Upstairs on the Square-Inspired Pasta
Sometimes when I eat out and I really like the dish, I immediately think of how I can re-create it at home. I’ve been successful with some restaurant-inspired dishes, like the Shrimp and Goat Cheese Salad from Woodward and the Chocolate Brioche Pudding from the Langham Hotel. My most recent creation was a pasta dish inspired by a meal at Upstairs on the Square.
Upstairs on the Square in Harvard Square is one of the prettiest, most festive-looking restaurants I know in Boston. Coming into the restaurant is like attending a dinner party hosted by your fabulous, zebra-print loving, purple-and-pink-clad girl friend. And the staff is very hospitable, so dining there feels like some sort of intimate gathering with your friends.
I had dinner there last week and the food was wonderful:
I had a Hot (bacon-wrapped) Date
My friend and I shared the Charred Artic Char…
…and the Cauliflower Strozzapreti
And this is what inspired me to create my own version at home. I love roasted veggies and recently, pasta consumption has become a regular occurrence in my life. I love how it is easy to prepare and pretty healthy (I always use whole wheat pasta and throw in lots of veggies). Also I’m not gonna lie but lately I have been craving carbs like nobody’s business. I would like to blame it on my half marathon training… I mean, if my schedule calls for running 9 or 10 miles tomorrow, I can carbo-load right? If the answer is no, I don’t want to hear it.
Cauliflower is bland by itself, but roasting cauliflower gives it a nutty flavor, and it blends perfectly with sweet and tender roasted garlic.
To offset the whiteness of the whole dish, I decided to make things more exciting. Yes, my idea of excitement is using tri-color shells instead of brown whole wheat pasta.
The Upstairs on the Square version had toasted brioche crumbs but I used chopped mushrooms instead, which also makes the dish a little meatier.
I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower as a base, and here is the version I came up with:
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic
About 1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets (I just bought a pack from Whole Foods, and broke the bigger ones into smaller pieces, probably about 1 or 2 inches)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces pasta (I used spinach and tomato shells)
1 pack white mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
homemade version of pasta with roasted cauliflower and garlic
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss cauliflower and 5 cloves garlic with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly browned and tender, about 30-40 minutes, tossing once.
Cook pasta according to directions.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and chopped mushrooms, saute for 6-8 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and brown. You can also throw in a pinch of red pepper flakes if you want a little kick.
When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. When the cauliflower is done roasting, combine with pasta and mushrooms. Toss everything together, gradually adding enough pasta water to form a thin sauce that coats pasta. Serve topped with chopped chives and crumbled feta cheese.
this captured all the flavors I liked from the original version
I’m pretty happy with the results and so were my friends whom I forced to eat it I shared it with. This dish reheats nicely in the microwave, and for added nutrients, I threw in a handful of spinach before nuking. I also may or may not have thrown in an additional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Have you been to Upstairs on the Square? What was the last restaurant-inspired dish you tried?
PS – I submitted this recipe to Melt in Your Mouth Mondays.
Hi! I’m Bianca Garcia. I love food, running, yoga, sangria, and my job. I'm an advertising professional, social media enthusiast, blogger, freelance writer, and obsessive list-maker. I think about dessert constantly. 
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I love Upstairs on the Square! I do the same thing and start thinking about how to recreate dishes…while I’m still at the restaurant eating the dish!
This looks delicious. I need to order that next time!
Roasted cauliflower and feta – this must be delicious. Very cool that you recreated it.
This sounds great! I’m impressed you can recreate dishes like that!
It’s no wonder you wanted to recreate this dish… sounds so super delicious! I l-o-v-e roasted cauliflower!
This looks delicious! I love roasted cauliflower and mushrooms! I’m adding this to the menu plan!
i love recreating dishes that i’ve had at restaurants! it’s so fun to see how good you can make it and i love when the at-home version tastes better! :)
It is one of my favorite past times trying to recreate meals from restaurants. The experimenting is so much fun. Your take on it sounds great.
That definitely looks like my kind of pasta … yum!!
I try to copy restaurant meals all the time. Yours looks great! I’ll need to give UOTS another shot – I went for dinner once and found it very stuffy and the food just so-so… but so many people love it!
So glad you recreated this! I need to try it.
MMMMMM! I LOVE PASTA! i’m bookmarking this :D
I think I would absolutely love this… with all that feta and cauliflower. I’ve been to Upstairs on the Square a few times and dream of having a bridal shower in that pink room. :)
I adore roasted cauliflower like nobody’s business! Haven’t made pasta in a long time though… You’re so creative with the re-making restaurant dishes!
OF COURSE you need to carbo-load. It’ll make your 9-10 miles stronger. :-)
My cousin goes to BU…I must recommend this place to her! I love the look of that cauliflower stozzapretti.
I LOVE pasta. I am not even training and I carbo load….all the time :-) I love cauliflower…definitely saving this one.
I also love upstairs on the square – it makes me think of Alice in Wonderland. I wasn’t a huge fan of cauliflower until I had it roasted – I love the nutty flavor.