Lasagna with Meat Sauce & Cream

This recipe is formulated for an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan and would serve 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 1 pound (454g) box of dry lasagna noodles fitted to your pan (you might not need all of it; I use De Cecco Lasagna No. 1, which fits the 8 inch pan)
• 1 cup (half pint, 236mL) cream
• 1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan or pecorino 
  a little grated mozzarella, just for the top
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• salt
• fresh herb for garnish (I use basil)

For the meat sauce:

• 1 pound (454g) ground beef
• 1 28 oz (800g) can whole peeled tomatoes (I use Muir Glen)
• a squeeze of tomato paste (about a tablespoon)
• 1 large onion
• 1 large carrot
• olive oil
• salt
• seasonings (I use garlic & onion powder, dried oregano/basil/parsley/marjoram, dried chili flakes and pepper)
• balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. To make the meat sauce, peel and dice the onion and carrot, and cook them in a little olive oil in a wide pan over high heat until soft and starting to brown, 4-5 minutes. Push the veg to the edges of the pan and smash the meat into the center, making a wide, flat disk. When you can smell the meat browning, start scraping the bottom of the pan and stirring, using the moisture of the remaining raw meat to deglaze (you might want to turn the heat down a bit at this point). 
2. When all the meat has turned color, stir in a squeeze of tomato paste and let it brown for a moment. Before it burns, deglaze with the juice from your can of tomatoes. Squish the tomatoes with your hand and stir them in, along with a pinch of salt and whatever other seasonings you have. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and stir in a little splash of the vinegar. NOTE: This will give you as much as twice the meat sauce you will need for an 8x8 inch lasagna. Freeze the rest. 
3. To make the lasagna, heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Cover the bottom of the pan in a layer of cream, then lay in the first layer of lasagna noodles (don't parboil them first). Sprinkle the noodles with a little salt and chopped garlic, then lay in a layer of the meat sauce. Sprinkle the meat sauce with parmesan, lay in another pasta layer and repeat until you have at least four layers, with at least a little meat sauce on top. Drizzle the rest of the cream on top.
4. Heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake it for about 45 minutes. Take the foil off, sprinkle on some mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes. At the very end, turn on the broiler (grill) to brown the cheese to your liking — this should only take a couple minutes, so watch it closely. 
5. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving with fresh herbs. If you want a tidier presentation, chill the lasagna whole in the fridge. When it's firm, you'll get cleaner edges when you cut. Reheat the cut pieces on top of a little splash of water in a covered baking dish in the oven for 15 minutes. Uncover and broil on a little more mozzarella, to make the top look nicer.  
    

Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKiKcLStEuM&t=15s