Thursday, October 20, 2011

Orecchiette with Roasted Cauliflower, Arugula and Prosciutto

I've got a day off from cooking! So I sat at my desk this morning and sorted through the stack of papers on my desk, most of which are recipes I want to try. There might have been a few bills and school permission slips in the pile, too, but those weren't calling to me. Next, I did what any good personal chef would do on her day off - I cooked.

Inspiration was easy to come by this week, because we just got a Wegmans! I will not tell you how many visits I've made to the store since it opened four days ago because I'm pretty sure you wouldn't believe me. It's more than four. But I digress.

I've found some awesome products at Wegmans, which helped me pull this meal together in no time at all. I didn't even need a cutting board - talk about easy. I know we'll enjoy this for the next couple of days as we shuttle the kids to the school play and generally enjoy our hectic life.

In fact, if I know myself, I will keep adding things to this dish each time I eat it to make it a little different - I think sun-dried tomatoes or kalamata olives would be really great. See what you think.

Orecchiette with Roasted Cauliflower, Arugula and Prosciutto, a la Wegmans
Serves 4

1 pound of washed cauliflower florets, large ones cut in half (get them at Wegmans!)
1 pint of grape tomatoes, rinsed and dried
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
12 ounces dried orecchiette (or any other small pasta shape)
1 4-ounce package of diced prosciutto (get it at Wegmans)
2 T. Wegmans Basting Oil (guess where you can get this?)
4 - 5 ounces Wegmans baby arugula
1/4 - 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees convection roast, or 425 degrees if you don't have convection. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with foil or parchment and spray with nonstick spray. Toss the cauliflower and tomatoes with 1 T. olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper and roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and cook pasta as directed on package. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Place the pasta back in the pot.

After 10 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven and toss the diced prosciutto with the vegetables. Drizzle with 1 T. Wegmans Basting Oil. Roast for 5 - 10 more minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly browned.

Add the cooked vegetables and prosciutto to the pasta in the pot. Stir in the baby arugula and mix to combine. Moisten with a bit of the pasta cooking water. Stir in the cheese, a little at a time (we don't like it too cheesy so I only used 1/4 cup of Parmesan - we might add a little more at the table). Taste it. Add another T. of basting oil, if you'd like, or some salt and pepper.

Inspired by a recipe by Pamela Anderson in Fine Cooking.

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