Sauteed cauliflower, onions, and bacon, tossed with pasta, Parmesan and toasted panko.
In the vicious struggle for vegetable world domination cauliflower is knocking kale off its mighty perch?
And for those of us who are fangirls of both, do we take sides?
Elise Bauer
If cauliflower is finding a place among the trendy fooderati, well I say, about time.
It’s great incauliflower soup,roasted with Parmesan, or incurry.
It’s also great with pasta.
Elise Bauer
This is one of those dishes that never left the kitchen because we ate every last bit of it.
While the water is heating, continue with the recipe.
Place the bacon pieces in a large saute pan on medium heat.
Elise Bauer
Cook until lightly browned and much of the fat rendered, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove the bacon from the pan to a bowl, retaining the fat in the pan.
When most of the panko is browned, remove from heat and place in a bowl.
Elise Bauer
Increase the heat to medium high.
You’ll want about a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half of fat in the pan.
If your bacon has not yielded that much fat, then add some olive oil to the pan.
Elise Bauer
Add the sliced red onion.
Cook until lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook an minute more.
Elise Bauer
Remove the onions and garlic from the pan, adding them to the bowl with the bacon.
Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and heat on high heat.
Add the cauliflower florets and toss to coat with the olive oil.
Elise Bauer
About the same time that you start cooking the cauliflower, add the pasta to the boiling pasta water.
Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
Add the bacon and onions into the pan with the cauliflower.
Elise Bauer
Stir in the pasta, lemon zest, grated Parmesan.
Drizzle in another tablespoon of olive oil.
Serve topped with toasted seasoned breadcrumbs.
