Roasted Cauliflower Carbonara
My favorite pasta dish ever! Loaded with crispy bacon, perfectly roasted garlic cauliflower + the best Parmesan sauce EVER.
I make carbonara ALL THE TIME.
Mainly because I always have everything on hand when it comes to carbonara – spaghetti, bacon, eggs, Parmesan – you know, all the important stuff.
But with this wedding diet and all, I need to eat a little bit healthier. Which basically means I’m incorporating some veggies into my already set diet.
You know, the spaghetti-bacon-egg-Parmesan-sauce diet.
So that’s what we have here. Sneaked in cauliflower roasted just beautifully with fresh thyme and garlicky goodness.
See, the wedding diet isn’t too bad, right?
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
For the roasted cauliflower
- 16 ounces cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
Place cauliflower florets in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil, garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tender and golden brown; set aside.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; reserve 1/2 cup water and drain well.
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and Parmesan; set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes; reserve excess fat.
Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low.
Working quickly, stir in cauliflower, pasta and egg mixture, and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Serve immediately, garnished with thyme, if desired.