Raise your hand if you are certifiably, cauliflower crazy?
I can not get enough of it lately. My fridge has been stuffed with heads of cauliflower each week to the point that certain necessities like my champs and rosé have been kicked to the wine-rack curb!
I know, it’s not right to not have the girls chilled and ready for immediate consumption, but my calling for cauli is just too strong!
Why? Well, surprisingly, cauliflower has some pretty incredible health benefits.
- A great source of vitamin C (roughly 77% of your daily value in 1 cup)
- Low in calories (29 calories in a cup)
- Anti-inflammatory compounds
- Boasts natural antioxidants
It’s also very versatile when it comes to cooking.
It can transform into rice, mashed potatoes and pizza crust. You can pan fry it and make cauliflower “steaks” or roast it and add it to dishes like my Spicy Curried Couscous.
It can even disappear all-together into a yummy soup or a creamy sauce like… this!
I mean, who wouldn’t want to get under this pitcher and have the entire garlicky, creamy sauce poured right into their pie-hole!? 😬
Okay… that might be a bit much, but let me tell you, this sauce is so unbelievably good that even if you’re NOT a fan of cauliflower, it’ll win you over.
It tastes like a high-fat, cheese-infested sauce, not an ounce of cauliflower flavor (does cauliflower even have flavor? ) comes through AND it’s actually dairy-free and vegan, and only takes six ingredients to make.
Interested now? I thought so.
All you have to do is chop up one head of cauliflower and place five garlic cloves onto a baking sheet, drizzle it with a little olive oil and pink salt and bake.
While it’s baking make your pasta.
I love Ancient Harvest. It’s a quinoa pasta blend that’s gluten-free, has protein and cooks up so well.
The sauce really latches onto this rotini style well. I like it better than a flat spaghetti noodle, but any pasta will do.
Next, sauté your spinach.
I used a spinach/arugula blend and I sautéed it in a little garlic and olive oil. (This is also the time to add in other veggies like mushrooms or bell pepper.)
Once done, set it aside.
Blend your cooked cauliflower and garlic with some soaked and softened cashews, salt, lemon juice and filtered water.
The key is to blend it in a high powered blender. I have a Vitamix and it took a few minutes to get thick. *It did not work for me in my food processor, so I had to transfer it to a blender and it worked perfectly.
Lastly, pour your blended sauce into your spinach pan, add in your cooked pasta and … serve!
The garlic is the star flavor for sure, but I added a little fresh lemon juice at the end for some zest and chili flakes for some heat… insanely good!
This dish tastes rich and feels so decadent, but it’s actually loaded with protein (the pasta), fiber (greens) and vitamins. My kind of food!
For an extra boost you could add in a cooked protein like chicken or lobster. You could even top it with a few toasted pine nuts for some crunch! I mean the possibilities are endless!
Cauliflower for dinner? It’s caul-ing you!
Cauliflower Sauce Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp pink salt
1 Tbsp lemon
1/2 c. soaked cashews
2 & 1/2 c. filtered water
Spinach Sauté Ingredients:
3 c. Spinach/arugula blend
1 chopped garlic clove (to sauté in)
1 Tbsp olive oil (to sauté in)
1 16oz box Ancient Harvest Rotini Quinoa Pasta
Directions:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place 1/2 c. raw cashews into a bowl and fill it with water and set aside.
- Wash and chop one head of cauliflower.
- Arrange cauliflower florets and whole garlic cloves onto sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and pink salt, toss until evenly coated, cook in oven for 15- 30 minutes, or until softened.(*Do not overcook garlic or it will taste pungent in sauce.)
- Cook pasta and set aside.
- In a large pan heat one tablespoon olive oil, add in chopped garlic and sauté for two minutes, add in 3 cups of spinach (or other greens) and sauté for three to four minutes and set aside.
- In a high powered blender add: cooked and cooled cauliflower, garlic, softened cashews (drain off liquid first!), lemon juice, pink salt and filtered water and blend in * high powered blender* for at least 2 minutes. **Sauce will thicken as it blends.
- Pour blended sauce into spinach pan, add in cooked pasta, stir. (If you want to add in a COOKED protein add it now.)
- Serve pasta with a few chili flakes and a drizzle of lemon juice for added zest, or top with a little fresh parsley.
NOTES:
*Try not to char your cauliflower while baking, it can make your sauce a little brown when it blends.
*I’ve made this a few times now with added veggies: mushrooms and bell peppers, I thought this tasted best as the original recipe in my post, nothing added.
*Sauce recipe was adapted from a Todayshow.com “Vegan Mac & Cheese With Breadcrumbs” post.
