Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Cauliflower
 
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 5 TB butter
  • 4 TB flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • ½ lb. Taleggio, rind removed and cubed
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 lb. large hollow pasta, such as rigatoni
  • ½ cup dry bread crumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  3. Roast cauliflower until browned, about 20 minutes.
  4. If baking the dish right away, once you remove the cauliflower, turn the oven up to 450.
  5. To prepare the sauce, begin by melting the butter in a large sauce pan.
  6. In a separate saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer and keep warm.
  7. Add the flour to the saucepan with the melted butter and whisk together over low heat for 5-6 minutes until golden. (This is known as a roux.)
  8. While whisking, slowly add the warm milk to the roux. Bring mixture to a boil then turn down heat and simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. (This is a bechamel sauce.)
  9. Remove the bechamel from the heat and add the cubed Taleggio and grated Parmesan. Stir to combine. The resulting sauce should be smooth and not grainy.
  10. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, erring on the side of undercooked. Drain.
  11. Butter a 3 qt. baking dish and add the cooked pasta and roasted cauliflower, spreading out in a single layer.
  12. Pour the Mornay sauce over the pasta and cauliflower and toss gently to ensure that the pasta is coated.
  13. Top with dry bread crumbs and more grated Parmesan if you like. (The dish can be covered and refrigerated at this point if not baking right away.)
  14. Bake at 450 for twenty minutes. Serve hot.
Recipe by West of the Loop at https://www.westoftheloop.com/2014/03/10/baked-rigatoni-roasted-cauliflower/