Intro
Taking a nudge from my friend Melissa (The Faux Martha) I plunged deep into my pantry and did a major overhaul. Some of my reasons for doing so now could quite possibly be resistance, a way of avoiding starting a big project but mostly I did it because it needed it. My biggest piece of advice for those looking to put good food on the table every night is to keep a well stocked pantry. Some people meal plan and that’s great, for them. It’s never worked for me. I love being inspired to cook what feels right and sounds delicious in that moment. So I keep the basics in the pantry and fresh produce in the fridge so that at any given moment I have dozens of dinner possibilities within reach.
Up until a couple days ago you couldn’t see the lentils from the beans as the shelves were filled with stale nuts and random bits still in their bulk bin packaging. Now I’ll take a few extra steps to walk by the pantry just to ogle at my momentous completed task. I pat myself heartily on the back as I take in the site of neatly arranged rows of Ball jars all lined up with their appropriate labels. Yes, there are even labels! I don’t even know myself anymore.
This pasta dish is made possible with a stocked pantry but don’t worry a label maker isn’t a necessity. Linguine and cauliflower are forever staples in our home and while ricotta and dill aren’t always on hand those are a quick grab from the store or can easily be substituted for another soft cheese such as feta or goat cheese. Now that I think about it a flurry of shaved Parmesan or Pecorino is not a bad alternative. If dill isn’t in your crisper mint or parsley would substitute nicely.
Pasta is not only an ever present staple in our pantry it’s also one of those meals where the response to the question “what’s for dinner?” is met with cheers instead of the more popular moans. This particular pasta accommodates an entire head of cauliflower and heaps of grassy dill so its merits abound while the comfort of twirling wide noodles around your fork and dipping into mounds of pillowy ricotta make said merit exist without much notice.
Roasted Cauliflower Linguine with Ricotta and Dill
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
Cauliflower is a staple in our house. It’s one vegetable on a short list that will receive zero complaints from my often picky-eating children. Roasting is always my go to and here I don’t even bother coring or removing the leaves. It will spend so much time in the oven that even the tough core will submit to a sweet creaminess. The key here is to chop the cauliflower quite small to get more of those crispy charred bits.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
4 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
1 teaspoon chili flakes
8 ounces linguini
1 cup roughly chopped dill
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cup ricotta
Instructions
Preheat the oven 425°F
Add the cauliflower and garlic to a sheet tray (parchment lined for easier clean up). Drizzle the olive oil over top along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and the chili flakes. Stir that up a bit to combine.
Roast 30 - 45 minutes or until deeply caramelized stirring halfway through for even roasting.
Cook the pasta according the directions on the package.
Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup pasta water.
Combine the pasta with the roasted cauliflower, fresh dill and a hefty squeeze of lemon. Stir in some of the pasta water starting with 1/4 cup then adding more if it appears dry.
Add the pasta to a serving bowl then finish with several large dollops of ricotta, a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of salt, flake if you have it.
Courses Dinner
A clean pantry is such a wonderful feeling, isn’t it? I go full on restaurant tape and sharpie to label everything, but long for the day that I feel adult enough for a label maker. Pasta is one of my staples, so much so that I try not to look for new pasta recipes, but this looks so delicious that I have to try it.
I thought about going blue tape and sharpie just to relive my restaurant days but I love the clean lines of a label maker. Just writing that made me feel so weird. haha. I hope you enjoy the pasta!
Looks amazing! I love roasted cauliflower, and my kid loves pasta, so it should be a winner 🙂
One question – how do you feed 5 people on only half a pound of pasta??
I say that this recipe feeds four (it did feed our family of five but my kids don’t eat a ton). They aren’t huge portions so if you have a family of big eaters I’d double it. Also, remember there is an entire head of cauliflower for 8 ounces of pasta (and a good bit of ricotta).
I make a dish very similar to this…but your ricotta addition is brilliant! Squeeze of lemon on the final dish is a must! this is comfort food! (and so easy!) love.
I need to clean out my pantry too, just cleaned out my fridge and had many outdated condiments so I can only imagine. Lovely dish, the addition of the ricotta and dill looks really wonderful,
Isn’t that the best feeling?! Makes me so inspired to do more cooking.
Thank you for this interesting combination ! Must do ! Have a pleasant week !
This was sooooooo good Ashley! I tried this recipe last night and used the ricotta then added a few thin slivers of parmesan cheese on top. Amazing recipe and the lemon just gave it that perfect elevated flavor. Thank you for sharing this with your readers 🙂
Ok this looks SO GOOD!! SO many of my favorite things, all in one dish. And can we talk about how gorgeous these images are?! Pin, pin pin.. all the way through. xx
Looks delicious!! I will try this recipe.. I love califl;ower !!
yep, completely understand the need for inspiration for a dish rather than all the pre planning and stocking! Love the inspiration here with cauliflower and ricotta, nothing like I’ve made before so thank you for this!
Ashley, this was great! Loved that I only had to pick up a couple of ingredients on the way home. Will make this again.
Is there a more perfect pairing than dill and ricotta? Absolutely delicious!
Seriously! One of the best.
Made this tonight with butternut squash but didn’t have feta or the herbs for the dressing. Still, was a nice combination of flavors. I added shitake mushrooms with the kale.rluy
Made this tonight with butternut squash but didn’t have feta or the herbs for the dressing. Still, was a nice combination of flavors. I added shitake mushrooms with the kale.organic food
5 stars So delicious! I had almost everything. Made my own fried garlic, sub’d basil for cilantro cuz I had none, but won’t next time and had no peanuts but, it sure was delish and easy peasy!Meal Prep Near Me