Mushroom Lasagna

I closed on a beautiful home in Hyde Park this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.

Sunday dinner at Mama's was the usual controlled chaos. Mama made roasted chicken and it was, as always, extraordinary. The table held fourteen people. The arguments held more opinions than the chairs held bodies. This is how Greek families communicate: loudly, with food, over each other.

Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.

I made pastitsio from Mama's recipe — the Kalymnos version with extra cinnamon and a bechamel so thick you could mortar bricks with it. I served it with bread and olive oil — always too much olive oil, because in this family there is no such thing as too much. We ate and the conversation was easy and the evening was warm.

Sophia told me this week that she is proud of me. I was not expecting it. We were in the car, driving to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner, and she said Mom, I am proud of you. I said for what. She said for everything. For the bakery. For the houses. For making dinner every night even when you are tired. I gripped the steering wheel and blinked and said thank you, koritsi mou. She said do not cry. I did not cry. Much.

The pastitsio was Mama’s, and I would never dare share that recipe without her permission — but the spirit of it, that thick béchamel, that layered heft, that sense of a dish that takes time because the people eating it are worth the time — that I can give you. This Mushroom Lasagna lives in the same territory: a baked pasta you build in layers, slow and deliberate, the kind of thing you make on a Sunday when Sophia is in the passenger seat saying things that make you grip the steering wheel. It won’t be Kalymnos. But it will be warm, and it will be enough, and some weeks that is everything.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, portobello), sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 cups marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until just al dente. Drain, lay flat on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and set aside.
Build the mushroom filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add mushrooms, thyme, and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates, 10–12 minutes. Pour in white wine and cook until the pan is nearly dry, about 3 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Mix the ricotta layer. In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, egg, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until smooth.
Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Layer the lasagna. Spread 3/4 cup marinara sauce across the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay 3 noodles over the sauce. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then one-third of the mushroom filling, then 3/4 cup mozzarella, and a drizzle of sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, remaining marinara sauce, and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Dot the top with butter pieces.
Bake covered. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Bake uncovered. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling at the edges.
Rest before cutting. Let the lasagna rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing. This helps the layers hold together and lets the filling settle — worth every minute of the wait.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mushroom Lasagna — For the Ordinary Weeks Worth Remembering