The pasta with cauliflower in the pressure cooker, by popular demand, adds to my collection of Italian recipes with instant pot (or multicooker). Whether you use a stovetop pressure cooker or an electric one, the result is the same, and the cooking times are identical. This is true when using the pressure function which significantly shortens the cooking times and saves energy. After offering you the pasta and beans with multicooker, the penne alla puttanesca, and the paccheri alla sorrentina in the multicooker, it’s time to present this delicious pasta with cauliflower in an electric pressure cooker. After cooking the cauliflower stew in the multicooker, I opened the pot, added the pasta, and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Imagine, pasta with a cooking time of 11 minutes that cooks in 4 minutes. The energy savings are significant and the result is stunning, as it will give you creamy and flavorful pasta with cauliflower.
If you haven’t done so yet, try using your multifunction pot, and you will thank me.
Also try:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Instant pot, Pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 269.21 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 34.14 (g) of which sugars 4.32 (g)
- Proteins 8.02 (g)
- Fat 13.03 (g) of which saturated 2.05 (g)of which unsaturated 0.56 (g)
- Fibers 6.01 (g)
- Sodium 504.34 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 300 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for making stewed cauliflower in the pressure cooker
- 1 cauliflower (small)
- 1 onion (small)
- 1.27 cups tomato pulp
- 3 pinches salt
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches pepper
- 4.23 cups water
- 8.47 oz pasta (preferably whole grain with an 11-minute cooking time)
What you need
- 1 multicooker
How to make cauliflower with pasta in a multicooker
Peel and chop the onion, distribute it in the pot, and add the oil. Sauté for 2 minutes at 392°F, for sautéing in the multicooker, you can use the griddle function or the frying function. Add the tomato pulp, salt, stir, and let it flavor with the pot open, just the time to clean the cauliflower.
Wash the cauliflower, divide it into florets, and add them to the tomato sauce in the instant pot. Stir, pepper, and pour the water over it. Stir again and then close the pressure cooker.
Set the pot to the pressure function for 8 minutes, close the valve, and start. I remind you that, like the stovetop pressure cooker, cooking starts from the whistle, the same goes for the multicooker which will start cooking and the countdown as soon as the pot goes under pressure. At the end of cooking, let the pot depressurize naturally without opening the valve, the cauliflower will continue to cook even in this phase.
After resting, remove the lid and pour the pasta, stir well, and close the pot again. Start the pressure cooking for 4 minutes and, at the end of cooking, let the pot rest closed for another 5 minutes. Then, depressurize by venting the valve and remove the lid. Stir the pasta well and serve it with some washed and chopped parsley.
Extra tips and ideas
With the same base, you can use a Romanesco cauliflower.
Pasta with cauliflower in white sauce in the pressure cooker
If you prefer, you can omit the tomato pulp and increase the amount of water to 5 cups. To flavor the white cauliflower, you can use 1 clove of minced garlic with an anchovy and deglaze with a few tablespoons of white wine.
