Okay, so you may not have been asking where has Dinner at Sheila’s been these last few weeks, but I have been asking myself that question, and there is a legitimate excuse for my absence of blogging.
We have been readying our house for its upcoming listing. I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post that we will be moving in early summer to the west coast. Since then things have been moving at lighting speed.
We talked the talk, and now we have to walk the walk, so my husband and I have been immersed in cleaning, de-cluttering, and reorganizing, to make sure that our beautiful home sparkles as the For Sale sign becomes the newest addition to our front landscape later this week.
It is an emotional roller coaster I’m riding as we begin the process of saying good-bye to life as we know it these past 25 years. The reality that our home will before too long become someone else’s is hard to get my head around. But, I’m trying.
Nonetheless, I feel sad that I have not been cooking and blogging as I normally would.
Don’t get me wrong…I am excited about the move and all it brings with it…a new home in a storybook like town to make our own, an entire new area of the country to explore, and being so much closer to our sons. These are true gifts, but this roller coaster has its ups and downs and we can’t jump off til it stops.
So the very least I thought I could do today for you and me is to post this recipe for Pasta with Roasted Caulifower, Sage and Walnut Sauce, which I contributed to the Food52 website about a year ago.
My inspiration for this sauce comes from a recipe for a Potato and Sage Gratin from the Festive Occasions Cookbook by Chuck Williams and Joyce Goldstein.
I combined this sauce which is flavored with garlic, sage, and nutmeg with roasted cauliflower, toasted walnuts and Pecorino Romano cheese and turned it into a yummy pasta dish. But, it’s good enough to stand alone as a side dish if you’re not in the mood for pasta!
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Sage and Walnut Sauce
Serves 6
1 large cauliflower, trimmed and cut into medium to large florets
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream, (or combination heavy cream and half-and-half)
5 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
8 fresh sage leaves, chopped fine plus a few whole leaves for garnish
1 and ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
¾ pound celllentani pasta, cooked al dente (or pasta of your choosing)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, tossing occasionally until browned and just tender, about 15 minutes.
4. While cauliflower is roasting, bring the milk, cream, garlic and sage to a boil in a saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
5. When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Put the cauliflower in a baking dish, scraping up any browned bits.
6. Pour the cream mixture over, cover with foil and let sit for 10 -15 minutes while you toast the walnuts in a dry skillet on top of the stove on low heat. When cool, coarsely chop the walnuts.
7. Bake the cauliflower, covered with foil for 20 minutes.
8. Remove the foil, sprinkle ¼ cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese and the chopped walnuts on top and bake, uncovered, another 10 minutes.
9. Remove the cauliflower and set aside.
10. Pour the cream from the gratin into a large saucepan and heat til it begins to thicken.
11. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Toss til coated. Place in pasta bowl and top with the cauliflower mixture.
12. Garnish with remaining ¼ cup cheese and sage leaves.