Like grown-up mac and cheese, made with Parmesan and Gouda.
This is a mac and cheese for grown-ups.
It can be served as a simple vegetarian dinner or as a side dish forroast chickenorgrilled steak.
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To start, roast the cauliflower and onions together in a hot oven.
Cut the cauliflower into slices rather than in small pieces.
There are plenty of pasta shapes to choose from to suit your mood or what is in the cupboard.
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Ziti, penne rigate, shells, rotini, or my favorite, pipe rigate (little pipes!)
are all good choices.
I recently learned a great trick: Toss hot pasta in Parmesan as soon as you drain it.
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The hot pasta melts the Parmesan and absorbs all that cheesy goodness.
Trim away the outer leaves and cut the cauliflower into slices roughly 1/4-inch thick.
Some smaller florets will fall away; this is fine.
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Spread the cauliflower slices and any florets that have fallen off on a rimmed baking sheet.
Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil.
Using your hands, rub the oil into the cauliflower, coating both sides.
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Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Roughly chop the onion.
Place the cauliflower on the lower rack of the oven and the onions on the top rack.
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Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until both are tender and golden.
Flip the cauliflower once during roasting; stir the onions occasionally.
Remove the onions from the oven if they finish before the cauliflower or start to burn.
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Let the vegetables cool slightly in their pans.
Break the cauliflower into smaller florets.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
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Drain the pasta in a colander.
Once the cheese has melted and absorbed into the pasta a little, stir in the milk.
Add the roasted cauliflower and onion, lemon zest, thyme and Gouda, and stir well.
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Taste and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
If the mixture seems dry, add a little pasta cooking water, a tablespoon at a time.
Transfer to a 3- or 4-quart baking dish.
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Place the crackers in a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin until coarsely crumbled.
In a bowl, mix the crushed crackers with 2 tablespoons Parmesan, the melted butter and parsley.
Sprinkle this evenly over the pasta.
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Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the pasta is hot and the top is golden.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and reheated in a microwave or a warm oven.
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