A simple and flavourful Italian pasta dish made with crispy bacon and leftover cauliflower. This rustic recipe is perfect for turning Sunday leftovers into a quick and satisfying meal, using snapped linguine for a unique texture.
Servings
2 people
Prep Time
15 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
- 210 g Linguini Pasta
- 200 g bacon
- 8 cauliflower florets (or ½ medium cauliflower, pre-cooked)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 chilli
- 10 g Grana Padano
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & black pepper
Equipment you’ll need
- Pot with lid (for pasta)
- Wok pan
- Large spoon
- Sharp knife
- 👉 See all tools here: Kitchen Tools – Sapori di Casa Saulle
Method
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces (about 2 cm), removing any tough rind.
- Heat olive oil in a wok pan and add a crushed garlic clove. Remove once golden and set aside.
- In the same pan, cook the bacon until crispy, then remove and set aside with the garlic.
- Add the cooked cauliflower to the pan and mash it with a fork until creamy and smooth.
- Return the bacon and garlic to the pan and mix well. Set aside.
- Snap the linguine into shorter pieces (see video for technique) and cook for about ⅔ of the time indicated on the package.
- Reserve some pasta water, drain the pasta, and transfer it to the pan.
- Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, adding a little pasta water if needed.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Grana Padano.
For this recipe I used the following.
Tips
Save the cauliflower cooking water to cook the pasta for extra flavour.
Remove garlic once golden and re-add later to keep it sweet and not bitter.
Variation
Add cherry tomatoes for colour and freshness
Finish with chopped parsley
Can use Spaghetti
Storage
Best eaten immediately — this dish does not store well; Cauliflower leftover from previous day.