Roasted cauliflower pasta with garlic breadcrumbs
Deeply charred roasted cauliflower tossed with pasta, garlic, chili, golden raisins and pine nuts, then topped with crunchy lemon breadcrumbs, a Sicilian classic.
- 50 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.26 a serving
- 610 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 head cauliflower
- 12 oz rigatoni
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp salt, plus ¾ tsp
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 610 calories, 18 g protein, 85 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $2.26 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No rigatoni? Penne works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 450°F. Cut the cauliflower into small florets and the tender stem.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the cauliflower on a with 2 tablespoons oil and ¾ teaspoon salt and 25 minutes, stirring once, until deeply browned at the edges.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: Dark edges are what you’re after. Pale cauliflower tastes flat.Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and over high heat. Cook the rigatoni 1 minute less than the package says.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 11 min
While the pasta cooks, toast the panko with 1 tablespoon oil in a large over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes, until . Stir in the lemon and tip it into a bowl.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Stir constantly. Breadcrumbs go from golden to burnt in seconds.Add the rest of the oil, the garlic and pepper flakes to the and cook over low heat 2 minutes, until the garlic is pale .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Scoop out 1 cup of , then the pasta.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Add the pasta, roasted cauliflower, raisins, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and ½ cup and until glossy.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heat
in the parmesan and parsley, then serve with the lemony breadcrumbs scattered over the top.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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