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Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Pasta with Walnuts

5 from 1 reader review
Servings 4
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Ingredients

  • 2 heads garlic, top quarter cut off to expose cloves
  • 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • ½ pinchteaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 head cauliflower (2 lbs)
  • sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • 1 lb short brown rice pasta, such as penne or fusilli
  • 2-3 handfuls baby arugula
  • 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped

Instructions

  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, place a naked baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 500°F. Tear two squares of aluminum foil and place cut garlic heads in the centers. Drizzle exposed garlic tops with 1/2 tsp olive oil each. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves (if using). Wrap garlic bulbs up securely and place in the oven. Roast until garlic is browned and mushy/tender, about 40 minutes.
  • While garlic is roasting, trim the cauliflower leaves and the extra bit of stalk at the bottom. Cut the head right down the middle, from top to bottom. From there, cut each half into 4 wedges. In a medium bowl, toss the cauliflower wedges with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Remove the pre-heated baking sheet from the oven and carefully lay the cauliflower wedges onto the surface, leaving some space around each piece. You should hear sizzling. Roast cauliflower until tender and well-browned, about 25 minutes (I flipped mine halfway).
  • Once slightly cooled, transfer cauliflower to a cutting board and cut into bite-size pieces. Unwrap roasted garlic and squeeze cloves out into a small bowl. Mash roasted garlic with a fork to make a smooth puree. Whisk in the lemon juice, pepper flakes, some salt + pepper, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Set aside.
  • Cook brown rice pasta according to package directions with a fat pinch of salt in the water. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining. Once drained, return cooked pasta to the pot. Add chopped cauliflower, garlic sauce, arugula, extra lemon juice to taste, and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water. Add more cooking water as necessary to achieve desired consistency. Serve pasta with handfuls of chopped walnuts on top and extra chili flakes.

Recipe Notes

  • From America's Test Kitchen's The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
  • ATK lists an alternative version of this pasta with broccoli and almonds as well if that catches your interest. The original recipe calls for chopped parsley, but I used handfuls of baby arugula because I happened to have it in my fridge.
Roasted garlic and cauliflower pasta with walnuts is an easy, comforting, vegan and easily made gluten-free main.