Pasta · Recipes
BySam
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I made this lusciouscauliflowersauce with blue cheese and guanciale, not bacon. I figured most of you out here would use bacon, but both work just as well. Thecauliflowerpart of the sauce is quite revolutionary and a real game-changer. You really HAVE to check this out.
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I first saw the idea on Pinch of Yum a while ago and sent the link to a foodie friend whose responsewas – ‘I make something like that allthetime’. Just wow, and whywasn’tI kept in that loop?
I love making pasta sauce from ingredients other than the ubiquitoustomato orcream, and in my cookbook one of my favourite pasta recipes is made from a sauce of roasted butternut, Mascarpone cheese and thyme, with mushrooms and crispy bacon. Just delicious, soI’mtotally inthezone when it comes to this.
I have also known for a while thatcauliflowerhas hidden powers and can easilymasqueradeas a carb. I regularly turn it into a ‘cous cous’ whichcomplimentsa plethora of dishes from vegetarian to meat. What Ididn’tknow is that it could be transformed into something quite as creamy and silky as a sauce without any actual cream.
I started out making my version of the sauce by adding bay leaves and a pinch of nutmeg, and then after pureeing it, I added blue cheeseandfriedchopped-up guanciale to completethedish. Staggeringly tasty.
I also cooked it in skim milk, not water which I think adds to theoverallunctuousness ofthesauce.
As for guanciale, it’s the classic ingredient in pasta Carbonara and the best, or the only place you can buy the real deal in South Africa is fromRichardBosman.
Guanciale – pronounced gwun-chu-lay (and if you try saying it out loud you really should muster up an Italian accent to do so),is unsmoked Italian bacon made from the pig’s cheek. The cheek isrubbedwith salt, spices and herbs and cured for a number of weeks. It has a stronger flavour than bacon and to prepare it, you slice it away fromthefat and pan fry – with some ofthefat, until crispy.Doesn’tthis just sound like to heaven to you?
Richard Bosman hosted a lunch recently at Scusi in Newlands and we were treated to a tasting menu of several dishes prepared by Italian chef Andrea Volpe, with guanciale as a key ingredient. What a treat. You can read all aboutthisfabulous lunch on my friend Michael Olivier’s site, where he also finds out what makes Richard tick.
*cooks notes ~ I sliced the stem ofthecauliflowerand used this inthesauce too as there is no need to waste. Use as much or as little bacon/guanciale as you like – preferablywith a little fat inthemix, so streaky bacon if you are using that, and I recommend a creamy blue cheese, like a Gorgonzola. I have made the sauce with garlic and without, and it really is equally as nice. The nutmeg and bay leaves are also totally optional. I prefer to use freshly ground white pepper to black, as I find the moremellowflavour better suited to this sauce, and I love to add just a smallpinchof chilli.
Toss thesaucethrough the pastaandmix inthecrispy bacon.
Absolutely fabulous paired with a nice Chardonnay.
Here are a few of my other favourite recipes with cauliflower, and yes, I am very much in love with this humble cruciferous vegetable.:
Cauliflower ‘couscous’
Roasted cauliflower with curry, cumin and dukkah
Roastedcauliflowersalad with anchovies, olives and capers
Papardelle with creamy cauliflower, blue cheese & bacon
Blended cauliflower makes a creamy sauce for this pasta dish with blue cheese and bacon
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g pappardelle or any long noodle pasta of your choice
- 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into florets (about 580 – 650g)
- 500 ml milk I used skim
- 1 – 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of dried chilli flakes optional
- 30 g blue cheese or however much you like
- 1/4 cup of guanciale thinly sliced (about 1 cheek)
- salt and white pepper
Instructions
Bringthemilk to a boil in a medium pot and add the garlic, nutmeg, bay leaves and cauliflower. Cook untilthecauliflower is soft – about 20 – 35 minutes. You really want to almost ‘overcook’ it.
Whilethecaulifloweris cooking, cook your pasta until it’s al dente and fry your bacon/guanciale. Melt some ofthefatty bits ofthebacon andthenfrythebacon bits until crispy. Drain and set aside.
When done, remove the bay leaves and process with a hand blender until it is smooth and creamy. I found these ratios delivered the perfect thickness of the sauce, but you could add more or less ofthecooking liquid to thin down or thicken your sauce. Putthepureedsauce back on the heat and crumble in the blue cheese, allowing this to melt in. Adjust the seasoning according to your taste.
Toss thesaucethrough the pastaandmix inthecrispy bacon.
Notes
Tha sauce can be made in advance and reheated before adding the freshly cooked pasta
