Cauliflower+Feta+Walnuts=YUMMM

if your name is Anita, do no proceed :) jk you can if you want...
i was going to take photos of the making of this dish but forgot so i borrowed the pic. the only thing i didn't use in mine was the pasta. pasta has flour and i can't have whole wheat pasta for a few more weeks :( but i thought it was marvelous without the pasta anyways.
anyways. i've made this recipe several times in the past and since i've been on this diet i've had a rough time figuring out healthy GOOD flavorful meals to eat. i can't believe i didn't think of this one sooner!
i didn't calculate it out but without the pasta i don't think it has hardly any calories at all and it's so filling. here's the recipe:

2 heads cauliflower
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
1 pound whole-wheat pasta
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
White wine vinegar
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
4 ounces ricotta salata or feta cheese
Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cut the cauliflower into small flowerets. Peel the onion and slice it very thin. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the pasta on to cook.
Saute the cauliflower in olive oil in a large saute pan. When the cauliflower begins to soften, season with salt and pepper and add the sliced onion and red pepper flakes. Saute over medium to high heat until the vegetables are brown and tender. The cauliflower should still be slightly crunchy and should not taste steamed. Add the garlic and remove from the heat, tossing and stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn; if it starts to brown, add a splash of water. Add a few drops each of vinegar and lemon juice and the toasted walnuts. Taste and correct the seasoning. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the cauliflower, adding enough extra-virgin olive oil to coat the pasta thoroughly, toss together and serve, with the cheese crumbled over the dish.


oh my word this is delicious. actually now that i'm thinking about it i may have already posted this recipe before....i'll check on that but i guess it deserves to be re posted :). it really is so good and i always add a little more than one pinch of red pepper flakes b/c i like it more spicy and we have some really good pepper flakes from teaquent stop here in b'ham.

p.s. please add LOTS of feta. i just love feta. even though it smells like diaper it tastes SOO good. trust me. also i dice my onion very small so i don't know they're in there, i'm not a fan of chunky onions. nosiree.

p.p.s. to toast your walnuts just put them in a dry pan on fairly low heat and keep moving them around so they don't burn. i had a few causalities last night i had to throw away.

thanks smitten kitchen for your always amazing recipes!!

EDIT:

so i went through my archives and realized i am so weird. well that was the first thing i noticed the other thing was i name my blog's weird names so i don't know if i ever posted that recipe before. i vaguely remember writing about it though. hmmm. during my archive adventure i copied some links from old recipes i love and thought i'd post to share the wealth.

fruit flower bouquet- great for babyshowers or other such events

spinach smoothie- be jealous

chicken pizza- 2 different ways

red shredded chicken- yum!

breakfast cookies- favorite "healthy" cookies

chandrans chicken curry- AMAzing!

so there's some homecooking inspiration for you (and for me) i forgot about some of these posts. well now i'm off to grind some whole wheat to make pizza dough for dinner (first time i'll have eaten pizza in 3 months. it won't be like regular pizza but same difference)