Pasta with roasted cauliflower, garlic and walnuts

Ingredients

• 2 heads of garlic
• 6 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 head of cauliflower, about 700 g
• ¼ tsp. Sahara
• 450 g pasta (preferably short, such as fusilli or orecchette)
• ¼ tsp red hot pepper flakes
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 sprigs of parsley
• 60 g of grated cheese
• 50 g walnut kernels
• salt, ground black pepper to taste

Cooking

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 250 C. Remove the husk from the heads of garlic, cut off the top quarter. Cut off a square of foil, put the garlic in the center, cut side up. Drizzle with oil and wrap tightly in foil. Put in a baking dish and place in the oven. Bake 25-35 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven, unfold foil and let garlic cool.

Step 2

While the garlic is roasting, cut the head of cabbage into 8 pieces through the stalk to keep the florets attached to it. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle with oil, season with salt, pepper and sugar. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the cabbage slices cut side down. Place in oven and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Transfer the cabbage to a board, and once it has cooled slightly, cut into centimeter pieces.

Step 3

While the cabbage is baking, boil the pasta in salted (but not oversalted!) water.

Step 4

Squeeze the garlic into a small bowl, mash with a fork into a paste. Season with red pepper flakes and 2 tbsp. lemon juice. Stir in the remaining olive oil.

Step 5

Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup. Stir chopped cauliflower, garlic sauce, some pasta water, garlic and half the cheese into the pasta. Adjust sauce thickness with pasta water, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice if needed. Serve sprinkled with the remaining cheese and finely chopped nuts.