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Rach calls this pasta, which is so simple and so delicious, a mashup of Calabrian cuisine and Sicilian cuisine. "It's two dishes in one," she says. "Just the cauliflower portion of this would be a fantastic side dish for any holiday meal, all winter long, just tasty and pretty. But we're going to put it on walnut and triple-cheese spiral pasta—also super delicious. We're marrying those two dishes and putting the roasted cauliflower with all its sweet, savory, salty flavors on top of this creamy, cheesy, super-easy pasta." Yum!
For more hearty pastas perfect for this time of year, check out Rach's Pasta with Pumpkin, Brown Butter, Crispy Sage and Nuts and Pasta with Potato, Bacon, Cabbage and Blue Cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2/3-½ cup EVOO
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
- 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese (sheep milk or cow milk), drained
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¾ cup grated pecorino
- Freshly grated nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon)
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets, stems and greens into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pound short fusilli pasta or whole-wheat fusilli pasta
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
- 3 tablespoons currents, plumped in very hot water, drained and chopped
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- A handful of flat-parsley, chopped
Yield
Serves: 4 to 5
Preparation
In a small pan, toast the walnuts, then chop or pulse to process them into small pieces.
Bring pasta water to a boil.
Preheat oven to 450°F, with rack at center. Line a pan with foil and parchment.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat with EVOO and garlic, swirl and cook for a minute or 2 until garlic has softened. Spoon about 1/3 of the oil and garlic into a bowl and combine with ricotta, Parm, pecorino and a little nutmeg. Add the walnuts to the bowl.
Toss the cauliflower with the remaining oil, season with salt and pepper and roast 18 to 20 minutes on the foil- and parchment-lined pan until tender-crisp and brown at edges.
Salt boiling water and undercook the pasta by 1 minute. Reserve ½ to ¾ cup starchy salty water before draining.
While pasta cooks, in another bowl, combine the capers, currants, red pepper and parsley, then add the roasted cauliflower and combine.
Add the hot starchy water as needed to the cheese and walnut mixture before adding the pasta. Add pasta, stir to emulsify and top pasta with roasted cauliflower.