Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Peas and Parmesan

This is a variation on my favorite cauliflower recipe:  Emeril’s Roasted Cauliflower.   You can do so much with this cauliflower roasted with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, from tossing it with pasta as I’ve done here, to tossing it with greens as a salad.  The cauliflower roasts in only 15 minutes, so you can cook the pasta while the cauliflower roasts and your work is pretty much done.  Just thaw your peas, grate your cheese and toss it all together at the end.  The olive oil and lemon juice from the roasted cauliflower is a ready-made sauce or dressing for the whole dish.  I made a half batch of the pasta and saved half of my cauliflower for other uses, like salad.  A full batch makes 5-6 servings.

For this recipe, you can use pretty much any small pasta shape.  Apart from the cauliflower, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and seasonings called for in the cauliflower recipe above, here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb. small pasta shapes

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Just make the cauliflower as directed in the recipe above, omitting the parmesan called for.  Make the pasta according to package directions.  Toss the pasta, roasted cauliflower and all juices, parmigiano reggiano and peas in a pan over low heat until the cheese melts and the ingredients are well mixed.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Top with additional grated cheese.

Here’s what the cauliflower looks like before roasting.  I didn’t have fresh chives, so I sprinkled on some dried chives before it went into the oven.

Reader's Comments

1. 

   This looks great! I’ve never been a big fan of roasted cauliflower, but perhaps I haven’t found the right recipe. Thanks for the inspiration!
2. Joie de vivre on 17 Mar 2009 1:24 pm
3. 

   Thanks for stopping by! Maybe mixing the cauliflower with other foods like the pasta and cheese here could be a step towards developing a taste for cauliflower… that way the flavor is a little less intense.
4. Elizabeth on 17 Mar 2009 1:42 pm