Here’s another recipe to celebrate Veganuary (although I should say I’m not doing the full vegan diet this month, just using this time as an incentive to cut down on meat). This recipe is from Miguel Barclay’s book Vegan One Pound Meals – part of his fantastic One Pound Meals cook book series which is gradually taking over my bookshelves. I love the sheer simplicity of his recipes and his philosophy of cheap, easy cooking fits so well with my own.

I’m always looking for new cauliflower recipes as I love this filling, cheap and nutritious vegetable. I often make cauliflower cheese or cauliflower steaks with a vierge sauce but I can see this tagliatelle recipe becoming a regular weeknight supper.

I’ve changed the recipe slightly – I used a whole (but small cauliflower) and only a quarter of a mug of milk as I wanted the sauce to be nice and thick (and there are a few other tweaks to the original instructions). You can use any plant milk (Miguel Barclay’s recipe says almond milk but I think that’s a bit controversial because of the amount of water used in its production).

Ingredients

• Half a large or whole small cauliflower
• Half a mug of plant milk (eg oat or soya)
• Handful of dried tagliatelle
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Keep some cauliflower florets to one side for the topping.
2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the cauliflower florets and cook for about 10 minutes until soft.
3. Drain the cauliflower and blitz in a processor until smooth (I used a hand blender) along with the plant milk (which I warmed up in a microwave first). Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, season and pan fry the remaining cauliflower florets in a glug of olive oil over a medium heat for about 10/15 minutes.
5. Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente (or, as my preference is, until it’s a bit softer).
6. Drain the pasta but first reserving about a ladleful of the pasta water to add to the sauce. Serve topped with the fired florets, a dash of olive oil and some more salt and pepper.