Cauliflower, 1 lemon, 2 slices of bread, pasta and a handful of pantry essentials. It really is amazing how a few simple ingredients can be transformed into some SO GOOD. The crowning glory of this Cauliflower Pasta is the pangrattato (aka Magic Toasted Breadcrumbs).
I never understood Meatless Monday. If you do grocery shopping on the weekend, doesn’t it make sense to cook with fresh meat early in the week (i.e. MONDAY)?
I guess normal people go Meatless on Monday to try to kick off the week on a healthy note. Not me. I’m usually the reverse. Fresh protein for the first half of the week, then vegetarian / pantry meals for the second half of the week!
So I’m not sharing this on a Monday to jump in on Meatless Monday. I’m sharing this because I’m one of those people who just can’t resist a bargain, and when giant, beautiful heads of cauliflower were on sale for $1.49, I bought 3 of them. THREE.
Yup, that’s the way I operate. Did you think that I planned out the recipes I post with military precision? I’m sorry to burst that bubble! Despite my best attempts, I can’t stick to a recipe posting schedule. I go to the shops with a shopping list designed around things I plan to make, but I always get side tracked by whatever fresh produce is on special! Like lamb shanks. 🙂 That’s why I shared my Lamb Shanks recipe – they were 30% off!
I don’t think people ordinarily associate cauliflower with pasta, but can I tell you – it goes SO WELL! When cauliflower is roasted or browned in a skillet, it gets a slightly nutty flavour. About as different as you can get to bland, boiled cauliflower!
But the crowning glory of this pasta has to be the pangrattato. “Pangrattato” is known as the “poor man’s parmesan” in Italy and was invented as an economical substitute for parmesan. It’s just small chunky bits of bread, either toasted of pan fried with olive oil and seasoned with salt.
Anything you sprinkle it on – WOW! Salty bursts of crunchy, golden bread, it really can elevate the most ordinary of things into something seriously delicious! I sprinkle it on pasta, gratins and bakes, roasted vegetables (try this Roasted Broccoli with Pangrattato!) and it’s fantastic sprinkled on salads too!
Cauliflower pan fried until golden in garlicky butter tossed through pasta with lemon and chili, topped with crunchy salty pangrattato. THIS is Meat Free for Carnivores!
– Nagi x
And more GREAT meat-free pastas!
More cauliflower recipes
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Garlic Butter Cauliflower Pasta with Pangritata
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 slices bread , crusts removed, preferably stale (enough to make 1/2 cup)
- Oil spray (preferably olive oil)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , smashed (Note 1)
- 1/2 large head of cauliflower , broken/cut into florets about 2"/5cm long (about 4 to 5 cups) (Note 2)
- 8 oz / 250 g fettuccine (or pasta of choice)
- 1/2 red onion , thinly sliced
- 1/2 to 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 lemon : 2 tbsp lemon juice + zest of 1/2 the lemon
- Salt & pepper
To serve
- Parmesan cheese , freshly grated
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Pangrattato
- Dice the bread into small pieces - you want (at least!) 1/2 cup. Spray generously with oil.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bread crumbs and saute for about 2 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the skillet into a bowl and sprinkle with salt.
Cauliflower Pasta
- Return the skillet to the stove. Melt the butter then add the oil. When hot, add the smashed garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the cauliflower. Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 3 minutes, then add the red onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is beautiful golden brown but still a bit firm.
- Remove the smashed garlic cloves.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water - 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time on the packet!
- RESERVE 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Then drain the pasta or use tongs to transfer it directly to the skillet.
- Pour the reserved pasta cooking water into the skillet along with the red chili flakes, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Gently toss the pasta for 1 to 2 minutes, until the water evaporates - you will be left with a luscious coating of sauce on each strand of pasta (this is called emulsification) and the cauliflower will finish cooking.
- Remove from the stove. Grate over zest of 1/2 the lemon and drizzle over about 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Toss quickly.
- Serve, sprinkled with Pangrattato with freshly grated parmesan and parsley, if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Mmmm ….. just wonderful, Nagi! I am a huge fan of simple pastas that taste really good, and they can be a bit hard to come by, or certainly accoding to my husband. We had a very simple ‘tuna pasta’ at a great little cafe in Paris, but unfortunately it was a bit too salty and simple, certainly for the hubs. So … I’m on a hunt for a simple pasta that can ‘wow’ him. This might just be it!
Totally agree that roasted cauli is a different thing altogether to boiled, and yes, pangritata just TRANSFORMS a recipe (it’s really good on a sausage ragu pasta!) 🙂
My heart melts at the though of this on a sausage ragu…. (I am so envious of your exotic jet setting life!) <3
Nagi, I am exactly like you, we do the grocery shopping during the weekend and end up with fresh meat, so the first halp of the week I try to cook with it, while fresh, meatless Monday is not a staple in our house lol, this Monday I posted a caramel sauce recipe, and thanks God its meatless, because otherwise it would be really weird. Unless its caramel covered bacon I love cauliflower and pasta, my mom always cooks it for me and its delicious!
Caramel covered bacon? YES YOU SHOULD! Genius! 😉
Every time I need styling inspiration I come creep by your site. Your shots are simply gorgeous. Made some of your dishes too – superb. I basically come here for the photos, stay for the food ;P
Aw, thanks so much Natalia! I’m so flattered!! And thank you for trying my recipes! <3
Love cauliflower and of course I also have some in the fridge right now. And I usually go meatless in the middle of the week, so I can get ready for the weekend, but definitely not on Monday 🙂 Can’t wait to try this pasta and the breadcrumbs sound awesome 🙂
I had to giggle – of COURSE you have cauliflower! You will be proud of me – I tried cauliflower sauce Mac and Cheese the other night. OMG. Amazing!
No rules over in this camp. Meatless Mondays would only happen by coincidence. Nagi, I love pasta done like this. Sometimes when I go for the sauceless pasta meal I bulk it up with breadcrumbs. Gives it some guts, you know? And a good spritz of lemon does wonders. LOVE that you’ve used cauliflower here!
I think I actually prefer pasta without lots of sauce. I mean Aglio Olio…BEST EVER PASTA in the world! (When done right!! 😉 )
oooh, magic breadcrumbs! Love this idea – that crunch would be spectacular. Pity I am fasting today #damnYou5:2Diet
Fasting day? I could SO use one of those… 😉