By: Gurneha And Prithvi
Uncategorized

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

One of my absolutely go to pasta dishes for when I have friends over is this very simple and delectable roasted cauliflower pasta. Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable and can be used in many cooking forms and in this dish we will essentially pan roast the cauliflower to get it really well done and crusty and healthy at the same time. This is not only a very tasty dish but also very healthy at the same time.

You can basically customize this recipe as you like it. I generally go for generous portions of cauliflower and spinach and reduce Pasta by 4 Oz, making it more rustic and wholesome. Feel free to substitute regular Pasta for red lentil pasta or whole wheat. Ideally Shallots lend a sweeter caramelizing taste to this dish but a regular yellow onion or even a spanish red should be perfect addition. I even add a couple of sprinkles of red chilli flakes to suit my spicier palette.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cauliflower head, diced fine and thick stems removed
  • 12 Oz of Rigatoni ideally or Penne would do too
  • 1 Onion or a Shallot
  • Garlic at least a couple of cloves
  • 2 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika or Smoked Paprika
  • 2 Tbsp freshly ground pepper
  • a couple of handfuls of baby leaf spinach
  • Low fat shredded mozarella
  • Parsely to garnish
  • salt to taste
  • 1 Oz cream or full fat milk
  • 2 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 Qt of Water

Steps

  1. Add the Olive oil to a heated pan and begin roasting cauliflower and Onion.
  2. After about 15 min , check to see if you can see the cauliflower is browning and has significantly reduced in volume. Add garlic and cook for 2 min. Also a good time to start cooking Pasta Al dentè. Make sure you follow the manufacturers cooking time and add atleast a couple of tablespoons of salt to the boiling water before you put the pasta.
  3. Add the paprika and pepper and cook for 2 min before adding milk or cream to deglaze.
  4. Once deglazed and bubbling , add spinach , cover and wait for 2 min. Spinach will begin wilting almost immediately.
  5. Add Pasta with a couple of tablespoons of Pasta water to help you mix this more easily.
  6. Finally add the cheese and Parsley and its ready to Serve!!