Cauliflower Purée and Silverbeet Pasta

Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

500g of your choice of pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for garnish 
Head of one cauliflower, roughly chopped  
2 garlic cloves, whole 
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely diced  
1 cup white wine 
2 cups water or stock
1 tbsp vegan butter
¼ cup nutritional yeast
½ bunch of silverbeet, thinly chopped (stalks and all) 
2 tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
Roasted pine nuts to garnish

Method:

Have a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.

Add olive oil, garlic and rosemary to a large pan and place over a medium heat, cook until the garlic starts to brown (2-3mins).

Add the cauliflower and cook to coat in the oil and rosemary (4-5mins) stirring consistently.

Add the wine and cook until it has been absorbed by the cauliflower.

Add 1 cup of water and turn down the heat, leave to simmer, stirring regularly.

Once the liquid has reduced, add the other cup of water and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and breaks up easily. 

Turn off the heat and add the nutritional yeast, butter and a generous pinch of salt. 

Move the cauliflower to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, you can add a dash of water if it’s too thick. You’re after a smooth puree more on the runny side so keep on adding water until you've reached the desired consistency. It's okay for it to have a few chunks and if you’re worried that it's too runny, add a little more nutritional yeast. However, it will thicken up when added to the pasta.

Slightly under cook the pasta (by 1-2 minutes), then strain it, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.  

Add cooked pasta, cauliflower puree, silverbeet and pasta water to a large fry pan or pot and cook for about 3 minutes just to combine everything and slightly cook the silverbeet. 

Season with salt, pepper and chilli. 

Serve with roasted pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.