cauliflower puttanesca

A bold and superfood-y dinner for any night of the week.

Puttanesca is a classic Italian pasta dish that typically features olives, garlic, capers, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, and plenty of olive oil. In this plant-based version, we've kept it bold, hearty, and deeply flavorful without the olive oil. I've also taken the liberty of adding roasted red peppers and cauliflower for an extra twist.

Speaking of cauliflower, I've developed a habit of pairing pasta with a cruciferous veggie over the years. Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale are true superfoods, packed with sulfur-containing compounds that have been shown to have cancer-fighting properties.

You'll notice this trend in many of my pasta recipes. Check out the Alfredo and Roasted Sprouts (pg 77) and Mac n’ Cauli Cream (pg 69) in "Plant-Based Delicious," the One-Pot Broccoli Hummus Mac n’ Cheeze (pg 207) and Vegetable Lasagna (pg 201) in "The Plant-Based Cookbook," or here in this Kale Pesto Pasta and Cauliflower Alfredo.

To boost the nutritional value of this meal even more, I've swapped grain-based pasta for legume-based pasta. I chose chickpea rotini, but you can also use red lentil or another legume pasta you prefer.

The result is a tangy, briny, umami, and mildly spicy dish that's both complex and balanced.

Feel free to add more red pepper flakes if you like a lot of heat or omit them completely if you’re sensitive to spice.

We didn't have any leftovers—always a good sign.