Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

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.

Print Recipe

 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.