I had a crop of pregnant friends this season and I wanted to post this pasta dish here because I think casserole-type foods are such an easy food to deliver or serve to friends (or make and freeze should you be the sort of person that preps ahead like that).
You guys ask all the time what sort of meals I deliver or make-ahead and most of those are now living over on SK Cooking Club. Disclaimer, not all vegetarian. Some of the favorites there are a Turkey Bolognese, Butternut Turkey Chili, Carrot Ginger Soup, Olive Bar Sheetpan Dinner, Jeweled Farro Salad to name a few. We have a Veggie Chili coming up soon that will also be perfect to add to this list and a Cauliflower Tikka Masala that is delicious!
I baked this before giving it to my friends because, well, we needed to take a photo, but I would assemble it all and cover it in foil before delivering, then let them do that final bake so it doesn’t dry out. Deliver it along with a super simple, light, green salad and a bottle of wine. And probably chocolate too.
I made notes below on dietary swaps. I personally can’t eat cow’s milk dairy products (and eggs now too, quite annoying), and if you’re the same, you could use either a nut-based ricotta or find a sheep’s milk ricotta at well-stocked markets or Whole Foods. You may want to use less, as they tend to be stronger in flavor and often times richer. Like I said, more notes below.
I hope your New Year has started off well. It feels like flus and colds are all around, so I’m wishing you wellness and I’ll post a soup recipe here soon. Take good care!
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER + KALE PASTA
Serves 6
I am going to add substitution notes here as we do with Cooking Club in case this helps anyone. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions! There are two kinds of kale here because it cooks down and I like my pasta dishes heavy on the vegetables. You can skip the baby kale if this sounds like too much…even though it’s not. Anchovies are so good here and they basically dissolve in the roasting step so you don’t know they’re there, but you could use a sprinkle of capers if they creep you out. Add them in the last 10 minutes of roasting
Recipe Tips
Dairy Free: Kite Hill does make a dairy-free ricotta which would totally work here. Laura of The First Mess has a vegan pine nut parm that would be great sprinkled on top!
Gluten Free: Use a brown rice based pasta. We also use chickpea or lentil pastas, but they don’t sit well with a lot of liquid, so only use those if you’re planning to eat it right away.
Carnivore Option: If you are looking to add animal protein, the frozen mini meatballs can be stirred into the whole situation.
Prep Ahead: Roast the cauliflower and kale, and cook your pasta in advance.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (about 1.5 lbs)
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp. everything bagel seasoning (or any all-purpose type seasoning)
2 anchovy filets, optional, but promise you won’t know they’re there
1 large head lacinato kale, ribbed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
12 oz. (3/4 lb.) rigatoni pasta (or GF pasta)
two handfuls of baby kale (I know, double kale!)
12 oz. ricotta
one large lemon, zest and juice, divided
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1/2 cup cream
1 egg
4 oz./1 cup fontina, grated
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
red pepper flakes
fresh parsley or basil or thyme or a mix, to finish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425’. Break the cauli into florets onto a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil, salt, pepper, bagel seasoning and toss everything to coat. You’ll want to use your clean hands here, and rub everything into the cauli. Put the anchovies on the tray, and roast everything for 35 minutes. The anchovy will dissolve, don’t worry, you won’t know it’s there. If you’re super freaked, use 2 Tbsp. capers. Pull the pan, add the kale, garlic and toss everything around so some oil coats the kale. Pop it back in the oven for 10 minutes for the kale to wilt a bit (if you’re using capers instead of anchovies, add them here). Pull and set aside. This can be done in advance and stored in the fridge.
While the vegetables roast, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta accordingly to al dente instructions - about 11 minutes. In another large mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper, cream, egg, 1/4 cup parmesan and half of the fontina. Whisk everything well to combine. Drain the pasta, reserve a bit of pasta water, and add the noodles to the cheese bowl. Stir to mix. Add the cauli and kale, plus the handfuls of baby kale, to the bowl and stir again. Add a generous splash of pasta water, one more stir.
Leave the heat on 425’. Grease a 2 qt. baking dish or 10-12” cast iron pan. Tip the pasta mixture in. Squeeze the lemon juice all over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining fontina and parm and some red pepper flakes on top. Loosely cover the dish with foil. Bake, covered, for 10 minutes, turn the heat up to 475’, uncover the dish, sprinkle the walnuts if using, and bake another 10ish minutes until the top is just bronzed and bubbly. Remove to cool slightly and sprinkle heaps of fresh herbs over the top.
