Cauliflower ‘Pesto’ Pasta

Ingredients

• half a cauliflower head - roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion - chopped
• 8 oz pasta (preferably noodle shape like fettuccine, linguini, spaghetti, etc.)
• sea salt
• 3 garlic cloves - sliced
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• large handful of basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Place the chopped cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse into rice-sized pieces (some will be bigger, some smaller, and that's fine). Set aside.

2. 2

   Warm the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 7 minutes, or until translucent.

3. 3

   In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and cook your pasta according to the time on the package. Drain, reserving ½ cup of cooking water and set aside.

4. 4

   Add salt, garlic and red pepper flakes to the sautéed onion and cook for another minute. Add the riced cauliflower and lemon juice, increase the heat and stir around until the lemon juice is absorbed/evaporated.

5. 5

   Lower the heat back to a medium. Add the reserved pasta cooking liquid, mustard, paprika, raisins and pistachios. Mix well and cook for about 8 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked, but not mushy.

6. 6

   Add the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Mix in the herbs and serve.