1quartFra Diavolo sauce, or marinara with anchovies
112 ouncebox of jovial gluten-free mafalda
1poundmix of mild peppers(green and colorful bell peppers, shishito, pasillo)
½pinteggplant confit
6baby red onions
1cupcottage cheese
2cupsshredded aged mozzarella
1handfulbasil leaves
Instructions
Par-boil the pasta - Drop the pasta into briskly boiling, salted water, and 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.
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. Skin the onions and slice them in half. Place them cut side down in the confit oil. Cook until the onions begin to sizzle. Core and slice the peppers (no need to core shishitos), and add them to the skillet. Cook until all of the veg is soft and languid.
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, then cover with a layer of shredded mozzarella. Salt and pepper generously. Pour 2/3 of the vegetables and sauce into the dish and spread across. Sprinkle a scant layer of mozzarella. Stir the rest of the pasta into the rest of the sauce and spread across the top, then cover it with one more scant layer of 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 turn up the heat to 400℉, remove the cover, and bake for another ten minutes, or until nicely browned and bubbly. Let rest for at least fifteen minutes. Chiffonade the basil and scatter across the top of the dish, and serve.