One of my favorite special occasion meals growing up was a pasta with cauliflower dish that my dad adapted from a recipe out of a cookbook from Nick Stellino:

My mom and I have never liked anchovies, so my dad always omitted the paste from his version. Over the years he made some other adaptations, such as adding toasted pine nuts and a half cup of wine. He also had the stroke of genius to use tortellini instead of penne or rigatoni—which in my opinion, really makes this recipe shine. When I decided to cut dairy products from my diet, I thought that probably meant I’d never get to have this meal again (or at least, not with tortellini). Imagine my excitement when I saw vegan tortellini in the grocery store one day! I immediately texted my dad to say “we need to try this with the cauliflower recipe.” He accepted the challenge, and with the Mockingbird Maven’s assistance, fully veganized the recipe.

After he walked me through each step the first time we had the Mockingbird version, I started making it for my own dinner gatherings, and have had so many people say they would have absolutely no idea that the tortellini and parmesan cheese are dairy-free. Indeed – they can’t believe it’s vegan! 😉

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup pignolis (pine nuts)
• 7 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 ½ Tbsp. vegan margarine
• 1 lb. (2 pkgs) of Kite Hill or other non-dairy tortellini
• 1 cup Follow Your Heart or other vegan parmesan, divided in half
• ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (or 1 ½ Tbsp. garlic paste)
• 1 lb. cauliflower florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil (or 1 Tbsp. dried basil)
• ½ cup white wine (or ¼ cup white grape juice)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs (homemade, Panko, or another vegan brand)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

• Using a large skillet (big enough to fit all the cauliflower), add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and melt ½ Tbsp. of margarine and turn heat down to med-low. Add the pignolis and toast, constantly tossing to avoid burning. Once they start to turn brown, transfer the nuts to a paper towel on a plate to cool.
• Boil ~3 quarts of water to cook the tortellini according to package instructions (about 4 minutes). While the tortellini is cooking, grease a 9×13” baking pan.
• Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, set aside. Drain pasta from the remaining water. While it is still in the strainer, drizzle with olive oil to prevent clumping. Add ½ cup of vegan parmesan as pasta is poured into the baking dish.
• Return to the skillet used to toast the pine nuts and warm 5 Tbsp. of olive oil to melt 2 Tbsp. of margarine on medium heat. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, and garlic. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, and add the cauliflower and basil. Toss the mixture for about 4-5 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to turn brown.
• As soon as the cauliflower is toasted, add the white wine and simmer. Add the reserved cup of pasta water and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes on reduced heat until the sauce thickens.
• Turn on the oven broiler while the cauliflower sauce cooks. Transfer the cooked cauliflower and sauce to the pan with tortellini, mix together, and coat the top with breadcrumbs and remaining parmesan. Place in broiler for 5-10 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
• Once golden brown, remove from broiler and top with pignolis and parsley.

Notes

1. Even if you buy cauliflower pre-divided into florets, the larger pieces still need to be cut into halves or quarters.
2. Be careful not to burn the pine nuts; they will continue to toast after they are removed from the skillet.

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