This dish is sweet, salty, garlicky, and slightly crunchy, all at the same time. The magic is the Roasted Grapes and Cauliflower. The grapes caramelize during roasting and the cauliflower develops a nice golden crust. The two, combined with roasted garlic and bread crumbs delivers incredible texture and flavor.
Tip : You can substitute grated cauliflower for the panko, just toast the cauliflower with the grated garlic in olive oil. Be sure to add a bit of cooking liquid to the mixture with the linguine to keep the dish moist,
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium head cauliflower broken into small florets
- 1 cup seedless red grapes pulled off the stems
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more to drizzle over cauliflower and grapes and pasta,
- 2 cloves garlic grated using a micro plane, or chopped very finely
- dried linguini for two servings
- 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional) optional
- kosher salt
Optional
- 1/3 cup panko or dried bread crumbs if substituting for parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 450°
- On a large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, drizzle olive oil over cauliflower florets.
- Roast for 30 minutes, checking half way through the time to turn the cauliflower making sure that the bottom does not burn. When done, remove cauliflower from sheet pan and set aside.
Roasted Grapes
- Reduce oven heat to 375°
- Add grapes to sheet pan used for the cauliflower, and roll grapes around to coat in the remaining olive oil.
- Roast grapes in a 375° oven for exactly 15 minutes
Garlic
- In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Grate the garlic cloves directly into the pan and gently sauté until the garlic is soft and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Reserve until ready to combine with roasted ingredients.
- If using panko, add panko to the olive oil and garlic mixture after the garlic has softened. Continue to sauté until the panko becomes golden. Add a bit more olive oil if the mixture looks dry.
Pasta
- 10 minutes before grapes are done, bring water to a boil in a deep large pot.
- Add linguini and cook until al dente.
Assembly
- Using tongs, transfer linguini to sauté pan, allowing a bit of cooking liquid to be added to the mixture and combine.
- Drizzle with a little more olive oil to moisten.
Plating
- Arrange a portion of linguini on individual serving plates, top with roasted cauliflower and grapes, sprinkle with grated parmesan (if using).
