My mom has been making this linguine with cauliflower for years and it became a standard in her dinner rotation when I was growing up. It’s so simple yet really satisfying and it even has a vegetable! Jk it’s not that healthy…but it’s not terrible…and it’s a really tasty way for kids (and adults) to eat cauliflower. Whenever I need a simple, quick, delicious, and filling meal I turn to “Mom’s Linguine with Cauliflower”
1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets
Olive Oil
Sea salt
10 oz. Linguine
*Reserve ½ cup of water from cooked pasta
4 ingredients!
Heat about 2Tbsp. of the oil in a large skillet. Empty the whole bag of cauliflower florets into the warm oil. Cover and let that cook on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. Check on it every five minutes or so until you can start breaking up the cauliflower into little bits. The more it cooks the softer it will get and the smaller you will be able to break it up. After about 15 minutes, take the cover off, continue to break the cauliflower up into small pieces, and turn the up temperature up to medium high. Add a drizzle or two more of oil and cook for about 10 more minutes until the cauliflower starts to brown. This is when I like to add the salt to taste.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions and to your al dente preference. WHEN YOU DRAIN THE PASTA, REMEMBER TO SAVE ABOUT A ½ CUP OF CLOUDY PASTA WATER. This is something I ALWAYS forget to do, so I thought that writing it in caps here would help drill it into my memory. Probably not though.
Now all you need to do is mix the deliciously browned cauliflower into the drained pasta. Try to avoid eating it all by the spoonful before you put it in. I just throw it all back into the pot I cooked the pasta in. Mix it up so the cauliflower gets evenly distributed and then add the pasta water back in a little at a time to add a little moisture into the pasta until you’re happy with the ratio. You can also add more salt and another drizzle of oil if you still need a little more moisture in the pasta.
Go ahead and grate a little parmesan on top or maybe add some red pepper flakes. My husband likes to sprinkle lemon pepper on it, but I feel like that’s a Long Island thing. The LI moms love lemon pepper.
So here you have a no frills (carb loaded) yummy dinner for a school night. We all need that sometimes!