Creamy Cajun “Pasta”

Little known fact – one of my least favorite vegetables used to be cauliflower. I found it pretty boring, and so plain, although I did like it roasted on occasion. Once I actually realized how versatile this vegetable is, a whole new world was opened up to me! From cauliflower mash (which I think tastes identical to mashed potatoes) to cauliflower rice (my Cilantro Lime, Toasted Coconut, and Fried “Rice” recipes are amazing), to making creamy sauces, it has so many uses!

I love getting in as many vegetables as I can throughout the day, and this pasta sure sneaks it in when you’d least expect it. The base of the sauce is made from cauliflower, but I promise you’d never even know it! The sauce is so creamy, you’d swear it’s made with dairy! This dish certainly has a spicy kick to it, and I really love how the sweetness of the sweet potato noodles balances out the flavor. I used a mixture of chicken and shrimp for this recipe, but feel free to use any protein that you’d like!

So, the final question is, what should we call sweet potato noodles? Snoodles? Swoodles? Sweedles? I’m not sure where I’m headed with this, so I’ll just get back to eating my delicious “pasta!” Happy cooking!

Ingredients –

Sauce:

• 1 Large Cauliflower, chopped (about 7 cups)
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth (I used homemade)
• 5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp chipotle chili pepper powder
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Pasta:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, divided
• 1 sweet onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (I used a mixture of chicken and shrimp)
• 2 medium sweet potatoes (or 1 large)
• ¼ cup water
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions –

1. Add the chopped cauliflower, peeled garlic cloves, and chicken broth to a medium sized pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork and is very tender, about 15-20 minutes.

2. Once the cauliflower is cooked turn off the heat and add the Cajun seasoning and chipotle chili powder. Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Turn the stove back on and simmer the sauce while you cook the chicken.
   **If you don’t have an immersion blender, you could simply place the cooked cauliflower mixture in a blender, and blend until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan to simmer, while you cook the chicken

3. While the sauce is cooking, let’s make the sweet potatoes into noodles! Peel the sweet potato and use either a spiralizer or julienne peeler to make it into “noodles.” You could also use a vegetable peeler to make it into “fettuccine noodles.” Set aside.

4. In a separate pan, melt 1 tbsp of the coconut oil over medium high heat. Once the oil has melted, add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the chicken (or whatever protein you’re using) and sauté until cooked through. Place the chicken and onion in a clean bowl. Set aside.

5. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of coconut oil in the same pan the chicken was cooked in, over medium-low heat. Add the sweet potato noodles to the pan, along with the ¼ cup of water. Immediately cover the pan with a lid and let the “noodles” steam, stirring occasionally to be sure they don’t start sticking to the pan, until they start to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

6. Once the sweet potatoes noodles are soft, add the chicken and onions back to the pan. Stir in the Cajun sauce, and eat up! Enjoy!