Cauliflower….
Bread it, steam it, broil it, sauté it, as long as it isn’t raw ( the best way for
you) I will inhale it…
So when I found this
recipe I was excited….
Even the anti-vegy eaters
of the family enjoy this dinner.
I am always trolling for
new recipes… the ones I find interesting and feasible I print them off and store them
in my “folder”, a plastic freezer bag… once in a while I go through and toss
the ones I know tasted like caulk and wasn’t worth my butter… then there are
some that I have already reconstructed and made them worth my butter.
I am in the mood for this
one again…
Yeah… the cauliflower… I
knew I was doing something…
This is a perfect one pot
dinner… well… actually one pot, one baking pan, some foil, mixing bowl and
several stirring spoons…
You get the point.
So wash and slice your
cauliflower …
I like to slice them thick
so they are nicely browned, yet still a bit
crunchy… Cauliflower
tends to mush up and disappear if over cooked..
Add one teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of sugar
6 Tablespoons of olive
oil
Toss well and then
carefully spoon onto a baking sheet. Off to the oven at 450f
Now for the garlic… ends
sliced off
I don’t have a garlic roasting pan, so I just
use tinfoil … sprinkle salt over garlic
And then drizzle olive
oil over garlic…
Wrap up garlic like so
and pop in oven along side of cauliflower
Cauliflower is roasted…. Keep
the wooden spoon handy to smack hands
from grabbing a taste…
Garlic is too…
Squeeze over a bowl and then mash with a fork …
Campanelle pasta…
Who cares what kind of pasta you use… well to me pasta is important… the
shape, the texture…. The taste… yes there is a difference in the taste of
campanelle verses penne…
Cook till al dente,
drain. Add two cups of cream
One to two cups of
parmesan. Depending on your taste.. oh and your garlic too.. everyone was
asking when dinner was going to be done and setting timers to hold me to my
word, and I forgot to take that picture.
Stir well.
Add your cauliflower and
lightly toss…
My only complaint of this
dish is that everything is white… I am
sure that if you roasted some red peppers and had those sliced up in the dish
it wouldn’t look so albino…
Serve to the ingrates.
Recipe:
Roasted Cauliflower Pasta
*Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads garlic, papery skins removed, top quarter of heads cut off (on the pointy side of the garlic) and discarded
6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 pound short pasta (such as campanelle)
2 cups of cream
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded (about 1 cup)
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, and heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Trim the outer leaves of the cauliflower and cut the stem flush with the bottom. Cut the head from pole to pole into 8 equal wedges and then cut the cauliflower into large bite-sized pieces. Place the cauliflower in a large bowl; toss with 6 tablespoons oil, salt, and sugar.
Carefully transfer the cauliflower to the baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Roast until the cauliflower is well browned and tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cut one 12-inch sheet of foil and spread it flat on the counter. Place the garlic heads, cut-side up, in the center of the foil. Salt and drizzle ½ teaspoon olive oil over each head and fold up the sides of the foil to seal well. Place the foil packet directly on the oven and roast until the garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil packet from the oven, open the foil and set it aside to cool.
While the cauliflower and garlic are roasting, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook until al dente. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the garlic to a smooth paste.
Drain the pasta, and return the pasta to the pot. Add the cream, garlic and parmesan cheese to the pasta. Stir well and add the roasted cauliflower.
Serve immediately.