(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



What's for Dinner? v19.40: Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-04-05

Good evening and welcome to another weekly gathering around the virtual WFD table! I know many of you may be returning home from one of the protests and hopefully all are safe and refreshed for the coming days. If you are looking for some inspiration for your next dinner I hope this can be a place to find some!

What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions. We also have a handy post with links from our archives here: Master Index 2014-2021 More Recent Entries HERE We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!

Early spring has been treating us to a mix of wintry chill and summer-teasing highs so I have been cooking based on whim a lot! I was craving cauliflower and remembered making this recipe from Alton Brown maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I wasn’t impressed at the time but looking at it again I thought I would give it another try. I’m so glad I did! I think the key is to make sure your cauliflower is really roasted and tender. Oh, and the cooking instructions for the pasta are not the norm so trust in the recipe. It works just fine.

pasta with roasted cauliflower from Alton Brown ingredients: 1 large head cauliflower, 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 Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped parsley instructions: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss the cauliflower with oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, carefully stirring halfway through. Remove skillet from oven and place over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes and stir occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they soften. When most of the tomato liquid has cooked out (about 5 min) 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. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the cooked pasta into the skillet with the cauliflower mixture followed by a quarter cup of the pasta water. Stir in Parmesan and cheddar cheeses, and top with bread crumbs. Return the skillet to the oven and cook another 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove and sprinkle with chopped parsley and additional Parmesan. Let cool for about 5 minutes then serve.

So what’s for dinner at your place? Tell us about it in the comments! Share your latest hit or ask how to fix a miss. We are a diverse and knowledgeable group!

Here’s our upcoming schedule:

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/5/2314458/-What-s-for-Dinner-v19-40-Pasta-with-Roasted-Cauliflower?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/