Baked Rigatoni With Cauliflower In A Spicy Pink Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 1 lb yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 3 medium)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 lb rigatoni pasta
• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 10 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 ounces freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (about 3/4 cup)

Recipe

• 1 position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
• 2 bring well-salted water to boil in a large pot with a pasta insert. grease a 9x13" baking dish with 1 tablespoons olive oil.
• 3 pour off 1 cup of juice from 1 of the cans of tomatoes and discard it. in a blender or a food porcessor, puree both cans of tomatoes with their remaining juice and set aside.
• 4 heat remainin 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 6-8 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. when oil is shimmering, about 1 minute, add onions and 1/4 teaspoons of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, unti nicely browned, 5-10 minutes. push the onion to the side of the dutch oven and add the garlic. cook until it just starts to sizzle and becomes fragrant, about 10 seconds.
• 5 add pureed tomates and cream, plus remaining 1 teaspoons salt. bring to boil over medium-hihgh heat, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that sauce thickens a bit. add parsley and red pepper flakes and cook until flavors are melded, about 5 minutes more. taste for salt and pepper and remove from heat.
• 6 meanwhile, when salted water comes to boil, cook rigatoni until al dente, about 10 minutes. drain pasta, reserving pasta water in pot. add pasta to sauce. return water to a boil and add cauliflower to pot. cook cauliflower until barely tender, about 2 minutes. drain and add to sauce.
• 7 add 1 1/2 cups of fontina cheese to pasta mixture and toss well. transfer to prepared baking dish and spread evenly. top pasta with remaining 1 cup of fontina cheese and then the parmigiano-reggiano.
• 8 bake, uncovered, until cheese is golden brown, about 15 minutes. let pasta rest for 10 minutes before serving.