A nice big bowl of pasta is all we feel like when the rain is bucketing down.
This one says “I crave comfort” but also recognises we’re in summer – it’s creamy yet surprisingly light. That’s all thanks to the hero ingredient in the sauce: cauliflower.
I love the way cauliflower goes all silky smooth when cooked and blended; it has such a beautiful mild flavour and a slight starchiness that gives a sauce thickness.
When making this sauce, I originally planned on adding butter, cream and cheese for flavour and texture – but after blending the cooked cauliflower mixture with milk, lemon juice and salt, the texture was so silky and the flavour so sharp and punchy; it didn’t need anything else.
Cauliflower really is such a versatile ingredient; this sauce is naturally creamy and flavourful, and so nourishing. You can use coconut milk if you prefer the sauce to be dairy free.
The pangratto is an excellent way of using up stale bread – in this recipe I make the pangratto from slices of sourdough, however you can of course skip oven-drying the bread and use storebought breadcrumbs instead.
First published in the Taupo Herald November 2022. I contribute recipes on a weekly basis to this local publication, which will also be shared here on my website. Keep an eye out on each week’s publication for my newest recipes!
Creamy Cauliflower & Bacon Linguine with Sourdough Pangratto
4
servings1
hour10
minutesThis sauce is ultra-creamy yet light; thanks to the silky texture of cooked blended cauliflower. The bacon and lemon give it smokiness and tang, and the crunchy pangratto is a beautiful contrast.
Ingredients
250g dried linguine
100g leafy greens (I used a combination of spinach and silverbeet leaves), roughly torn
2 slices shoulder bacon
- Sauce
1 onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
550g cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
- Sourdough Pangratto
125g sourdough bread
30g butter
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 160C. Arrange bread on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Place in the oven for 25 minutes until dry. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add leafy greens, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes or until wilted. Remove greens to a sieve, keeping the water in the pan. Add linguine to the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add garlic and onion, and cook for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add cauliflower salt, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.
- Transfer the vegetable mix to a blender along with milk, lemon juice and salt. Blend for 1 minute until smooth.
- In a wide saucepan over medium-high heat, fry bacon until nicely browned on both sides. Remove bacon from the pan and chop into small pieces.
- Keeping the bacon fat in the pan, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and salt, and stir to fully coat. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Transfer to a bowl.
- In a large bowl, add linguine, bacon, wilted greens and the cauliflower sauce. Using tongs, toss until fully combined.
- Divide among serving bowls and sprinkle generously with pangratto. Serve hot.