-
Prep time
20 minutes
-
Cook time
30 minutes
-
Serves
2
Author Notes
Though this is a pasta hugged by cream sauce—with all the warm, fuzzy feelings such a thing has to offer—it’s made mostly of vegetables, with no cream or egg. You’d counterintuitively call this cream-saucy pasta light—fresh, even. The secret is that cauliflower’s cell walls are naturally abundant in pectin, which helps the cooked vegetable thicken voluptuously when blended. It’s frankly a wonder we hadn’t been pouring it over our pastas (and everything else) before. Adapted from chef Andy Bennett and Rouge Tomate Chelsea. —Genius Recipes
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
- Pasta Carbonara
-
1 tablespoon
(12g) olive oil
-
1 cup
(100g) sliced spring onions or green onions
-
2 tablespoons
(20g) roughly chopped garlic
-
1 cup
(200g) Creamy Cauliflower Sauce (from below)
-
2 cups
dried pasta, (250g) cooked al dente pasta (from about 125g dry pasta—for the rigatoni we used, this was about 2 cups dry pasta)
-
2/3 cup
(90g) fresh or frozen green peas, cooked in salted water
-
1/2 cup
Scant, (10g) chopped flat-leaf parsley
-
6 tablespoons
(12g) finely grated Parmesan
-
Smoked sea salt, to taste (optional)
-
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-
1 tablespoon
(4g) toasted breadcrumbs, or more to taste
- Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
-
2 cups
(200g) cauliflower florets (in roughly 1/2-inch pieces)
-
2 1/4 cups
(500g) vegetable stock or broth
-
1/2 cup
(100g) olive oil
-
Salt to taste
Directions
- Pasta Carbonara
-
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the spring onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the onions and garlic are turning light golden. Add the sauce, pasta, and peas and heat everything through, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
-
Once hot, stir in the cheese and parsley, season with smoked salt and black pepper to taste and place in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and serve immediately.
- Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
-
In a medium saucepan, cover the cauliflower with vegetable stock and simmer, partially covered, until really tender, about 20 minutes. Blend the cauliflower and stock till smooth with a blender or hand blender. While the blender is running, slowly pour in olive oil to emulsify.
-
Store any leftovers airtight in the refrigerator and use as a creamy sauce, warm or cold.
See what other Food52ers are saying.