RECIPE: BoccaLupo’s fried cauliflower inspires sheet-pan pasta
Before the pandemic, I regularly ate at BoccaLupo. My appetizer order at this Italian-American restaurant in Inman Park was always the same: Roman-style fried cauliflower. Punchy with fried capers and slivers of lemon peel, then tossed with an abundance of olive oil and fresh mint, it was a decadent, crave-worthy plate of cruciferous vegetables.
While this dish is not on BoccaLupo’s current menu, you can easily bring the flavors of this quick dish to your home and add pasta to turn it into a full meal. Instead of frying the cauliflower and capers, roast them in a hot oven on a sheet pan in a generous amount of olive oil. A brief stint under the broiler will lightly char the florets for a hint of bittersweet flavor.
At the same time, boil and drain small, short pasta. I like to use shells, but any shape — orecchiette, rigatoni — that’ll cling to the capers and bits of cauliflower will work well. Drain the pasta, then dump it onto the sheet pan of roasted cauliflower, and stir gently. The residual heat and steam from the pasta will finish cooking the vegetables without turning them to mush. (I’m borrowing this technique from the YouTuber Adam Ragusea. You could toss everything together in a bowl, but a sheet pan is way more fun.)
The final flourishes are the same as at BoccaLupo: lemon zest, lemon juice and plenty of chopped fresh mint. Serve it straight from the sheet pan.
- 1 pound dried shell pasta
- Salt
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets (6 to 8 cups)
- 1 (3.5-ounce) jar capers, drained
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
- Heat the oven to 475 degrees with one rack placed in the middle of the oven and one rack in the top position.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
- While the water heats and the pasta cooks, combine the cauliflower, capers and olive oil on a rimmed sheet pan. Toss to thoroughly coat the cauliflower in the oil. Transfer to the middle rack in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and the broiler on to high. Move the sheet pan to the top rack. Broil until the cauliflower is just turning tender and is lightly charred on top, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the pasta, tossing to coat in the olive oil. Zest and then juice the lemon over the top and stir in the mint. Season to taste with salt. Drizzle with additional olive oil and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 642 calories (percent of calories from fat, 22), 23 grams protein, 106 grams carbohydrates, 21 grams fiber, 17 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 1,179 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
