This is the food of my childhood….perfectly roasted, cheesy cauliflower tossed with fried garlic and angel hair spaghetti. Garlic Spaghetti with Parmigiano Roasted Cauliflower comes together in no-time, making it a perfect choice for a busy weeknight meal!
Hello, my sweet friends! It’s been a minute! For those of you who are new to CCB, I should tell you, I tend to relax my pace during the summer season. I don’t know – after my years as an educator, I think I’m naturally conditioned to slowing it down when Bing cherries and homegrown cucumbers hit the stands.
You’ll still find me here, and on social media (Pinterest and Facebook are just a click away), but a couple of things will be different. I won’t necessarily wait for Thursday to post – if something strikes me on a Tuesday – I’ll let her fly; and along with my new summer recipes, I’ll resurrect some old (old, oldddddd) posts. You know – breathe new life into some of those 8 year old beauties. So much of a bloggers earliest content is so easily-forgotten, and the need for some well-deserved TLC is not lost on me.
So! Here’s to making what is old – new again. #summeredition
Like today’s recipe….
Not quite as common as her spaghetti and meatballs, but close enough that I remember it vividly, this is a dish Mom made with the confidence that her family would love it.
Even with the little bits of burnt garlic that sometimes made their way onto our plates, actually, because of the little bits of burnt garlic – I loved it!
I realize burnt garlic is not for everyone, so this tip is for you:Â To keep fried garlic crisp and sweet, remove it from the oil just as it begins to turn golden in color. Quickly remove the slices from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside until you’re ready to plate. This guarantees sweet mild flavor with just the right crunch. Precisely what we’re going for.
We ate a lot of garlic spaghetti tossed with roasted cauliflower, but we’d also have it with roasted broccoli – which was equally good.
With quintessential Italian ingredients like:
- pasta
- olive oil
- garlic
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
- red pepper flakes
- fresh parsley
- and a seasonal vegetable
…this dish is as familiar and comfortable (to me) – as buttered toast and black coffee on Saturday morning.
The thing I love about this recipe, as much as its versatility –Â is its simplicity. This dish offers weekend flavor while being weeknight easy. Who doesn’t need that in their life? And with all the veggies that exist in the world – the combinations are endless.
If you can roast it, you can toss it with pasta. Feel free to quote me on that.
And for those of you who are always fighting with your kids to eat their veggies… Here you go!
What kid doesn’t love spaghetti? And most kids I know love crispy, caramelized veggies…which, to me, means one thing – you now have time to convince your kids of other things that are as important as eating their veggies, like…..
…what a good singer you are…or, how hysterical your jokes are…
I’ve got your back, my friends!
Buon Appetito!
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Garlic Spaghetti with Parmigiano Roasted Cauliflower
Description
This is the food of my childhood….perfectly roasted, cheesy cauliflower tossed with fried garlic and angel hair spaghetti. Garlic Spaghetti with Parmigiano Roasted Cauliflower comes together in no-time, making it a perfect choice for a busy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 head of garlic or 10 cloves, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
- 1 lb. Angel Hair pasta
- 1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Parmigiano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, pour 3/4 cup (10 Tbsp.) olive oil.
- As oil is heating, add sliced garlic and cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until garlic turns golden.
- With a slotted spoon, remove garlic from oil and set aside.
- Remove oil from burner and set aside.
- In a large shallow baking pan, toss the cauliflower florets with remaining olive oil (1/4 cup), and salt.
- Roast, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes, until soft and golden.
- Remove from oven and add Parmigiano. Toss to combine.
- Roast for another 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to package instructions, until al dente.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water, and deliver to a large bowl.
- Add and combine olive oil, fried garlic, red pepper flakes, chopped parsley, roasted cauliflower and as much water as needed to make the mixing of the pasta easy.
- Top with more Parmigiano.
- Serve warm.
This post was originally published here July 15, 2015. The recipe remains the same but I’ve updated the photographs and text.
This is one I saw on Instagram and had to visit. LOVE the photos and as you stated the simplicity. The vegetable adds are endless and it comes together quickly. Perfect!
A perfect weeknight meal, even during these hot days of summer! Thanks, Kevin!
Thanks for having my back, friend. I’ve been in the weeds. How in the Carmen San Diego did I miss this? I love all things garlic, pasta, and califlower, Honestly, I have never thought to combine cauliflower with pasta? Genius, my friend!
