Rigatoni and Cauliflower al Forno
Updated May 2, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1pound rigatoni or other large pasta shape
- 1medium cauliflower, about 1½ pounds
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- ¼teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 3tablespoons roughly chopped sage, plus a few sage leaves left whole
- ½teaspoon lemon zest
- 6ounces coarsely grated fontina or mozzarella
- 2ounces finely grated Romano cheese or other hard pecorino
- ½cup coarse dry bread crumbs
- 2tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
521 calories; 17 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 578 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Cook the rigatoni in well-salted water according to package directions, but drain while still quite al dente. (If directions call for 12 minutes cooking, cook for 10 instead.) Rinse pasta with cool water, then drain again and set aside.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower in half from top to bottom. Cut out tough core and stem any extraneous leaves. Lay cauliflower flat side down and cut crosswise into rough ¼-inch slices. Break into smaller pieces.
- Step 3
Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat. Add cauliflower slices, along with any crumbly pieces, in one layer. (Work in batches if necessary.) Let cauliflower brown and caramelize for about 2 minutes, then turn pieces over to brown the other side. Cook for another 2 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork. It’s fine if some pieces don’t brown evenly. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add capers, garlic, red pepper flakes, chopped sage, sage leaves and lemon zest and stir to coat.
- Step 4
Put cooked cauliflower mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add cooked rigatoni and fontina and toss. Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled baking dish. Top with Romano cheese, then with bread crumbs and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. (Dish may be completed to this point up to several hours in advance and kept at room temperature, covered.)
- Step 5
Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until top is crisp and golden. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
Tip
- And to Drink ... Cauliflower, garlic and the rest of the ingredients in this dish collectively cry out for a dry, citrusy white wine with plenty of lively acidity. Where you look depends on your mood. I’ve been in a Sicilian mood myself, so I would reach for a savory white from Mount Etna, made primarily from the carricante grape, or other good southern Italian whites like falanghinas or fianos from Campania. More options? If you want to get esoteric, perhaps a so-called orange wine from northeastern Italy, actually a white made nutty and amber-orange by prolonged contact with the grape skins; a ribolla gialla from Friuli-Venezia Giulia or, if you can find one, a vespaiolo from Veneto. Beyond Italy, a crisp sauvignon blanc, a Chablis, an aged Muscadet or even a good Champagne. As long as the wine is dry and lively, it should go well. ERIC ASIMOV
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Charlotte
My family absolutely loves this dish. I usually reduce the pasta to half the amount required (for 4) and put in more cauliflower. Caramelizing the cauliflower, though takes a lot longer than described and in my opinion requires more oil than called for in the recipe. Have tried the 'oven model,' but think the flavor is better when using the skillet.
Susan Lopez
I've been making pasta with pan roasted cauliflower for many years. I would recommend that those that found it to be dry and without flavour try it without baking. It really isn't meant to be a baked pasta. The person who recommended saving the pata water is spot on and it should be used at the end to marry the flavours. Saute the pasta (penne is also good) with the water and cauliflower mixture. You can add some percorino and more capers if it is too bland for your tastes.
Nancy
I combined all ingredients except the cheese and pasta, tossed and spread on cookie sheet then roasted it in the oven, cooked the pasta, took it out of the water, added the cheese, tossed with roasted cauliflower and served.
dimmerswitch
"Here's the recipe." That was my response to my husband's question, "What would you like me to make for dinner on your birthday, Sweetie." Pretty foolproof to make. Pretty fantabulous flavors to eat. We didn't find it dry as others suggest but my Italian hubby is Italian and it is the mode NOT to heavily sauce pastas in his heritage. Paired with a nice glass of Arneis, I was a happy woman...in spite of having another year on my age.
Liza
I used only a half pound of pasta with a whole cauliflower; roasted the cauliflower with the garlic and olive oil in the oven at 400F for 20-30 minutes instead of on the stovetop; added up to 1/2 cup of pasta water in the final mix as some suggested. Had no breadcrumbs so made homemade croutons, used about a cup of those. To my taste this needed more capers and more lemon, adding a squeeze of lemon when serving boosted the flavor nicely. Overall we enjoyed this and I'll make it again.
Katherine
I made this a few weeks ago and though the flavors were superb, there was too much pasta and it was too dry. I used half the pasta and added 1 cup of fresh ricotta, which added a marvelous creaminess that went super well with all of the interesting flavors. Would probably add some black pepper next time as well.
njjohnson
Several people suggested using less pasta. That is an understatement. In fact, I wonder if Tanis made an error in recommending 1# of pasta. That is far too much for 6 people, and far too much for the rest of the ingredients. I hope he will change the instructions to recommend (at most) 8 oz. of pasta. Fortunately it was obvious to me when when I combined the ingredients that I should use 1/2 the pasta called for.
cheryl
Sister-in-law Hannah has made this delicious dish several times. I used her short cut of roasting the cauliflower in the oven with evoo, salt and pepper for 30 minutes at 400 degrees then proceeding as directed. Fabulous!
