Low Carb Redo - Spaghetti with Roasted Cauliflower, Blue Cheese and Walnuts

    

The final product - 8 carbs including the pasta!

My friend and neighbor, Deanna, posted this recipe from Pinterest. It looked really good, so I had to make it. 

Here’s the thing – even if you don’t want to make the entire recipe, just make the cauliflower! After I made the recipe, which is really, really good, I took the remaining cauliflower and roasted it for another meal or snack. So simple, yet so good!

I used the rest of the head of cauliflower to make a snack for the next day.

Here’s the recipe after I took out some bad carbs and added some good ones:

Spaghetti with Roasted Cauliflower, Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Ingredients:

2 cups cauliflower florets – 6.5 carbs
2 T olive oil – 0 carbs
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese - .5 carbs
salt and pepper – 0 carbs
1 cup chicken stock* (or vegetable stock) – 0 carbs
1 cup heavy cream – 3 carbs
½ cup blue cheese – 2 carbs
1 lb Dreamfields spaghetti – 33 carbs
¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted in a dry pan – 2 carbs

Here's most everything for the recipe. Most was bought at Aldi's in US1 in Cutler Bay. If you want to save money, this is the place to shop - cash or debit card only.

Total carbs – 47  

Servings – 6

8 carbs per serving

 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400°.
2. Cut the cauliflower head into small florets (about the size of your thumb or smaller), drizzle with olive oil then toss with Parmesan cheese and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower start to turn golden brown on the edges. (I used a foil-lined pan to roast for easy cleanup.)
   
3. Heat the stock to boiling in a small sauce pan. Remove the roasted cauliflower from the oven and place half of it in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the hot stock and blend with a stick blender until you get a smooth soup-like consistency. You could always use a food processor, but be careful with the hot stock! If the mixture is too thick, add more stock or water. Set aside.

   

   I hardly ever get to use this blender, but it was free!
4. In the same saucepan, heat the cream to boiling point. Crumble the blue cheese into the hot cream, then turn down the heat to very low and stir until melted. Now add the smooth cauliflower puree and stir well. Set aside. My blue cheese did not melt completely but I liked the little chunks of cheese in the final product.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the box. Drain the pasta and place it back in the pot. Add the cheese sauce and toss.
6. Top with the pasta with the remaining roasted florets and some roasted chopped walnuts. Serve immediately. I also added some more Parmesan cheese.

   

   Chopped walnuts - about 10-12 for this recipe.

*Reading the nutrition information on the package is so important. For example, the chicken stock I bought had zero carbs, but some low-sodium and other brands list 1-2 carbs. Salad dressings are another package that you need to give some attention, for example, regular Ranch Dressing will have around 2 carbs per serving but when you go with the low-fat version, there are more carbs per serving. This is true for many of the low-fat or diet versions of many products. It seems more sugars are added to make up for the flavor of the removed fat.