Cauliflower ‘Pasta’ with Ricotta and Peas
So satisfying – so healthy: creamy cauliflower ‘pasta’
A while ago I confessed to my love affair with cauliflower – recently a new dimension unfolded itself to me: Cauliflower “pasta”.
Do not get me wrong, I am certainly not on a crusade against carbohydrates, I simply discovered that they do not have to be a part of every meal. And cauliflower offers a beautiful alternative: cauliflower mash, tabouleh, couscous and now this cauliflower pasta.
The recipe is ever so simple. But my tip to cook this dish with focus. I have cooked this dish several times now but once I was a little sloppy (undercooked cauli, overcooked peas) and the result was a quite disappointing. I discovered that the magic in this dish lies in the comforting soft bite of the cauliflower which is reminiscent of the satisfying texture of pasta.
Ingredients
(from the blog stonesoup)
Serves 2
1/2 large – 1 small cauliflower
olive oil
250g frozen peas
1/2 bunch of mint (5-10g)
250g ricotta (store-bought or try this home-made version)
salt, pepper
2 handfuls of finely grated parmesan (or pecorino) cheese
Recipe
- Bring a pot of water to the boil.
- Cut cauliflower into tiny florets.
- Simmer cauliflower about 10-12 minutes until tender. Taste regularly towards the end. The cauliflower should be soft but not mushy.
- Meanwhile add a little olive oil to a second sauce pan. Add the peas and cook 5-8 minutes, stirring once in a while, until tender.
- Drain cauliflower and add to the peas.
- Chop mint. Add together with ricotta, salt and pepper.
- Stir and taste to adjust seasoning.
- Sprinkle over 1/2 parmesan. Serve with remainder of parmesan on the side.
Serve with
Although you can eat the dish on its own it is even better with an extra dimension of texture. Consider:
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Cooked green beans
- A crispy salad
Tips & Variations
I enjoy the combination of flavours so much I have not experimented a lot yet, but I am sure most creamy pasta sauces would work well. I am thinking about trying
- Carbonara Sauce
- Pan fried cubed chicken filet. Sautéed chopped onion, mushrooms, peas, cream, grated parmesan cheese
- Sautéed chopped onion, cubed zucchini, mushrooms, ham, cream, grated parmesan cheese
afra cooking 
the recipe for cauliflower “pasta” is from stonesoup : )
Thank you so much for answering my question! I’m glad I got the chance to thank stonesoup for this fabulous recipe!
I think I need to stop procrastinating about cauliflower. i eat it steamed and roasted but have never tried the alternatives like ‘pasta” and mash. I think it’s long overdue!
I say: start with mash. It is amazing! Especially in this hot summer weather I would actually choose cauli mash over potato!