Why it works: Thyme and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 791 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
8-12 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Use a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook about 5 minutes until soft.
Add the sliced mushrooms and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until their liquid has evaporated and they are browned.
Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute. Pour in the sherry, simmer 2 minutes until reduced, then season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
In a bowl, mix the ricotta, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, half the parmesan, salt and pepper until smooth.
Spread a third of the ricotta mixture in the baking dish. Top with no-boil lasagna noodles, breaking them to fit. Do not boil the noodles.
Layer half the mushroom mixture, half the sliced zucchini, half the arugula and about a third of the mozzarella over the noodles. Repeat with another layer of noodles, ricotta, mushrooms, zucchini, arugula and mozzarella.
Finish with a final noodle layer, the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining mozzarella and the rest of the parmesan. Cover tightly with foil and bake 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until bubbling and golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Thyme + oreganotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together791 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Mushroom + sherrytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,176 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).
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Thyme + peppertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Oregano + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,756 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ricotta cheese, thyme, oregano, garlic, pepper, mushroom, sherry):
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Spinachbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ricotta cheese, thyme, oregano, garlic, pepper, mushroom, sherry. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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