Pasta with Cauliflower and Chard

My photo...

Original photo from "Joanne Eats Well with Others"

Ok, aside from the fact that my photography needs work, this recipe was outstanding and I will be making it again soon.

I followed this recipe from Joanne Eats Well with Others. I was not familiar with this blog until Pinterest showed me this recipe. I'm a new fan. After posting this, I plan to go bookmark a bunch more of her recipes.

I like recipes that are packed with veggies but don't feel like they're packed with veggies. The "sauce" is mostly just cauliflower and chard, but it feels rich like pesto (thanks in part to the parmesan). And I love the texture of the food-processed cauliflower.

My only real modification was that I added lemon zest. Because I already had the lemon and it just seemed like the right thing to do. Also, instead of grating the parmesan, I food-processed it into little pebbles. This was purely a matter of laziness, but I actually really liked it that way because it retained a little bit of bite in the final product. Oh, and I deleted the red pepper flakes, because 4-year-old.

The Recipe:

1 lb pasta

1 medium cauliflower, pulsed to rice-like consistency in the food processor

1 bunch chard leaves, food-processed until tiny

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, juiced and zested

2 tb olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 parmesan cheese, food processed into small pebbles

Boil pasta. Reserve 1/2 c pasta water.
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic for 1 minute. Add chard and cauliflower, and saute for about 6 minutes until cooked through.
Turn off heat. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
Toss in pasta and parmesan cheese.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A+

Overall reason: Healthy and so delicious

Time to prepare: 30 minutes

4-year-old quote: "Let me help you reach the mise en place when you're ready for each thing!" (I taught him that while we were cooking this recipe together.)

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