Serves a Crowd

Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Chard

by:
January 21, 2010
4
10 Ratings
Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Chard
Photo by Linda Xiao
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

I don't think cauliflower is appreciated enough. This is a great way to do so. You can consider this as a more substantial cauliflower gratin with pasta or grown-up mac and cheese. I think it is a great way to balance the richness of the cream and cheese with healthy and tasty vegetables (and a way to convince somebody to eat some). You can replace or add broccoli or substitute chard with spinach. Also, you can try with blue cheese for more rich taste, though if you use sharp cheese you might want to reduce the amount a bit.
—Cordelia

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3/4 package of short tube like pasta
  • 1 medium cauliflower broken to florets
  • 1 bunch of chard (6-7 big leaves)
  • 1/2 onion sliced thinly
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 cup of heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1.5 cups of grated gruyere cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground nut meg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Warm the oven to 360 F.
  2. Cook the cauliflower in boiling water for 7-10 minutes. In the same water cook the pasta just shy of al dente.
  3. In the meantime put 2 tablespoons in skillet and sauté the onions with a bit of salt for 5 minutes or so. Wash the chard, discard the white stems and tear to medium pieces. Add to the skillet and sauté until wilted. Add the garlic, nut meg and some pepper. Sauté for 1 minute or so and take off the stove.
  4. In a bowl mix the cream, eggs, cauliflower, pasta, chard mixture, teaspoon of salt and cayenne pepper. Finally add the gruyere and mix again.
  5. Pour to a baking dish and scatter the parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown on top.
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11 Reviews

Kira
Kira January 3, 2024
This has a solid foundation, but I ran into two issues:
1. The blandness others have mentioned. The flavor profile is great, so I think just heavily salting the water for the noodles/cauliflower and salting the chard would do it.
2. I followed all the steps to a T, but ended up with scrambled eggs in the final product. So maybe tempering the eggs is the way to go.
 
Chris L.
Chris L. October 18, 2018
This was a really good idea, and I'm always looking for something new to do with cauliflower, but it's just really, really bland. I may try it again with a different cheese -- maybe a mix of feta and something else -- because it is a good way to mix up our vegetables.
 
lori B.
lori B. June 12, 2014
Hello! I'm trying this recipe for the first time and would like to clarify the #3 instructions for preparing ~ when you say "2 tablespoons in skillet & saute onions" . . . etc ~ I am assuming you mean 2 tablespoons of OIL as the oil is the only ingredient listing 2 TBs. However, I just want to make certain I will be following the recipe corrctly. Thanks in advance ~ appreciate your help.
 
Pat N.
Pat N. June 25, 2014
I am not the author of this recipe but I can say with pretty strong certainty that oil is the missing ingredient. Nothing else would make sense. Cheers!
 
Expat I.
Expat I. September 25, 2013
The whole family loved this! I used hardly any pasta, and next time, I won't use any at all - it doesn't need it! I also added a few splashes of tabasco when cooking the kale, and substituted a mixture of milk and kwark for the heavy cream. Will definitely be making this again!
 
ihaventpoisonedyouyet
ihaventpoisonedyouyet July 15, 2012
I'm embarrassed to ask but cook the pasta and cauliflower simultaneously, or simply in the same water?
 
Cordelia
Cordelia July 16, 2012
I cook the separately, but I use the same waters one after the other (the pasta catches some of the cauliflower taste :) ) if I can save the water. Thanks for checking out my recipe. Enjoy.
 
bottomupfood
bottomupfood August 13, 2010
We were so excited about this recipe...but in the end, it was a bit bland. If we made it again we would use 2x or 3x the chard and figure out what more interesting spices we could use.
 
HilaryGar
HilaryGar January 31, 2010
Made a double serving of this recipe and I had one small and one medium cauliflower and one bunch of kale. I would put in at least one other head of cauliflower and a bunch of kale as it didn't seem to be enough veggies. I used a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar for the cheese as I didn't have any gruyere and it was great. The recipe was just great. I would definitely double up on the kale though- my kids LOVED it, but then they like onions too. Great recipe!
 
Sodium G.
Sodium G. January 28, 2010
I love cauliflower pasta! Thanks for the recipe
 
anatshi
anatshi January 22, 2010
looks yummy!