Creamy Cauliflower Cashew Pasta

Cauliflower is all the rage on Pinterest these days, and since Alfredo is not exactly healthy, Justin and I had actually tried a cauliflower pasta sauce some months back.  While it was decent, it wasn't really amazing, and I wasn't really motivated to revisit the concept anytime soon.  Still, when I saw this Cauliflower Cashew Bake from Eat Within Your Means show up in my Pinterest feed, I was intrigued by the addition of cashews to the sauce, and I figured I'd give cauliflower sauce another shot.  I'm glad I did!  This recipe was incredibly easy to throw together, and when served with some potatoes and frozen mixed vegetables, was actually really satisfying as a dinner entree, which some meatless dishes we've tried haven't always succeeded at.  When Justin first tasted it, he didn't even realize it was cauliflower instead of regular Alfredo.  Also, it made a ton of leftovers, which is always a useful thing.

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup raw cashews
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups milk (the original recipe actually calls for using non-dairy milk or water)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
A pinch of freshly ground nutmeg, optional
16 oz. macaroni noodles or other pasta shape
1 cup crunchy casserole topping of your choice (I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350º and put a large stock pot of water on to boil.  While this is heating up, wash off the cauliflower, and break the cauliflower into large florets.  Put the cauliflower, cashews, and garlic cloves into the boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, take the cauliflower pieces, cashews and garlic out and put it in a blender.  Add the macaroni to the boiling water, and cook according to the directions on the box.  Add the salt, milk, pepper, and nutmeg to the blender and puree until creamy.  Start with 1-1/2 cups of milk, and add more (up to 1/2 cup more) if it seems too thick- mine was just fine at 1-1/2 cups, but I like a thicker sauce.  Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain and add to a 9x13 baking dish and stir in the cauliflower sauce.  Sprinkle your casserole topping on top and bake at 350º for 15 minutes (If the topping is not browned on top, you can place it under the broiler for a minute or two, but mine was just fine).