This recipe for cauliflower with pine nuts and bacon embellishes the vegetables. Cauliflower is boiled briefly, then sautéed with toasted pine nuts, bacon or pancetta, and garlic.
Cauliflower lovers unite! I’m always looking for ways to dress up my favorite white vegetable.
Here’s a quickie inspired by southern Italian flavors. A little bacon (or pancetta), toasted pine nuts, some garlic (of course), oregano and red pepper flakes, and your cauliflower is ready for a debutante ball. Or a weekday meal. Enjoy!
Cauliflower with pine nuts and bacon
ingredients
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1 cauliflower headCut into florets (see Cutting and Deseeding the Cauliflower)
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1/4 Cup pine nuts
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1/4 lb bacon or pancetta, cut into sticks
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4 to 5 garlic clovesthinly sliced
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1 to 2 teaspoon dried oregano
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1 to 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
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Kosher Salt and freshly ground black peppertaste
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lemon juicetaste
method
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Boil the cauliflower in salted water:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
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Roast pine nuts:
While the water is heating, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until lightly browned. Keep an eye on them, as pine nuts go from roasted to burned quickly. Set the pine nuts aside when toasted.
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Fry bacon:
Place the bacon in the pan and fry gently over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside with the pine nuts.
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Sauté garlic, add cauliflower, pine nuts, bacon, oregano and red pepper flakes:
Sauté the garlic over medium-high heat for 1 minute, then add the cauliflower, pine nuts, bacon, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
Mix and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let the garlic burn.
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Add the lemon juice, season:
Turn off the heat and add salt and lemon juice to taste.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 155 | calories |
| 11g | Fat |
| 6g | carbohydrates |
| 9g | protein |
