Cauliflower Alfredo

Cool concept, no?  I had zero inspiration for dinner last night so I looked to some of my favorite food blogs for ideas.  This cauliflower alfredo recipe sparked my interest so I decided to go for it (I really like Food Wishes because of his videos), and all I needed to grab from the grocery store was a head of cauliflower. Jackpot!  I could eat pasta every day, so when I come across a pasta dish that is a bit healthy I'm all over it.  Plus, with the incorporation of vegetables into the pasta it turns into a nice one dish vegetarian meal, kind of like that spinach and asparagus pesto I made.  I highly recommend following that link and watching the video if you are interested in making this.  Though I have an immersion blender, the pot just wasn't deep enough for it to get in there and blend - it started splattering a bit so I decided to put the cauliflower into a blender.  That worked well, and then I poured it back into the pot.  I didn't feel like using cream, but instead I just used a bit of half and half I had on hand.  Basically, mine did not appear to come out as smooth and creamy as his looked, but it was still delicious.  Instead of adding dry herbs, I added a spoon of fresh pesto that I wanted to finish, and I added some black truffle shavings and a bit of white truffle oil.  I must say, I'm pretty sure that truffle oil made quite a difference.  

Pasta with Cauliflower Alfredo (and a hint of pesto and truffles)

1/2 lb pasta (though you will have enough sauce for 1lb)
1 head cauliflower, chopped into medium pieces
2 or 3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup cream or half and half
dry herbs or spoon of pesto (optional)
some shavings of black truffle (optional)
tbsp truffle oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus a bit more
juice of half a lemon
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt, pepper
fresh bread crumbs

Toast bread crumbs in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes, add a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and some parmesan.  Set aside. Heat some oil in a large pot, let heat up with crushed garlic cloves. Add cauliflower pieces and about 3-4 cups of water, dry herbs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  When cauliflower is tender, turn off heat and blend with immersion blender until smooth, or, scoop cauliflower out into blender and blend until smooth, pouring back into pot.  Add cream, fresh herbs or pesto, truffle oil and shavings and parmesan cheese and let simmer for a few minutes.  Boil pasta, drain, toss with lemon juice, sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and bread crumbs.