water from a can of whole tomatoes.

Squish the tomatoes by hand and add, with Italian herbs and spices and a pinch of salt.

Reduce to a simmer and cook as long as patience allows; here one hour.

Stir in a splash of white balsamic vinegar for acidity and sweetness, taste for seasoning.

Flood the pan bottom with a thin layer of cream, lay in noodles, sprinkle with salt and chopped garlic, spoon on meat sauce and shake on parmesan.

variation: about two pounds of finely chopped mushrooms, cooked until dry and brown, can replace the pound of ground meat.

Repeat pasta, salt and garlic, and meat sauce to four layers, then pour in more cream, a pint in total.

Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes at 180C.

Uncover, add melted cheese, bake 15 minutes uncovered, then brown the top under the grill.

Rest 15 minutes before scooping.