Tonight I'm making Siduri's cauliflower pasta!

[french fries]

So tonight I decided to go ahead and give Siduri's cauliflower pasta a try. Of course when I told my family I was making cauliflower pasta they looked bummed, so I really hope I can pull this one off!

I'll let you know how it turns out. So far I have my big saute pan with a thick layer of olive oil, a few red chili pepper flakes, some thick slices of garlic, and cauliflower and salt, on a very low burner. We're about 1h 1/4 before dinner time so I'm hoping that's plenty of time to reach the right color/taste.

My question to Siduri (if you read this) or to others is - what kind of pasta should I use? I don't think long pasta like spaghettis or fetuccinis are going to cut it here (because of the shape/size of the cauliflower florets), so I'm planning on using Farfalle. Good idea?

I'm really excited about this dish! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[french fries]

Well I did it!

First, as I was doing it, the smell was amazing in the whole house. Not something you'd expect from cauliflower, right?

Next, everybody LOVED the dish. OK so my wife had one complaint, she felt it was a little greasy - but that's more of a diet-conscious complaint than a taste complaint, really.

Honestly, very, very good pasta dish. The cauliflower and garlic turned out to be perfectly golden brown. The cauliflower wasn't mushy as described by Siduri (maybe I didn't cook it long enough?), it still had a bite to it - but I kinda liked that. It cooked for 1h1/2 total.

And really, that totally nailed the goal of transferring the taste of "roasted" garlic & cauliflower to the pasta. You could take a bite of just pasta and still have all the taste.

I served it with some pork tenderloin medaillons, and a nice Pinot Noir. Simple but great meal.

Thanks Siduri!! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[tylerm713]

Did you serve it with farfalle, or go for something else?

 

[french fries]

I went with the farfalle, and I thought that was a great choice to compliment the shape of the cauliflower florets.

 

[koukouvagia]

Wow I was going to make pasta with shrimp tonight but maybe I'll go with this instead. 

Does the cauliflower fall apart completely?  Do you keep stirring the dish or do you just let it sit?

Do you think it would benefit from any other additions like fresh parsley, lemon, or toasted pine nuts?

Does it become a sauce?  Looking back would spaghetti work just as well as short pasta?

I may serve it with chicken breast for protein.  How would you prepare it?

 

[nicko]

Sounds awesome did you take any photos? Would love to see how it turned out.

 

[french fries]

Wow I was going to make pasta with shrimp tonight but maybe I'll go with this instead. 

Does the cauliflower fall apart completely?  Do you keep stirring the dish or do you just let it sit?

Do you think it would benefit from any other additions like fresh parsley, lemon, or toasted pine nuts?

Does it become a sauce?  Looking back would spaghetti work just as well as short pasta?

I may serve it with chicken breast for protein.  How would you prepare it?

In my case the cauliflower did not fall apart at all. The florets kept their integrity, they were fully cooked throughout (I cut them pretty small to begin with, they become even smaller as they cook), but still had a soft bite to them. I did not stir but I did sautee the contents of the pan (not sure about the terminology - I mean shaking the pan so the contents jump and move around in the pan). I did that once every 15mn or so.

At first I thought about finishing the plates with fresh parsley. I thought the pasta would look bland (white cauliflower on white pasta) and sprinkling some fresh parsley would make it look more appetizing. But once the dish was finished the cauliflower and garlic were so beautifully caramelized and light brown that the color was standing out against the white pasta. I didn't feel it needed the parsley so I didn'd add it. I'm sure it would have worked well with it, but I just don't think it needed anything else. I finished with a "healthy dose" of parmeggiano. Honestly I wouldn't add anything else.

It does not become a sauce, it's just the olive oil is infused with the flavors of the "pan roasted" (for lack of a better term?) garlic and cauliflower, and coats all the pasta, so the pasta itself has the taste of the aromatics. I wouldn't choose spaghetti because of the form factor. I'd be worried that with spaghetti all the cauliflower would end up sliding off the pasta. I think it needs some kind of wider pasta that can carry the cauliflower and garlic pieces.

I kept the pork medaillons very simple: salt, pepper, saute in olive oil. I would do the same with chicken, keep it simple, salt & pepper, grill or saute, maybe a bit of lemon juice and one or two herbs?

Hey if you make it let us know how it turns out for you? I'm sure I'll make this dish again, too.

 

[french fries]

Sounds awesome did you take any photos? Would love to see how it turned out.

Unfortunately I did not.

 

[siduri]

Wow, French Fries, I'm really glad you made this dish.  I keep telling people about it, but people keep ignoring the recipe because nobody seems to like cauliflower.  Everyone thinks, i'm sure, "oh, that boiling cauliflower smell" and don't want to try.  But the flavor is entirely different from boiled cauliflower, and the sweetness of it comes out wonderfully.  You can do a similar thing with zucchine, but it's not nearly as tasty - zucchine being pretty tasteless.  But it totally transforms the cauliflower.

