Roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with pasta

In recent years, cauliflower has become a very popular vegetable in the Western world, especially in vegetarian and vegan cooking. Growing up in India, cauliflower was a regular at home. While my mom cooks a really good aloo-gobi (cauliflower and potatoes cooked Indian style), my preferred method of cooking cauliflower is roasting. Roasting brings out its sweetness while also providing a nice charred flavor on the outside. Cauliflower serves as a versatile canvas and can be seasoned in different ways to fit into any meal. In this recipe, I have used very simple flavors and served it with pasta. The chickpeas add a nice crunch and texture to the dish. Capers and olives add the perfect acidity and complement the rest of the flavors beautifully.

Serves: 2 | Prep. time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cauliflower florets

• 1/2 cup soaked or cooked chickpeas

• 3 tbsp. olive oil

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp mixed Italian herbs

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• salt

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

• 8 oz. or 225 g pasta

• 4 tbsp. basil pesto

• 2 tsp nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese

• capers and green olives for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In a large bowl, add the cauliflower florets, chickpeas, olive oil, salt, black pepper, paprika, Italian herbs and garlic powder. Toss to combine well.

3. Place on a baking sheet and spread out to form a single layer. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the sliced onions to the sheet, toss everything once again, arrange in a single layer and bake for another 20 minutes.

4. In the meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain the liquid and add the pesto. Mix well.

5. To serve, add a portion of pesto coated pasta on a plate. Pile on the roasted cauliflower, chickpeas and onions. Add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese over the top. Garnish with capers and green olives. Serve hot!