Purple Cauliflower Pasta

  4.3 – 2 reviews  

At the market, I was drawn to a purple cauliflower, so I bought it. I made a hastily prepared cauliflower spaghetti scented with walnuts, rosemary, and sliced garlic since I was worried to lose its lovely color by boiling it to death.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 cups uncooked rotini pasta
  2. ¼ cup walnuts
  3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  4. 1 clove garlic, sliced
  5. ½ head purple cauliflower, cut into small florets
  6. ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  7. 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  8. 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  9. 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
  10. ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  11. 2 pinches grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
  2. Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Place walnuts in the hot skillet; continually cook and stir walnuts until toasted and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and chop walnuts.
  3. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic in hot oil until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove garlic from pan and set aside.
  4. Cook and stir cauliflower and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in the same pan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
  5. Pour balsamic vinegar over cauliflower. Cook and stir cauliflower until balsamic vinegar has reduced, about 1 minute.
  6. Stir walnuts, cooked garlic, red pepper flakes, and rosemary into cauliflower mixture until well combined.
  7. Stir cooked rotini and reserved 1/2 cup cooking water into cauliflower mixture until well blended. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and Parmesan cheese over rotini and cauliflower mixture.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 289 kcal
Carbohydrate 37 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Dietary Fiber 4 g
Protein 8 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Sodium 513 mg
Sugars 4 g
Fat 13 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Rebecca Sexton
I thought this was great!! I used whole wheat pasta, and finely chopped the garlic, but otherwise made the recipe as directed. Will make again for sure! Thanks for a great recipe
Matthew Lopez
I give this a five star even though I modified it a bit to suit my tastes and ingredients (I added a few sliced cherry tomatoes and used leftover steamed purple cauliflower). I would make it again and will try white cauliflower at some point. The flavor of the rosemary, walnuts and the scant bit of red pepper flakes was just right so as not to overpower the dish. I think it would be wonderful if I had used the purple cauliflower fresh as this recipe calls for.

 

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