farfalle with vegetable ragù

farfalle con ragù vegetariano

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

An abundance of vegetables makes this sauce colorful, and, despite a touch of cream, healthful. But more important, it's truly delicious.

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Ingredients

1/2 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Fine sea salt
1 cup shelled fresh fava beans (from 2/3 to 1 pound in pods)
1 medium tomato
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small onion, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3/4 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound farfalle

Instructions

Put eggplant in a colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Fill a bowl, slightly smaller than colander, with water and place on top of eggplant. Let eggplant drain, at room temperature, 1 hour (eggplant will brown).

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fava beans and cook 2 minutes; immediately transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking; reserve pot of water (water will be red from beans). Drain beans; gently peel and discard skins.

Return water to a boil. Add tomato and cook 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer tomato to a colander to drain (reserve pot of water), then peel, seed and finely chop.

When eggplant has drained 1 hour, squeeze out excess moisture; discard liquid.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add celery, zucchini, bell pepper and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in fava beans, peas and eggplant; cook 1 minute more. Add cream and gently simmer, 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in tomato, 1/4 teaspoon salt and generous pinch pepper. Cover ragù to keep warm.

Return pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Drain pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl; add ragù and toss to combine well. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.

September 2011