As with the Zucchini and Ricotta Bake I am keeping it vegetarian (and vegan for that matter) with this recipe for Roasted Romanesco and Cauliflower Pasta. Easy midweek cooking meets Meat Free Mondays in a delicious and nutritious way.

Romanesco broccoli also knows as Roman Cauliflower is such a beautiful vegetable, almost too pretty to eat and at the same time a bit intimidating as to how to cook it. You prepare it similarly as you would cauliflower or broccoli by boiling in salted water, steaming or roasting. For this recipe I roasted it and dressed it with a lemony roasted garlic dressing before adding to the pasta.

The romanesco is nutty and flavourful with the roasted cauliflower adding its own sweetness to the dish. The lemon juice and the roasted garlic dressing lifts the flavours beautifully. Do not forget the crunchy, roasted bit in the roasting tray – those are the best and you have to add that to the pasta. You could grate some cheese like a parmesan or pecorino and sprinkle it over the pasta but I don’t think it needs it. Enjoy!

Some good news to those readers who have asked, our next Food Photography Workshop will take place on Saturday the 23rd of September 2017. It falls on a long weekend so I hope it will make it easier to fit in with busy schedules. Our goal for the day is to create a space where we all can play, learn from each other and have a lot of fun doing it. Come be inspired, get creative, get more comfortable with your camera and most importantly play. All the details can be found here and do let me know if you would like to join us for the day at the most beautiful location.

Roasted Romanesco and Cauliflower Pasta

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Ingredients

1 head romanesco broken into florets
1 head cauliflower broken into florets
3 fat cloves of garlic unpeeled
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
finely grated zest of half a large lemon
sea salt flakes and ground black pepper to season
60 ml Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500 g spaghetti
juice of half a lemon
30 ml Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
Place the romanesco, cauliflower, garlic cloves, chilli, lemon zest and 60ml olive oil in a bowl and toss to coat
Place on a baking tray and roast for about 20 – 30 minutes or so until the romanesco and cauliflower is golden and the edges starting to crisp and caramelise
5 minutes before the vegetables are cooked, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until al dente
Drain the pasta and return to the pot
Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins, place in a small bowl and mash with a fork
Add the lemon juice and olive oil and mix until it starts to thicken
Add the roasted romanesco and cauliflower (include all the roasted bits in the tray) and the lemon and garlic mixture to the pasta and toss to combine
Add a splash more olive oil and lemon juice if the pasta is a tad too dry
Season and add a sprinkle more chilli flakes if desired and serve

** Disclaimer: Olive oil provided by Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I am proud to be associated with Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil and use it whenever a recipe requires Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The South African cold press extra virgin Olive Oil is produced in the Riversdale area, has a whiff of fresh cut grass and aromas of green tomatoes, almonds artichokes and green apples.

A few more of my favourite vegetarian recipes :

Quinoa Fritters with Avocado Salsa