Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
Roasting cauliflower gives it a deep, caramelized flavor that makes this feel like a hearty feast without any meat. This looks beautiful with green cauliflower, but you could also use white or orange.
1 large head green broccoflower, broken into bite-size pieces 2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil 4 teaspoons kosher
salt, divided 1 (14-ounce) can whole
tomatoes, drained 4 cloves garlic, minced 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed
red-pepper flakes 8 ounces penne or
rigatoni pasta
1⁄3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
⁄4 cup plain bread 1 crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions: Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the cauliflower with oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a 10-inch castiron skillet or other oven-safe skillet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, carefully stirring halfway through.
Remove skillet from oven and place over medium heat on the stove. Add the tomatoes, garlic and redpepper flakes and stir occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they soften, until most of the tomato liquid has cooked out, about 5 minutes, remove from heat.
Drop the uncooked pasta into a large saucepan and fill with enough cold water to cover the noodles by 1 inch. Stir in remaining salt and place over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir once a minute for 5 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
Reserve a ¼ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet and stir in Parmesan cheese and top with bread crumbs.
Return the skillet to the oven and cook another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove and sprinkle with chopped parsley and additional Parmesan if desired. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 4 servings Adapted from altonbrown.com