One Pot Pasta with Cauliflower, Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes, and a little Tomato

When in Italy we ate lots of pasta.  How can one eat that much pasta and come home weighing almost 5 pounds lighter?  Not sure, but I did.  Possibly because you walk and walk, and than walk some more.  Than because I am a runner who likes to travel and run, I ran a marathon, and it didn’t stop there!  We climbed stairs….and next we hiked and than hiked some more.  It was an amazing trip!

I think we had pasta every day!  In fact, I know we did.  At home we usually eat it once a week, maybe twice, but that’s about it.  Always before my long runs.  But in Italy, it’s just sooooo good!  My husband was in heaven!  He loves pasta and if he could, he would eat it every night back home too!  I am more of a salad and fish gal, but in Italy, what’s not to love!  We often times split a pasta and than a fish entree in the evening…..the fish is always so fresh and lovely!

It’s available at these fish markets daily!  Gosh how I wish this was available in Hutchinson!  Look how yummy our fish looks paired wth this delicate baked pasta.

One of my favorite ways we had pasta was towards the end of our trip in Naples at my cousin’s house.  She made us a fabulous lunch our last day in Naples and it was so yummy.  Cauliflower never tasted to good!!  It was all prepared in one pot!  You probably have seen this technique before and therefore you may not need one more recipe for One Pot Pasta, but I am going to convince you otherwise.

You see this is another GREAT recipe you get to play with based on what you have in your cupboard and refrigerator.  She made our pasta with Cauliflower, garlic, chili peppers, a few tomatoes and broken up spaghetti.

Just yesterday I received a FB message that my friend from Thailand was in town and asked if I had time to connect and she was leaving in the morning.  It as going on 3:00 and I had an appointment coming up, yoga and than running class so I knew I needed something easy and quick for dinner.  This One Pot Pasta dish is perfect because you can whip up in under 30 minutes.  It takes a bit to cook the cauliflower but once it’s tender, add your pasta and with more water and continue to cook until al dente.  The Cauliflower turns into a yummy sauce for the pasta, some chunky some not.  We ate ours with a spoon cuz it’s almost like eating a healthy soup with very little noodles and mostly cauliflower.  Don’t forget the cheese!  Have I convinced you yet?  Quick, Delicious, and Easy!  What’s not to like, so lets get busy and start cooking.

Guess what, this is another one of those recipes you can play with.  If you don’t like cauliflower, give this a try with Broccoli.  I have also prepared this with Fresh Cut Asparagus and shrimp!  So yummy!  Don’t you just love it when you can play in the kitchen?  Perfect the night before a long run, after, or both!

ONE POT PASTA WITH CAULIFLOWER, GARLIC, RED PEPPER FLAKES, AND A LITTLE TOMATO 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 to 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1 head of cauliflower cut up into bite size pieces
• 2 or 3 tomatoes cut up
• 1 cup of chicken broth and a couple cups of water
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups of pasta of choice  (I used Spelt Egg Noodles)
• freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil in bottom of a Heavy Dutch Oven over medium heat.  Add your Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes, and Cauliflower.
2. Sauté for sevearl minutes but becareful not to burn the garlic.  You want your Cauliflower to turn slightly brown.
3. Add 1 to 2 cups of chicken broth and cook till veggies are tender but not mush.
4. Add your pasta of choice and more water.  Cook until the pasta is al dente.
5. Serve in bowls topped with Cheese.

My Cauliflower Pasta with Spelt Noodles

BON APPETITO