Pasta with roasted Romanesco and capers

More local growers are bringing Romanesco to the farmers market, and I can't resist buying the nearly architectural vegetables. They look like some part of a coral reef, with little miniature green castle turrets.

You can always substitute cauliflower in this flavorwise. It's just not as fun.

Pasta with roasted Romanesco and capers

Adapted from Bon Appetit, Oct. 2016

Ingredients

¼ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons drained capers, divided

1 Romanesco or cauliflower head, cut into small florets

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup dry white wine

12 ounces pasta (shells or other short pasta varieties)

2 ounces grated Asiago, Pecorino or Parmesan

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat ¼ cup oil in a large saute pan. Add almonds and 1 tablespoon capers and cook over medium low heat until almonds are golden brown. With a slotted spoon, remove capers and almonds from pan and set aside. Season with salt.

Toss Romanesco with the flavored oil in the pan. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt. Roast in the oven until golden and tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in the saute pan. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and remaining 1 tablespoon of capers. Cook briefly over medium heat until garlic is golden. Add wine and cook until liquid is almost absorbed.

Boil pasta in salted water until just barely al dente. Drain pasta into pot with the garlic, adding 1 cup pasta cooking water. Cook until pasta is al dente, add more cooking liquid as needed to make a sauce. Stir in cheese, add butter and toss to combine. 

Serve topped with cooked almonds and capers, drizzling with more olive oil for flavor.

Rating: Fine. It's like a lot of cauliflower pasta recipes I've made. But what's one more?