Creamy Cauliflower and Spicy Tubular Spaghetti

Method

1. Firstly, toast your breadcrumbs by heating a large pan on medium and stirring the breadcrumbs in the pan without any oil until they go from a pale cream colour to a light golden brown. Once lightly golden brown, optionally sprinkle in half a cup of cheese and stir for 30 seconds or until the cheese has melted and starts to clump to the breadcrumbs like granola clusters. You can leave the cheese out and serve the breadcrumbs toasted as is though. Place to the side as we will sprinkle these on top of the pasta at the end.
2. Then, roughly but finely chop up your cauliflower (stems and all) and place into the same pan you toasted your breadcrumbs in, with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. At this point you can optionally add in a tablespoon of chilli flakes or my homemade chilli oil. This adds flavor and a bit of spice to the cauliflower whilst it cooks and helps to mask its taste if you have any fussy eaters.
3. Cook on medium for about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower has reduced in size, slightly softened and browned. It’s okay if the cauliflower is browned with some char marks as this adds flavour.
4. Then add in 1 litre of ideally boiling water to the pan, stir in your miso paste and place a lid on your pan simmering on medium for another 10 minutes. The miso paste adds a salty and savoury flavour (also known as umami) to the sauce that will make it taste similar to cheese.
5. Whilst your cauliflower sauce is simmering, cook your spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente.
6. Check on your cauliflowers sauce. Once the cauliflower is tender, blitz up the mixture into a smooth sauce using an immersion blender or a normal blender if you don’t have one. If your mixture is too thick, just add ½ a cup to 1 cup of water to thin it out.
7. Transfer your spaghetti straight from the pot into your pan and stir to combine the spaghetti with the sauce. You want the spaghetti to absorb some of the sauce for maximum flavour. Also feel free to add in a ladle or so of the starchy pasta water to slightly thin out the sauce as well as emulsify the sauce so its becomes creamier.
8. Transfer to a plate and top with chives, your toasted breadcrumbs, chilli oil and a generous optional pinch of cheese.
9. Serve and enjoy with family and friends!