Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Sausage Linguini – A hearty, but not too heavy, meal that is sure to please everyone in the family.
Ingredients
- 1 small or 1/2 of a large head of cauliflower, broken apart into small bite-sized pieces
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 lb linguini (I used 51% whole wheat liguini here)
- 2 slices of hearty white bread, torn into pieces
- 3/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 3 links of italian sausage (hot or mild is fine, I used mild here), casings removed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 c. low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 T. minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Roast the cauliflower: Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until cauliflower is browned and tender, 25-30 minutes. Remove beaking sheet from oven and set aside.
- Make parmesan breadcrumbs. In a food processor, pulse bread to make evenly sized breadcrumbs. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring almost constantly until the breadcrumbs are crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate to cool, after they have cooled for 5 minutes, stir in 1/4 of the parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the pasta. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot or dutch oven. When boiling, add pasta and 2 1/2 t. salt. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, reserving 1/2 c. pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and set aside while finishing the recipe.
- After removing the breadcrumbs from the skillet, add the sausage and cook, over medium-high heat until the sausage is browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour the fat from the skillet and wipe out the skillet lightly with paper towels.
- Return the skillet to the medium heat, add 1 T. olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute, until garlic is just beginning to brown. Add drained tomatoes, chicken broth and 1/4 t. salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced slightly, about 2-3 minutes.
- To the pasta in the pot add cauliflower, sausage, tomato mixture, remaining 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, lemon juice and parsley. Place the pasta pot over medium heat and stir until mixed together and heated through, adding the reserved pasta cooking water if needed, to loosen the consistency.
- Divide pasta among individual bowl and serve, sprinkling with the parmesan breadcrumbs.
If you are short on time, you could skip the homemade breadcrumbs and just serve the pasta with additional parmesan cheese.
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