Of course…always have your back! 🙂 Yessss, this is a yummy one! And so easy! Thanks, friend!
Oh my! This looks phenomenal, Annie! I love, love, love pasta with lots of garlic, but never had it with roasted cauliflower! That is something I need to change and stat! I absolutely love everything about this dish!
Thank you, Kathleen! I think you’re really gonna love it!! 🙂
Annie, this is one of my favorite dishes! We call it “pasta e cavoli.” I could go for this every day of the week!! This really is Italian cooking at its best.
You know…I could eat it every day too! One of my all-time favorites, as well! Thanks, Andrea! Happy Friday!
Crispy caramelized veggies with pasta (and parmesan of course) describes all my favorite meals! For some reason I always roast broccoli, now I’ll have to give cauliflower a shot because this looks like my perfect meal!
These ingredients make me happy too! Thanks, Kari! Have a great weekend! 🙂
This looks awesome! Pinning 🙂
Thank you, Medha! And thanks for the pin! 🙂
My mom used to make something similar with zucchini!! Love the super simple flavors..you can’t go wrong with garlic and parmigiano!
Oh yes…that sounds perfect! Love zucchini! But anything combined with garlic and parm…always a winner! Thanks, Joanne!
Even though I might or might not have posted a few weird pasta recipes (haha!), there’s still nothing better simplicity! Right, Annie? Garlic, cauliflower, and cheese – so hearty, comfort, and delicious!
You elevate comfort to an extreme and elegant level! Love your creativity, Ben! Thanks!!
I make a dish similar to this with angel hair pasta and it’s so wonderful but I haven’t had it in a while so thanks for reminding me! And yes – burnt garlic is the best! I sometimes like my veggies a little on the burnt side, too 🙂
I am with you! Burnt toast, burnt veggies…love ’em all! Thanks, Katy!
Yum, thanks for sharing this recipe Annie! It looks amazing! I have become obsessed with roasted cauliflower these days so I love this! And love that 2nd picture of spaghetti, so good 🙂
Thanks, Manali!! Cauliflower is sooo good, isn’t it?! 🙂
Annie, this pasta is absolutely gorgeous!!! all of the photos are. . I love that you shared the food from your childhood….”perfectly roasted cheesy cauliflower tossed with fried garlic and angel hair spaghetti.” oh my gawd, I die . . this looks so good!!!
Thanks, dear! This has always been a favorite of mine! So glad you like it! 🙂
This looks HEAVENLY, Annie!! I need to make this soon :).
Why thank you, my dear!! 🙂
Annie, this is such a beautiful and simple pasta dish. Love that it brings you such fond memories – it sounds so wonderful with the roasted cauliflower and garlic! So delish!
Thank you, dear! You’re so right…it’s delicious anyway, but the fact that it carries a little nostalgia for me makes it more delicious every time I eat it. 🙂
Annie, I just love everything about this dish – so simple yet so filling and delicious. I could eat this ever night for dinner. Roasted veggies and pasta go so well together – add the browned garlic and cheese and it doesn’t get much better!
I agree! This dish is wonderful!! I love that I’ve been eating it for 50 years! Thanks, friend!
Annie! you are killing me here! this dish is gorgeous! thank you for sharing this recipe!
So happy you like it!! Thanks, dear!
The pasta looks amazingly delicious and flavourful!! Cauliflower is one of my favourites.. love the garlic and roasted cauliflower combination!!
Cauliflower is one of my favorites too! Especially when it’s all roasted and nutty tasting! Thanks, Arpita!
Love everything about this post! And these are the most beautiful pasta pictures I’ve seen in a while!Pinning of course! Love cauliflower!
Thank you! Thank you! 🙂
Oh goodie! Loving so much everything! I mean garlic and roasted cauliflower! Mmmm, all the flavors must be astounding! Loving this fantastic share! 🙂
I’m not sure it gets much better than this! Thanks, friend! 🙂
This pasta sounds incredible, Annie! I love the garlic and roasted cauliflower in here. I was just at an Italian grocery store yesterday and they sell those spaghetti noodle cups. So neat!
Thanks, Gayle! Aren’t those little nests so cute?! I can never resist them!
Annie I love evreything about this pasta! I am always looking for delicious yet simple pasta recipes which I know my picky eaters will love. This sounds perfect and I like the way you incorporated cauliflower! Yumm.
Thank you so much, Ami! You can never go wrong with cheesy roasted vegetables combined with perfectly cooked pasta! Enjoy!