Baked Mafalda with Fried Peppers is another delight of the harvest season. This recipe is a bit of a mash-up. Typically I test recipes over and over, and I let you know where there’s room for creativity, but this recipe is all about using what you have. And right now I have an abundance of tomatoes, eggplant, onions, and peppers. And of course, zucchini! We haven’t finished the Eggplant Confit from last week, so I started with that, then layered in the other vegetables.
You can see where this is going – layers of sauce, pasta, cheese, and vegetables. It’s lasagna without the hassle. Mafalda is a wonderful gluten-free pasta from jovial. It’s made from brown rice so it does contain a bit of dietary fiber, making this a healthier dish that you’d guess at first blush. And the shape is so fanciful – little flat noodles with ruffled edges. Miniature lasagna noodles! So cute.
Despite what I’ve already said about using what you have, I’m not just making do by including the cottage cheese. If you haven’t tried it already, cottage cheese lends baked pasta dishes a creamy, milkiness that grocery-store ricotta just can’t offer. So please try it. Unless you have fresh ricotta on hand, of course – Fresh Ricotta trumps store-bought ricotta and cottage cheese. If you have fresh ricotta, use that.
Baked Mafalda with Fried Peppers is an uncomplicated summery dish that fills your belly. I’m sorry that you had to turn on the oven though. Why not add a crispy side salad with a vinaigrette, pour a glass of dry rosé, had head out to the picnic table to enjoy what’s left of the summer?
Baked Mafalda with Fried Peppers
Equipment
- 9 X 13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 pound mix of mild peppers (green and colorful bell peppers, pablano, shishito, pasillo…)
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 pint eggplant confit (see note)
- 8 ounces Jovial gluten-free mafalda
- 1 quart marinara
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup basil pesto
- 1 cup shredded aged mozzarella
- fresh basil or parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
- Prep the veg – Destem and core the peppers, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Destem the zucchini, cut it lengthwise into quarters, then cut across the quarters. Dice the onion.
- Cook the veg – Soften the eggplant confit in a fairly large skillet on medium high heat, breaking up any large eggplant slices into bite-sized pieces. Add the onions and cook until they begin to sizzle. Add the peppers and zucchini to the skillet. Turn down the heat to medium, and cook until all of the veg is soft and languid.
- Preheat the oven and par-boil the pasta – Preheat the oven to 350℉, convection bake setting. While the veg is cooking, put the pasta water on to boil. Once the water is boiling brisky, salt the water, then drop in the pasta. Boil for seven minutes, stirring occasionally. (Seven minutes is two minutes shy of the package directions, because you'll be baking the pasta with the vegetables and sauce.) Drain, and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
- Layer into the baking dish – Pour just a bit of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish, then dump in 2/3 of the pasta. Dot the pasta with cottage cheese and pesto, then cover with a layer of shredded mozzarella. Salt and pepper generously. Pour 2/3 of the vegetables and then 2/3 of the sauce into the dish and spread across. Sprinkle a scant layer of mozzarella. Stir the rest of the pasta and veg into the rest of the sauce and spread across the top, then cover it with one more scant layer of mozzarella cheese. Poke it around a bit so pieces of the pasta are sticking up. You want the cheese and the pasta on the top to get a bit dark and crunchy.
- Bake – Bake, covered, in a 350℉ oven for thirty minutes. Then, remove the cover and turn up the heat to 400℉. Bake for another ten minutes, or until nicely browned and bubbly. Let rest for at least fifteen minutes. Chiffonade the basil and/or chop the parsley (optional) and scatter across the top of the dish, and serve.
