Roasted Eggplant & Portobello Mushroom Farfalle Pasta Bake

One of our favorite meals while in Austin Texas was a take on lasagna that used "Farfalle" pasta ("Butterflies" or otherwise known as "Bowties") instead of lasagna noodles. It had Nancy's favorite vegetable - eggplant - and roasted portobello mushrooms for a nice umami flavor. Patrick was particularly fond of this one - he ate it cold right out of the Tupperware container during his long drive back to Richmond. 

To accommodate our relatives' plant-based diet we used vegan "cheeses" including "ricotta" made from soaked raw cashews that was remarkably creamy and delicious. If you like, you can make it just as easily with dairy-based cheeses and oven-ready lasagna noodles.

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Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (or 2 small ones) cut into 1 in cubes. (You can leave skin on.)
• 3 large Portobello Mushrooms cut into 1 in cubes
• Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 cups ricotta cheese (or substitute vegan Cashew "Ricotta")
• 6 oz baby spinach chopped 
• 4 cups of your favorite Marinara Sauce
• 1 lb of "Farfalle" (Bowtie) pasta, cooked al dente according to package instructions (or substitute oven-ready lasagna noodles)
• 4 cups (about 1 lb) shredded mozzarella (use non-dairy kind for vegan)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (use non-dairy kind for vegan)

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Process

• Preheat broiler on HI.
• Generously salt the eggplant cubes and set into a colander for 15 minutes to drain off the bitter juices. Rinse with cool water and dry well with paper towels.
• Toss eggplant and mushroom cubes with olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Broil vegetables 3 inches from the broiler for about 6 minutes. Stir and continue to broil until vegetables are evenly soft and charred (about another 3-6 minutes). Remove and set aside.
• Reset oven to 400°
• Combine ricotta and chopped spinach and set aside.
• Layer ingredients evenly into a 13" by 9" baking dish as follows:
  1. 1 cup marinara
  2. 1/3 of the pasta (or a layer of lasagna)
  3. Another cup marinara
  4. 1/2 of the roasted vegetables
  5. 1 1/3 cups of mozzarella
  6. 1/3 of the pasta (or a layer of lasagna)
  7. The ricotta / spinach mixture
  8. Another cup marinara
  9. The rest of the roasted vegetables
  10. 1 1/3 cups of mozzarella
  11. The rest of the pasta (or a layer of lasagna)
  12. The rest of the marinara
  13. The rest of the mozzarella
  14. The Parmigiano Reggiano
• Bake on a middle rack uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly and the top cheeses are nicely browned.
• Let rest to set for at least 10 minutes before serving.