• Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Béchamel

• In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When it starts to foam, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly to make a paste. Remove the pan from the heat momentarily and slowly stream in the milk, whisking the whole time. Place the pan back on the burner and cook the sauce over medium-low heat, stirring often with a whisk or wooden spoon, until sauce starts to thicken, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

Mushrooms

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the 2 smashed garlic and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic cloves (save to use on toast!). Increase the heat to high and add half of the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, undisturbed, for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, toss, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and have released most of their juices. Transfer to a large plate or bowl. Repeat with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and remaining mushrooms. Add the mushrooms that were transferred to a plate back into the pan. Over medium heat, stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the wine, if using, and boil until evaporated, about 2 minutes.  *Alternatively, if you have a very large skillet, you can cook all the mushrooms at the same time.

Noodles

• If using no boil noodles: Lay them out in a baking dish then add enough boiling (or really hot) water to cover by about 1-inch. Let them soak for 5 minutes, occasionally giving them a swish around with tongs to make sure they aren't sticking together. Once the noodles are done soaking, lay them out on a clean kitchen towel, or a parchment-lined baking sheet and blot the excess water with a paper towel.
• If you are cooking lasagna noodles, follow the package instructions but make sure to cook them a little less than al dente (about 2 minutes less than instructions on the package suggest).

Assemble

• Set aside about 1/4 cup of mushrooms (just enough to decorate the last (top) layer). Spread a thin layer of béchamel sauce (about 1/2 cup) across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top, trying not to overlap them too much (for no-boil noodles I use 3 per layer). Spread 1/4 of the sauce over the noodles, making sure all of the noodles are covered with some sauce. Top with 1/3 of the mushrooms, followed by 1/4 of the fresh mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Repeat this three more times (so you will have 4 layers total) using the small amount of reserved mushrooms for the last layer.

Bake

• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and bubbly. Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with freshly cracked pepper and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, if desired.