Roasted Cauliflower Pesto Pasta
A delicious, rich and creamy pesto sauce made from smoky roasted cauliflower and cheddar cheese! There's an entire head of cauliflower in this nutritious pesto, which is roasted with smoked paprika and paired with strong cheddar cheese to give the whole dish an incredible depth of flavor.
Ingredients
- 500 g (18 oz) dried pasta
Roasted Cauliflower Pesto
- 1 small to medium head of cauliflower
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tsp of smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper
- 40 g (¼ cup) raw cashews, unsalted, unroasted
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4-5 spring onions (scallions, green onions), more if you like a stronger taste, less if you want something more subtle and/or are adding any other herbs
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, + a little more for roasting
- 100 g (3.5 oz) mature / aged cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 390F.
- While it's pre-heating, chop your cauliflower and break off the florets.
- Brush a large baking tray with olive oil. Add the cauliflower florets and whole garlic cloves.
- Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle over the smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste.
- Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is nicely charred with browned edges.
- Meanwhile, place all of the other pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse briefly.
- Cook your pasta according to package instructions. Try to time it so that it will be ready 5 minutes after your cauliflower is finished roasting.
- Once the cauliflower is ready, add it to the food processor alongside the other ingredients and pulse several times to make your pesto. This tastes best if it is left a little bit chunky and textured.
- Drain your pasta and stir the pesto through over a low heat until incorporated.
- Serve!
Serving: 1g, Calories: 311kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 219mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 3g
