Pasta with Cauliflower and Hazelnuts

I think I’ve mentioned that my kids don’t eat real food, which might be okay if they didn’t refuse to eat things that are objectively delicious.  For example, my daughter won’t eat pizza.   And we live near some of the most awesomely delicious pizza on the planet.  But my daughter won’t go near it.  In fact, she’d be more likely to enjoy bad pizza – that kind that seems like it’s coated in American cheese, slathered in something that tastes suspiciously like ketchup.  My daughter would probably love that crap.  Listen: my kids won’t eat eggs!  And eggs are delicious!  So clearly, my kids are insane.

 But, sometimes, I have to admit that they have a point.  For instance: my kids won’t touch cauliflower.  It’s tempting to think that cauliflower just has an image problem, but I finally realized it’s something different: sensory mismatch.  Intuitively, if something smells good, it’s supposed to taste good, and if something smells bad, well, best not to put it in your mouth.  This isn’t always true, of course.  I can’t be the only person who, at the age of 13 or 14, became so enchanted with the smell of vanilla extract that I took a tiny sip of what turned out to be a vile-tasting liquid.  Cauliflower has the inverse problem; the sad truth is that the smell of cooked cauliflower is pretty much the opposite of mouthwatering.

 Which is a real shame, because it tastes delicious, particularly in this super easy pasta recipe.  I roast the cauliflower in the oven, and cut it so that the flat sides of the vegetable get browned and nutty tasting.  Toss it with some garlic and toasted hazelnuts, along with a whole blizzard of parmesan and parsley, and you have pasta heaven.

 One more thing:  I also tried this recipe with bacon.  I actually liked it better without the bacon.  It’s hard to convey how shocking was this turn of events, because up until that point, I was a firm believer that everything tastes better with bacon.  Score one for the vegetarians!

PASTA WITH CAULIFLOWER AND HAZELNUTS

¾ pound short pasta

1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into medium sized chunks

½ cup hazelnuts

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

5 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 head of parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the cauliflower with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until the cauliflower browns, about 20-30 minutes.

When the cauliflower is almost done, bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Boil the pasta until it is al dente, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a hot pan big enough to hold all of the pasta, add the hazelnuts.  When they are golden and fragrant, remove them from the pan, and add the rest of the olive oil, along with the garlic and red pepper flakes.  When the garlic is fragrant, add the cauliflower, straight off the roasting pan, along with the stock, the pasta and a few splashes of pasta cooking water.  When the sauce starts to thicken, add the hazelnuts, parsley and parmesan cheese, toss together, and serve with more cheese on the table.

Serves two with leftovers.