Lois
I have made this several times and we love it. I actually like the "dry" aspect--you get crispy pasta edges and bread crumbs. Yum! I do agree that 1 pound of pasta is too much, though.
Paula
Save about 1/2 cup pasta water to mix in before baking so the dish is less dry. Use 3/4 pound pasta, not a full pound.
Do not rinse the pasta; cook it so it is ready when the cauliflower mixture is ready and you can add pasta to bowl.
Adding a little white wine sounds good.
SonomaSMB
This is not a creamy macaroni and cheese type pasta.
I love the crispy, drier texture.
The capers and fontina and bread crumbs make this dish.
There are a myriad of Mac and cheese recipes out there. This is different and wonderful.
Pat C
I added some pasta water and it was creamy and delicious. Not dry at all.
Lee
I used romanesco instead of cauliflower because that's what I had. I also caramelized some onions, sauteed some swiss chard with the garlic, chili flakes, onions, and juice from half a lemon. Then mixed everything together. Delicious!
Damon Darlin
No need to rinse the pasta.
Bohemian
This turned out perfectly, exactly as written. I'm wondering if people actually followed the directions to the letter, as I did.
I loved that the top layer of rigatoni was somewhat dried and crunchy and the rest underneath wasn't. Loved the texture.
I thought maybe it was going to be too much sage, but it wasn't. The full-sized sage leaves didn't add much since I wouldn't want to eat a whole one. They looked pretty on the top, but i'd omit them next time.
private note
For passover, combined this with recipe for “Matzoh mac & cheese“. Used layers of cauliflower between sheets of Matzoh. Tasty. Would use more cauliflower.
Ann
With guidance from other reviewers, I made this as follows: Oven roast cauliflower florets tossed in olive oil with red pepper flakes. Sauté/toast bread crumbs in garlic-infused olive oil. Cook pasta. As pasta finishes, sauté chopped garlic, sage, capers and lemon zest. Add roasted cauliflower. Add pasta (less than the whole pound). Stir in mozzarella and parmesan/pecorino. Moisten with pasta water as needed. Top with panko. Perfect.
kaki
This recipe I’ve needs substantial revision. Cauliflower should be smaller chunks (cut into 1/4 inch steaks and then break into smaller chunks), the heat is too high and better at a med-high, and caramelization takes longer. Pasta could be halved and a smaller pasta will hold the cheese better. Overall, as written, this is a C if I am generous.
Foodnotes
I made this last night and it was good. I think the large amount of pasta needs to be balanced out by increasing all the other ingredients by 1/3rd. Adding at least 1/2 cup of pasta water to create a creamier texture would also enhance the end result.
Jo-Ann
I just made this for a second time, and I like it. But saying it takes an hour is pretty ridiculous. It takes that long to prepare and fried cauliflower, not to mention all the rest of it.
Tatjana
Delicious with cauliflower florets and baby corn tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven for 20 minutes beforehand. Fresh peas added to the end of the pasta too
Annette
This was delicious. It is a beautiful upscale version of what I grew up eating, which is referred to as peasant food. Pasta with garlic, olive oil and freshly grated pecorino Romano was a weekly staple growing up with Sicilian immigrant parents. The Sicilian word for cauliflower is broccolo. It’s not dry, so many flavors! I used broccoli and cauliflower mixed together and parsley in my version. Can’t wait to share it with my 94 year old mom!
nina
If your Sage plant is buried in the snow, as is mine, try one-third as much rosemary.
Agnieszka
Chicken soup of pasta!!!
Lilia
Read a lot of the comments before cooking. I’m usually a “make it per recipe first” but we were hungry and short on time. So — boiled cauliflower instead. In a bowl with some olive oil, combined all the ingredients except the cheese (plus anchovies because anchovies). When the cauliflower was done, added it to the bowl and tossed. Then, mixed cauliflower with pasta and mozzarella in the baking dish and topped as per the recipe. Baked 400 for 25 min - not dry at all but crispy on top. Amazing!
cjon
Definitely took longer than 1 hour for me. I appreciated the gentle flavors, but would consider sneaking in some diced pancetta or bacon next time for good luck.
Phil Z
I made this tonight. Had to make some subs based on what we had, but kept to the recipe for the most part. Excellent results. It's a savory dish that left us with a wonderful after taste. We used a half pound of pasta which seemed about right. Looking forward to more.
EatBakeLove
Do not eat this if you are trying to lose weight. Too delicious! I used 10 oz of pasta, 2 tbsp capers, 1/2 c of pasta water, per other commenters. Everything else as written. The rare recipe that will please sophisticated adults as well as picky children.
Nicole
I've made this many times and plan to tonight - I will try roasting the cauliflower this time in the oven. My secret with this recipe is to add cremini mushrooms - saute them up with some EVOO and stir them in with the cauliflower - YUM!
bzimmerman
The flavors are absolutely amazing, but I have to agree with many others that it needs more liquid. I added some Italian sausage thinking that would be enough lubrication, but I’d personally like more dairy. Maybe a bit of ricotta or cream next time as some have suggested. Def trying again.
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