More than the sum of it's parts...

Sometimes a delicious dinner comes from exhaustively researching a recipe, sometimes it's a family favorite, tried and true. And sometimes you open the refrigerator and find a head of cauliflower just slightly past it's prime and not much else. You know everyone loves roasted cauliflower but you can't just have that for dinner (unless you are alone and then anything goes...) now there are children and a hard working man to feed and they require something a little heartier. There's pasta. Everyone loves pasta.

You set a pot of water on to boil, generously salted like the sea.

Get the oven going. I like 450 degrees for roasting.

You chop that head of cauliflower in to bite sized chunks. If you are like me and are unable to buy one of anything, you chop the one head of cauliflower and then you chop half of another head. I like a roughly equal ratio of pasta to vegetables. Makes me feel virtuous.



Drizzle on some good olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Pop it in the oven and let it go until it looks like...



This. Never mind that I used a tad bit too much olive oil. I spaced out while I was pouring. It will be okay, after all, it's all the moisture this pasta will get. All it needs, really.

Drain the pasta and toss it with the cauliflower and olive oil. I served ours with chopped, fresh mozzarella but it's absolutely delicious without it. It's amazing what can become of three ingredients and necessity.



Don't be fooled by the palette of beige and white, I assure you the sweet, almost nutty roasted cauliflower and the slightly grainy taste of the whole grain pasta are perfectly enhanced by a nicely fruity olive oil and creamy mozzarella. It's one of our favorite pasta dishes now.

What do you like to make when the cupboards are just this close to being bare?