I spotted this little recipe in the Sainsbury’s magazine recently, and thought ‘I think I’d like that’. There was a little left-over ham hanging about in the fridge, so I added that. But of course that made it NOT a vegetarian dinner..

EQUIPMENT:

Biggish saucepan
frying pan

INGREDIENTS: These quantities would feed 4 comfortably.

a small Cauliflower, with the inner leaves reserved, cut into very small florets
enough spaghetti for 3-4 people
freshly ground black pepper, a teaspoon or so.
50g Parmesan cheese, grated (or vegetarian alternative)

20g salted butter (or some oil, for your vegans)
diced cooked ham – completely optional – I’m only using it because it’s there..
Really nice Olive Oil to finish (I got some for Christmas , so I’m just showing off 😉 )

METHOD:

Bring the saucepan to the boil
Melt 20g butter in the frying pan until it’s frothing.
Toss the cauliflower pieces in, reduce to a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden. Add the ham after a minute or two.

Next time I do this, I’ll cut the florets smaller I think..

Put the spaghetti on to cook, (shortly after starting the cauliflower florets), adding the leaves about 2-3 minutes before the pasta is fully cooked.

Drain the spaghetti , keeping some of the boiling water back. Return the spaghettis to the warm saucepan
toss the cauliflower florets and the black pepper into the spaghetti

Stir through until it’s well distributed. If it looks dry, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water
Mix through the Parmesan
Drizzle some of your lovely Olive oil over.

Pour into warmed pasta bowls
Add some garlicy bread if you feel like it, and some extra Parmesan too.

NOTES:

I made this for the first time this evening, and we’ve just had it for dinner. We both enjoyed it. We didn’t bother with the garlic bread today, and didn’t miss it.
The next time I make it, I think I’ll cut the cauliflower a little smaller – I think you should be able to take a forkful of cauliflower and some pasta all in one go!
The ham was good with it, but it is supposed to be a vegetarian dish, and we all know how handy it is to have something tasty to throw together for our favourite vegetarians I think a little finely chopped chilli would be a good addition, and perhaps a tiny squeeze of lemon, just before serving.
Mr Saturday Night suggested adding some Truffle oil instead of the Olive oil, and that’s a good idea too.
It’s a little tricky to get the cauliflower cooked at the same time as the spaghetti, but I think if you did what I did, and put the cauliflower on first, immediately followed by the pasta, then you won’t go far wrong.
It’s a good plan too, to have the pepper ground, and the cheese grated before you start.

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