Pasta with Pancetta and Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450 g) dried pasta
• 6 ounces (170 g) pancetta, diced small
• 1 head (~500 g / 1.1 pound) cauliflower, cut into florets
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• 1 can (14 ounces / 400 g) diced tomatoes, drained
• Red pepper flakes
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ cup (60 g / 2.1 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Chopped parsley, additional grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Steps

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add cauliflower to boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to an ice bath, but do not discard the cooking water.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Once hot, add the diced pancetta, and begin to brown.
3. Once pancetta begins to brown, add pasta to boiling water.
4. After pancetta is almost completely browned, reduce heat to medium and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until garlic begins to turn golden, and then add the cauliflower and the drained diced tomatoes and toss to heat through. Add ¼ cup of the pasta water, as well as salt and pepper.
5. While pasta is finishing cooking, beat the egg yolks, grated cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
6. When the pasta is about 2 minutes away from being al dente, drain.
7. Lower the heat on the sauce to low and add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Once combined, pour on the egg yolk mixture and quickly toss the pasta to coat it with the mixture (the egg yolks should coat the pasta, and not scramble).
8. Once heated through, remove to serving bowl or individual plates and garnish with the chopped parsley and additional cheese.

More recipes with pasta, cauliflower, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, eggs, parmesan or parsley

Adapted from “Pasta with Pancetta and Cauliflower” in the Wikibooks Cookbook by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for this site; this page's recipe text is shared under the same license.