A Healthy Dinner Made Easy

The other day I went grocery shopping with the intention of buying solely healthy foods, and I did just that. In fact, I even went home and rummaged through every drawer, cupboard and pantry, and threw out all the junk food that populated every nook and cranny of my kitchen.

One of the healthy items that I bought was an organic head of cauliflower - something that I've never bought, let alone cooked before.  I scoured the internet for an easy-to-make, healthy, yet still yummy recipe, and came across this one on Epicurious - my go-to website/app for recipes.

Whole-Wheat Linguine with Cauliflower, Pancetta & Parmesan
(This recipe yields four servings, according to Epicurious, but I'd say there's even more than that in a bowl this big! Especially if you're watching your weight - or trying to, anyway. I also tweaked the recipe to suit my dietary likes/dislikes.)

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-1/4 cup (+ 1 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
-1 large head of cauliflower, cut into 1 inch wide florets
-1/4 lb sliced pancetta, chopped
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 tsp dried hot red pepper flakes (you can adjust this based on how much spice you can handle)
-1 cup (1 can) reduced-sodium chicken broth
-3/4 lb whole-wheat linguine
-1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus additional for serving
-1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:
1) Stir together bread crumbs and 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl until combined well. Transfer to a 12-inch heavy skillet (aka a deep/wide pan) and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and golden. This should take about 5 minutes. Return to bowl.

2) Heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil in the pan over moderately high heat until hot (but not smoking), then sauté cauliflower, stirring occasionally, until browned well, about 8-10 minutes.

3) Add pancetta and sauté, stirring frequently, until it begins to crisp, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add broth, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and sauce is slightly reduced. (Epicurious indicates to allow the sauce to simmer for about 7 minutes, but I allowed it to simmer until I was finished making my pasta.)

4) While the sauce is simmering, cook the linguine in a pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente, then drain in a colander.

5) Stir your desired amount of Parmesan cheese into sauce and simmer 1 minute. (I loooove cheese, so I used quite a bit.)

6) Toss pasta with the cauliflower mixture and parsley in a large bowl, then sprinkle with the bread crumbs set aside from earlier. Serve with additional cheese.

Although it tasted pretty phenomenal, I didn't snap a photo of it to share with you, because I found that a photo wouldn't do it justice. It may not be the prettiest dish you could make, but it's easy, healthy, filling, and delicious!

Happy cooking!


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