High Fiber, Nutrient Dense Plant-Based Recipe

RECIPE INGREDIENTS: (3 to 4 servings)

500g Cauliflower - cut into florets - 4 to 5 cups approximately
190g Pasta / 2 cups - Penne Pasta (I have used quinoa pasta)
3 Tablespoon - Olive Oil
200g / 1+1/2 Cup - Onion
3 to 4 Garlic Cloves / 1/2 Tablespoon approximately - finely chopped
2 Tablespoons - Tomato paste
1/2 cup or as required - Pasta Water (the water you cooked the pasta in)
Salt to taste ( I have added total 1/2 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt)

Garnish:
Black pepper to taste - Freshly ground (I have added 1/2 teaspoon)
Lemon juice to taste - Freshly squeezed (I have added 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup / 10g Parsley - finely chopped
Drizzle of a good quality olive oil (I added 1 tablespoon of organic cold pressed olive oil)
1/3 cup / 60g Toasted Pine Nuts

BLANCHING THE CAULIFLOWER:
4 Liters - Water
1 +1/2 Teaspoons - Salt (I have used Pink Himalayan salt)

Start by boing the water, once the water starts boiling vigorously, add the cauliflower to the boiling water very slowly and carefully (you don't want to burn yourself). Boil for 2 to 3 minute and immediately remove from water and set aside.

Please note, we are just blanching the cauliflower at this point and not cooking it, so it should have a crunch and not be soft - that's because we will be further cooking it in the pan and we don't want it to fall apart while frying.

If the cauliflower is young and tender, cook no longer than 2 minutes otherwise you will end up over cooking it. If the cauliflower is mature and though then cook it for 3 minutes.

COOKING THE PASTA:
Cook the Penne pasta in the same boiling water we used to cook the cauliflower. Cook as per package instructions. Reserve about 1 to 1+1/2 cups of pasta water for later.

TOASTING THE PINE NUTS:
Dry roast the pine nuts on medium heat 1 to 2 minutes. Once you start to see brown spots on it remove it from heat immediately on a plate and spread it out to cool down. DONOT leave the pine nuts on the heated pan otherwise you will end up burning it.

PASTA RECIPE / METHOD:

To a heated pan add the olive oil, onion and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook it until the onions are really soft. Adding salt to onion will release it's moisture and help it cook faster so please don’t skip it. Once the onion is soft, reduce the heat to low and add the chopped garlic and chilli flakes and fry for about 1 minute or until fragrant.