Name: Lemon Cauliflower Conchiglie pasta
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients: : 500g/ 1lb. short pasta; Cauliflower: 1 head; Eggs: beaten; bread crumbs: 1 cup; grated parmesan: 2 tbsp; : Juice of 2 lemmons; honey: 1 tbsp.; water: 30g/ 1 oz; Heavy Cream: 110g/ 3oz; Butter: 2 tbsp.; Corn Flour: 2 tbsp.; egg yolk: 2; Lemon zest: 1 tbsp.; Salt: 1 tsp; Olive oil: drizzle; Kosher Salt: 1 tesp.; Lemon zest: 1 tsp.; grated Pecorino; parsley

Features:

Cuisine:

Italian

Ingredients

500g/ 1lb. short pasta
For the Cauliflower
1 head Cauliflower
beaten Eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp grated parmesan
For the Lemon sauce
Juice of 2 lemmons
1 tbsp. honey
30g/ 1 oz water
110g/ 3oz Heavy Cream
2 tbsp. Butter
2 tbsp. Corn Flour
2 egg yolk
1 tbsp. Lemon zest
from one lemon
1 tsp Salt
For Serving
drizzle Olive oil
1 tesp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Lemon zest
grated Pecorino
parsley

Directions

I’ll start by saying that i didn’t intend to make this pasta at the very beginning, it’s the result of my wife’s telling me that she wants a surprising pasta for dinner, it was an improvisation of stuff I had in my pantry but the beauty of this great dish is that the ingredients are easy to come up with and the flavor is just divine, plus the winter season is a great time for a lemon cauliflower pasta dish the lemon and cauliflower are at their pick of their flavor.

The reason I chose to combine these ingredients is because cauliflower and lemon are a perfect match, they go so good together, so adding pasta will resolve in a dish you will surely go back to.

This pasta dish has 2 main stages, the sauce and the baked cauliflower with crust, each of them is easy to make and can be done simultaneously so the process does not take more than an hour from scratch to serving.

lemon cauliflower pasta

Making the baked cauliflower

The cauliflower is going thru 2 stages as well, first is boiling the cauliflower, I cook the cauliflower with the pasta 10 minutes is just what is all the cauliflower needs in order to get tender but not soggy. I see no reason to have 2 pots with water, one for the pasta and one for the cauliflower, if any, the cauliflower will improve the pasta’s natural flavor when cooked together, so don’t be afraid cook the pasta and cauliflower together.

I created for the cauliflower a nice crust made out of egg mix that acts as a glue and a cheese and breadcrumbs mix to cover the cauliflower and give it crunchiness.

baking is on high temperature, remember, the cauliflower is half ready, all we need is to form the crust, so high and short period of time are needed for the baking, I used 225°c/ 450°F for about 20 minutes until golden brown in color.

Making the lemon cream sauce

This lemon pasta sauce method is taken from the pastry world, it combines natural thickeners like cornstarch and eggs in order for the sauce to develop a steady body, if this sauce were to be cooled in the fridge it would have been in a porridge consistency, but we are using it on the spot so we only enjoy its creaminess.

I used a similar lemon filling for my lemon tart, only when making a pastry the sauce is sweeter and contain more eggs to keep it stable and firm.

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Steps

1 Done 10 minutes	cooking the pasta and cauliflower Preheat the oven to 225°c/ 450°F. Place a big pot over high heat and bring into a boil, add any short pasta, I used Conchiglie (little ears), add the cauliflower as well. Choose a pasta that its cooking time is approximately 10 minutes so the cauliflower and pasta cooking will be coordinated.
2 Done 25 minutes	Baking the cauliflower Set a bowl with the breadcrumbs and the parmesan, mix well. Beat the eggs gently in a different bowl, soak the cauliflower until completely covered and move over to the breadcrumbs bowl. When completely covered place in a baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
3 Done 15 minutes	making the lemon cream sauce In a medium saucepan place the lemon juice, water and honey and bring into a gentle simmer. Reduce heat and add the cream and corn flour, whisk constantly until the sauce is resisting a bit and a body is formed. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks gently and pour in the lemon cream sauce in small drizzle, about 1 cup of sauce, whisk the eggs and the sauce in the bowl until temperature has been leveled (we don’t want lumps). Pour the eggs and cream mixture into the saucepan and mix with the rest of the sauce, add the lemon zest and increase temperature to medium, whisk constantly until the sauce is thickened a bit. Remove from heat, add the butter and salt, mix until fully incorporated.
4 Done	Assembling and serving the dish In a mixing bowl place the pasta and pour over it the lemon cream sauce. add the baked cauliflower and mix well. Place a portion of the pasta and cauliflower mix in a serving plate, spread oven some lemon zest, parsley, pecorino and drizzle olive oil on top. Season with salt as much as needed Serve immediately