Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Alfredo Sauce

It's been so cold in New York City recently that I intuitively started craving hearty meals. One of my favorite things to do during the fall months is roasting vegetables.  It is quick, easy, healthy and so nutritious. There are four different colors of cauliflower you can scout at the local markets these days - purple (my happy color, hello! in case you didn't notice my Art de Fete logo is purple too), vibrant green, yellow and of course, white! In my opinion, they all taste similar and you can cook them all together at the same temperature. Make sure that the florets are roughly the same size. What a colorful plate they make! Mushrooms are another fall essential and the shiitake variety is superb - earthy, delicate and delicious. For my spaghetti with cauliflower, you need to roast the florets first at a high temperature to save time in the kitchen. The smaller the florets, the faster they cook. Plus, they are much easier to chew when mixed with pasta. I like to use different spices when roasting vegetables, especially garlic and onion powder, harissa spice, cumin, and turmeric. Deciding which spices to use really depends on what I am serving with the dish. Lately, I favor adding fresh herbs, such as rosemary and thyme. So you choose! Make a quick Alfredo sauce with heavy cream, butter, lemon juice and cheese, and toss it really well with al dente spaghetti, roasted florets and thinly sliced jarred red bell pepper for an acidic bite. A great substitute for bell pepper would be briny Kalamata olives. When serving, drizzle each plate with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with red pepper flakes for some mild heat (I am really obsessed with Aleppo and Asado peppers), grate more cheese on top and enjoy it hot! It should taste lemony and creamy with a hint of garlic!

Ingredients: spaghetti, cauliflower, butter, heavy cream, lemon, jarred red bell pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, mushrooms, dill, thyme, cumin, Aleppo pepper, nutmeg, garlic powder, EVOO, salt.

Roast cauliflower: Preheat oven to 425 F. Separate cauliflower heads into small florets.

Transfer to a baking sheet.

Drizzle with oil, season with salt, cumin, pepper and scatter thyme leaves.

Mix with your hands, then spread florets along the baking sheet for perfect browning results. If florets stay too close to each other, they would rather steam than brown, so really leave space in between or use two baking sheets instead.

Roast for 15 minutes, take them out and shave cheese on top while cauliflower is still hot.

Alfredo sauce is a creamy white sauce usually made of heavy cream, butter and lots of cheese. In my recipe, I added lemon juice and zest for a clean delicious taste, as well as dill and mushrooms at the end of cooking.

In a large 12-inch skillet, melt butter.

Then add lemon juice.

And lemon zest.

Pour heavy cream, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg.

Let the sauce reduce, about 2 minutes, then add cheese. Let it melt, then add mushrooms and dill, season again. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Cook pasta according to packaging instructions, until al dente. Pasta will continue cooking once you add it to the sauce.

Add pasta, roasted cauliflower and bell pepper to the sauce, cook for another minute, tossing well with the sauce.

To serve, divide pasta between 4 plates, drizzle each with olive oil lightly, grate more cheese on top and sprinkle with Aleppo pepper. Serve at once.

 

 

 

 

Bon Appétit!

Svitlana