Roasted Cauliflower with Penne

We have had some fun these hast few weeks. I think you remember me saying that this is going to be the summer…the summer of renewal and all things bright and positive…”The summer of George” haha!  The last two weeks have had an amazing start of the sunny season. A trip to Santa Barbara for our 7 year anniversary and recently an impromptu family excursion to Palm Springs (not to brag…)

With all this bathing suit wearing, it has come to my attention how serious we (ahem…Joe and I) need to be with what we are putting in our bodies. Now don’t get me wrong. I whole-heartedly believe in real ingredients. So along with those colorful and fresh picked fruits and vegetables I will be devouring at the farmers market, yes, I will be eating REAL butter and enjoying a REAL glass of matured red wine when I feel like it. I am NOT a fan of those crazy non-fat, rice-made, chemical heavy-168 ingredient, soy based whatever, just because it has no calories and no fat. Just..scary

I felt like I was making a life altering decision, as I stood in the pasta aisle deciding whether to switch from white pasta to whole wheat. I am standing there with one bag of whole wheat pasta in one hand and white pasta in the other. This decision took an entire 10 minutes.

I ultimately went against my gut and took the whole wheat and RAN out of the aisle as fast as I could. How sad am I? I can’t even handle whole wheat pasta. I had to ponder if I could tackle the thought of a more al dente bite. This is pathetic.

The pasta came out perfect. It was made for a family gathering the day we got back from Santa Barbara and I wanted to make something easy and healthy for a large group. The cauliflower was bought the saw day at the SB farmers market and became nutty from canalization and whole wheat penne offered a bite and texture. I think we will stick to whole wheat pasta for a little while if pasta will be as good as this one.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Penne

Makes 8-10 servings

Author: Samantha Ferraro

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
• 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 lb whole wheat penne
• 1/2-3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 3-4 slices of day old bread ends cut off, toasted
• Olive oil for drizzling
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh chopped parsley

Instructions

• Begin by getting water boiling for pasta and cook whole wheat pasta according to directions.
• In a food processor, coarsely chop toasted bread until it looks like bread crumbs, set aside.
• On a baking sheet lined with foil, place cauliflower flowers atop and add half of your chopped garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat. Roast in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until cauliflower begins to brown and caramelize.
• In a separate skillet, saute the rest of the chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and breadcrumbs. Allow breadcrumbs to toast up.
• When cauliflower and penne are done, add both to the breadcrumb mixture (You will need a large pot) and toss well to coat. Add freshly grated Parmesan and drizzle more olive oil if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!