I usually use rigatoni, because i feel it needs the bite of a thick pasta.  I particularly dislike farfalle, because they are always undercooked where the dough is pinched together, or overcooked on the flat parts.  But i like the bite of rigatoni. 

I always put a good amount of parmigiano on the pasta as soon as it's drained, so it sort of melts on (don't mix yet, because it will cling to the spoon and bowl.  Then I put the cauliflower on top, and then mix well. 

I usually like vegetables al dente, but in this case i like the cauliflower to get soft completely through.  It doesn't really fall apart, Koukouvagia, at least not entirely, though there will be tiny flower buds like little grains at the bottom of the pan, which spread the flavor throughout the dish, but it should get soft, i think, but it's up to you. I probably would have cut the bigger flowers in half or in quarters (lenghthwise up the stem and flower) and they cook faster. 

It doesn't need to be very oily, as long as you keep an eye on it and keep it covered so a little steam adds to the liquid. 

I tried it once with broccoli but it didn;t work right. 

With broccoli, instead, I like to blanch it, and then get the frying pan with a good film of oil, add cubed pancetta and garlic and optional red pepper flakes or whole hot peppers, cook very slowly till pancetta is lightly browned and the garlic is soft, then keep cooking a few minutes with the broccoli in it, and then dump it on the pasta and cheese. 

 

[french fries]

Originally Posted by siduri  

I particularly dislike farfalle, because they are always undercooked where the dough is pinched together, or overcooked on the flat parts. 

That's so true! But personally I think I actually enjoy the bite I get from the undercooked part where it is pinched. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

As soon as the pasta was almost cooked I threw it in the saute pan that had the cauliflower, tossed and finished cooking the pasta for a minute, then added the parmesan, tossed some more, adjusted the seasoning (mine was underseasoned) and served. I can see that's probably not the usual/best method for oil-based sauces? I learned that technique for tomato or cream based sauces, and I just automatically did the same for this one.

 

[koukouvagia]

It's on the stove cooking right now.  It feels like it's going to take forever.  I'm using pipette http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/kitchen/2008_09_22-PipettePasta.jpg  as pasta.  I think couscous would work really well too but I really feel like pasta.

I'm serving it with porkchops that will be seared with s/p and thyme.  Then I will remove from the pan and deglaze with a little chicken stock and lots of lemon.  I would usually add garlic too but since the pasta has so much I'm doing away with it.  Then I'll put the pork chops back in and stick in the oven to finish cooking. 

I happen to love cauliflower.  I like it raw, boiled, roasted, mashed, you name it I like it.  I find that it pairs beautifully with rosemary but I'm all out.  Try that Siduri!

 

[french fries]

Sounds delicious Kouk'. A good red wine with all that?

 

[homemadecook]

Never heard of this  Siduri's cauliflower pasta  before. Can we have the recipe for this one so we could try this one? Thanks! /img/vbsmilies/smilies//smile.gif

 

[koukouvagia]

Well it was wonderful.  The cauliflower was soft and caramelized and garlicky good!  I wasn't too happy with the pipette, I think it needs a daintier noodle.  I took a picture but it looks a little blah, not at all as good as it tasted.

 

[chefbillyb]

When I do a Pesto or olive oil base flavoring for pasta I always use Linguine, would it be a good choice for this recipe..................ChefBillyB

 

[siduri]

Home made cook, i think if you click on where it says "Siduri's cauliflower pasta" in your question (it appears in a different color)  you'll be directed to where the recipe is. 

As for the linguine, the reason i don't like "long" pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettucine) with this particular dish is that you wind the pasta on your fork and all the cauliflower stays in the dish.  The "short" pasta, like rigatoni, can be pierced with the fork along with the cauliflower, and some iof the flowerettes will end up inside the tube of this pasta too. 

 

[french fries]

Making this again tonight. The "sauce" is slowly heating up on the stove. There's a wonderful roasted garlic aroma in the whole house!!!

 

[siduri]

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif always gives me a smile when my recipes make others smile!

 

[french fries]

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

Just finished my second serving. Delicious! I need to add more meat-less recipes like this to my repertoire!!

 

[french fries]

My dad, who loves pasta, but can't cook, asked me today to teach him an easy dish. I just taught him that one, which is now simmering on the stove top. It went something like this:  

Me - Film your pan with olive oil, 

- Add your garlic slices, 

- Add the cauliflower florets,

- Salt, 

- Cover and let simmer for a couple hours.

Then I turn to him and tell him:

Me - That's it. It's easy, right?

Him (looking very disappointed) - That's it? No tomato sauce, nothing?

Me - Hahaha... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

My dad has always associated pasta with tomato sauce. He's in for a surprise.