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Spaghetti with Cauliflower Pesto

September 20, 2013 by hipfoodiemom 9 Comments

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Cauliflower Pesto | HipFoodieMom.com

Most of you already know who she is.

If you follow food blogs or cook, you know who she is. Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen. She cooks in a tiny kitchen in NYC. She writes and speaks with ease and is freaking brilliant in the kitchen. Deb can even make a casserole look deliciously good. Good, like, I want a big piece of that casserole right now! And I don’t know anyone else who can.

I have the cookbook and was so overwhelmed with all the wonderful recipes and somehow skipped over Deb’s Cauliflower Pesto. Fortunately, my dear and brilliant friend Paula made it and blogged about it here: Vintage Kitchen’s version (uh, yum!) and I immediately added this recipe to my “must make immediately” list.

Fast forward five months or so. .  and I have finally gotten around to trying this. The Cauliflower Pesto from Smitten Kitchen.

Cauliflower Pesto upclose | HipFoodieMom.com

This pesto is insanely good. I wasn’t going to post anything since I did nothing really (except made a few different choices with the ingredients) and just followed Deb’s recipe. .  but I am sharing this to urge everyone to try this recipe. It’s that good. And it’s freaking easy to make. You just need a food processor.

A few things to note: 

I used pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes from a jar packed with olive oil (not dried) and Parmigiano-Reggiano because I love it so much. Next time, I might try roasting the cauliflower and then chopping it up into tiny bits. .  probably won’t look as pretty and will change the texture but I’m going to try it.

Neither of my kids really liked this (they are young and it was probably too hard to pick out the green stuff) so after giving some of this to my friend Victoria to take home, I still had a good amount left over so toasted some bread and made some crostini. Absolutely delicious (photo below).

Delicious, like, if I had to eat this stuff for a week straight and nothing else, I totally would.

Print Recipe

Spaghetti with Cauliflower Pesto

Recipe yields about 3 3/4 cups of cauliflower pesto. Omit cheese for a vegan option.
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
Course: Main
Servings: 4
Author: Hip Foodie Mom

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt
  • 6 to 8 ounces dried spaghetti
  • 1 small 13-ounce head cauliflower, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup unsalted toasted almonds or pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup green olives
  • 3 to 4 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1- ounce chunk pecorino-Romano cheese cut into chunks; plus more for serving (OMIT for vegans)
  • 1 medium clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon drained capers
  • a handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes or more as needed
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or more to taste

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the spaghetti. Cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, place the cauliflower (in batches) into the food processor and pulse to form couscous-like crumbs; transfer all to a large-sized mixing bowl.
  • Still using your food processor, add in the almonds or pine nuts, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, garlic, capers and parsley. Pulse to form a coarse bread-crumb consistency, then add the mixture to the cauliflower in the bowl, along with the crushed red pepper flakes.
  • Stir in the olive oil, 2 teaspoons of the vinegar and salt. Mix well and taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
  • Add the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Drizzle with a touch more olive oil and a splash of the vinegar if needed. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE is published here.

Let me know if you try this pesto! I made a huge batch of this for my husband to enjoy this weekend while I am having fun at my first food blogger’s conference. He’s going to be thrilled. Just like he was thrilled about Meatless Mondays. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Pesto Crostini | HipFoodieMom.com

 

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Comments

  1. Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes says

    September 20, 2013 at 3:45 am

    So glad you finally made it and liked it as much as I do! I made it roasting the cauliflower a few times, and it’s definitely easier to digest… Have an awesome time at the conference and hope to join you all next time Alice! Thanks for the shout out.

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom says

      September 20, 2013 at 6:13 am

      Hi Paula!
      of course!! so next time, I will definitely roast the cauliflower and add shallots. I also added some green olives when I made it yesterday. . soooo good! I was also going to add artichoke hearts but got too lazy. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says

    September 20, 2013 at 8:36 am

    I am definitely going to give this cauliflower pesto a try with our next Fall harvest! Thanks!

    Reply
    • hipfoodiemom says

      September 22, 2013 at 11:19 pm

      Pamela, you are going to love it! Please let me know what you think. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Nancy @ gottagetbaked says

    September 21, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    Lol, of course I waited for you to leave for dinner before visiting your blog. Mmmm…I’ve been wanting to try this recipe out for a long time too. Now that it’s got your stamp of approval, I’m going to make it happen. I love the snarky comments in this post about the kids picking out the veggies and how much Paul loves meatless meals. Too bad, folks! Eat what’s put in front of you or don’t eat at all (gawd, I sound like my father *shudder*). This weekend has been too.much.fun. I’ve loved every moment of it!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowl - Hip Foodie Mom says:
    May 14, 2015 at 6:22 am

    […] need is a head of cauliflower and a food processor. It’s that easy. I even love eating it as a pesto, and leaving it raw, which is what I did here. Never tried cauliflower […]

    Reply
  2. Veggie Salad Trio with Zucchini Noodles and Pesto for #SundaySupper says:
    April 9, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    […] Cauliflower pesto. I’ve written about this before. If you’ve never tried it and like cauliflower, OH MY GAWD, you must try this. It’s quite addicting, healthy and delicious. I make this pesto all the time. You can eat this pesto with toasted bread, crackers, pasta or alone by the spoonfuls. It has a couscous like texture and is just so flavorful and amazing, you won’t be able to stop eating it. The cauliflower pesto is packed with cauliflower, olives, parsley, pine nuts and so much more.  It is simply delicious and if there’s only one thing you walk away with after reading this post, it’s that you have to try this. […]

    Reply
  3. Baked Salmon Salad with Roasted Potatoes • Hip Foodie Mom says:
    January 31, 2019 at 10:36 am

    […] foods already prepared and ready to eat in my fridge all the time. Baked sweet potatoes, my beloved cauliflower pesto minus the cheese of course, fresh greens for salad already chopped up, fruit already cleaned and […]

    Reply
  4. Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowl • Hip Foodie Mom says:
    January 31, 2019 at 10:47 am

    […] need is a head of cauliflower and a food processor. It’s that easy. I even love eating it as a pesto, and leaving it raw, which is what I did here. Never tried cauliflower […]

    Reply

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Meet Alice

Alice Choi from Hip Foodie MomHello! My name is Alice. Here, at Hip Foodie Mom, you will find fresh food recipes using local, seasonal ingredients. From meat dishes to vegetarian to Asian inspired dishes, you are sure to find something you like. Thank you for stopping by!

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