Capers, olives, chili peppers, basil and other sharp notes balance the understated character of pine nuts, and highlight why they are worth three times as much as other nuts. Toasting them brings the nuttiness forward while softening the sweetness, and adds more of a crunch to the otherwise soft consistency. To toast, simply heat up a cast iron pan and shake around on low heat for about 7-10 minutes until golden.
For this recipe I picked up a head of cauliflower at the Temescal market, chopped it small, and sauteed it with olive oil, freshly crushed chili peppers, garlic, salt-packed capers and fresh parsely. I added mashed and whole pine nuts to subdue the bite, and tossed it all with whole wheat spaghetti.
If you are a spice fiend like me, crush the chili peppers yourself. Much better than the bland powdered stuff you find topped with a red cap.
What are your favorite non-pesto, pine nut recipes?
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
Ingredients for spaghetti with spicy cauliflower and pine nuts
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets and chopped small
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
1/3 cup of salt-packed capers, soaked for 30 minutes in water
1/2 cup of mashed, toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup whole, toasted pine nuts
Dried chili peppers, ground in a food processor–store extras in an airtight container
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Heat up a large saute pan and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Throw in one tablespoon of the ground chili peppers and turn the heat to low. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute and add the chopped cauliflower.
Saute for ten minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, and add the capers, mashed pine nuts, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, add the parsley, the whole pine nuts and another pinch of crushed pepper.
Toss with whole wheat spaghetti and drizzle some Sicilian olive oil on top.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I seriously get cauliflower cravings and satisfy it by either roasting it or cooking it Indian style with potatoes. This gives me one more scrumptious way to get serious satisfaction. Can’t wait to try it.
Wow – what a great recipe! I love cauliflower and the addition of pine nuts in the recipe sounds wonderful.
I am always looking for cauliflower recipes…..This one looks delicious!
Beautiful picture as always.
Wow – this looks great! I love the spice and the pine nuts with cauliflower. Sooo good.
Thanks everyone! The spice with the cauliflower really is a great combo. I use to only make this recipe with broccoli because I never found good cauliflower in New York – but that definitely changed here in Berkeley.
We love pine nuts too. This dish looks so colorful and appetizing. We make something similar, but without the peppers–next time will try yours. More folks should discover the joys of cauliflower & pasta.
can i get mashed pine nuts at a local supermarket, or would i need to go to a gourmet supermarket?
Hi, thanks for checking out Local Lemons. I mash up whole pine nuts myself. After I toast them, I throw them in a mortar and mash them with the pestle. You can also do it with the back of a spoon if you put the pine nuts in a bowl – or maybe even in a food processor. They are really soft, so they’re much easier to crush up than other nuts.
This is a great vegetarian dish and one that looks delish. I am big fans of capers and of course cauliflower so I will definitely have to try this. You keep giving me ingredients to think about using in my grilled cheeses. This time it is capers!
Made this tonight. so delish! i think i made it with too much pasta tho, so flavors didn’t stand out as much as they should have. but still excellent. i’d maybe add something sweet next time, like golden raisins or dried currants for a little contrast. maybe more capers.
Raisins would be delicious in this recipe, good call! Adding more capers would definitely up the flavor as well.