Spaghetti with Cauliflower Pesto

I think my family knows that I like to cook and that I really want to take this blog more seriously in 2012. Many of my birthday and Christmas gifts this year were centered around cooking and blogging. I got a bunch of different plates and bowls in all different patterns and sizes to use to photograph the food I make. I got 4 new cookbooks that are all wonderful in their own ways and I can't wait to use all of them starting today with this wonderful recipe. And my big present from Joe was a DSLR camera which has been really fun to use so far. I can't wait to learn all the things it can do and hopefully take better photos as the year progresses. I personally already see a difference between the photos taken with the new camera versus my old point and shoot and I don't even really know what I am doing with the new camera yet. Do you notice a difference?

One of the books that Joe got me is called Cooking for Friends and it is a really great book which not only gives you recipes but also ideas about plating and serving food and good cocktail pairings as well. A lot of the food is simple and fresh but prepared in ways that maybe you wouldn't think of. This recipe is a great example of that. We love cauliflower. Boiled, steamed, mashed, roasted, raw, plain, with cheese, you name it, we like it. I never in a million years considered making it into a pesto and serving it over pasta but it works. This was really light and flavorful and a perfect complement to the seared sea scallops that I made to go with it.

Be aware that this recipe makes a lot of pesto so it would be great for having a group of friends over, hence I guess the name of the cookbook. We had leftovers for quite awhile since I made this for just the two of us.

Spaghetti with Cauliflower Pesto
From Cooking for Friends

Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1-inch florets
sea salt
ground pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup almonds, toasted (I used pine nuts since I didn't have any almonds)
2 tsp capers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb spaghetti
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shaved

Directions
Preheat a stove-top grill pan over high heat.

Season cauliflower florets with salt and pepper. Place on grill pan and cook, turning occasionally, until well charred on all sides, 6-8 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to a food processor and add olive oil, parsley, almonds, capers and garlic. Pulse until mixture is well combined but still coarse. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until pasta in al dente, according to package directions. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of cooking liquid, and transfer to a serving bowl. Toss with cauliflower pesto and shaved Parmeson, adding some of the cooking liquid if necessary (you won't always have to do this. I wound up adding maybe a 1/4 cup of it). Serve at once.