Pasta in cauliflower cheese sauce with crunchy and spicy topping

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 240g pasta
• 450 g cauliflower
• 180 g cauliflower leaves
• 3 small onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 450 ml milk, 3.5%
• 75 g Cheddar cheese, spicy
• 250 ml cooking water from the pasta
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 30 g butter
• e.g. salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

sustainable and vegetarian

Separate the leaves from the cauliflower, discarding any wilted leaves and setting aside any that are still good. Separate the florets and stem, keeping any remaining, dry parts of the stem and chopping them up. Wash the leaves, florets, and stem. Chop the leaves finely, discarding only the hard, woody parts of the leaf veins. Dice the Cheddar cheese, peel and roughly chop the onions, and peel and finely chop the garlic. Place the cauliflower, onions, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Be careful not to let the milk boil over. Cook over low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in well-salted water according to the package instructions, about 1 minute less than the time specified. The salt in the cooking water will flavor the sauce later. When the pasta is ready, drain the pasta, reserving about as much of the cooking water as the recipe calls for. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a pan and fry the chopped cauliflower leaves with the garlic for about 5 minutes. Halfway through, add the breadcrumbs to absorb any remaining fat. Remove the pot with the cooked cauliflower from the heat, let it cool for about 1-2 minutes, and then transfer it to a blender with the onions and milk. Add the cheddar cheese and blend until smooth. Return the pasta and the blended sauce to the pot. Gradually add the chili flakes and enough cooking water, stirring until a creamy mixture forms. Season with pepper and salt to taste. Top the pasta with the fried cauliflower leaves. Tips: This dish is sustainable and uses mostly parts of the cauliflower that would otherwise be thrown away. Reuse any leftover cauliflower florets or freeze them. It’s better to use more of the stalk than the good florets, as everything will be blended in the end. The tenderer parts of the cauliflower leaves’ ribs provide a crisp mouthfeel at the end. If you have some old, hard bread at home, dice it into croutons, use these instead of breadcrumbs, and fry them right at the beginning along with the leaves and garlic. Let the cooked cauliflower cool slightly, otherwise the cheddar cheese might clump when blending the still-hot sauce. This is especially true if you use pre-grated cheese instead of diced cheese. Cheddar melts at around 60°C.