Friday: Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

I was lazily sitting on the couch playing with my iPad (greatest invention on Earth as far as I'm concerned) and  using my Cooking Light app.  I found this recipe and it sounded really tasty.  One, my girls like cauliflower...two, my girls love pasta....three, I just love trying something new.  Check, check, check.  Recipe on the menu this week.
I wanted to make it a bit more substantial, so I'm going to brown up some sweet chicken Italian sausage to go with it.  Takes away from the vegetarian aspect, but hey, I already had one veggie only dish this week.  :)  Not to mention, roasted cauliflower is just downright delish.
After weeks of not really having a menu to go by, I'm happy to be up and cooking again this week.  Even better that mom will be here to cook with me.  Happy cooking!

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta (recipe adapted from CookingLight)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
• 1/3 cup sliced Spanish olives
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 links of sweet (or hot) Italian chicken sausage
• 12 ounces uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 ounce fresh Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved
• 
  

• Preparation

  • 1. Place a small heavy roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450°.
  • 2. Remove preheated pan from oven. Add butter and oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots and cauliflower to pan; toss to coat. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Add olives and next 3 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; toss to combine. Bake an additional 7 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and browned.
  • 3. While cauliflower is roasting, remove casings from sausage and brown in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Once brown, remove from skillet, set aside and keep warm.
  • 4. Cook pasta in boiling water 7 minutes or until almost tender. Drain pasta through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pan over medium-high heat. Add reserved cooking liquid, sausage and cauliflower mixture; toss. Cook 2 minutes or until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; sprinkle with parsley, and garnish with shaved cheese.