Monday, October 5, 2009

Pasta with Cauliflower



This is one of my signature dishes that seems to delight everyone. I served this recently for my Alumnae/i of the Sacred Heart Luncheon and I promised to post this on my blog ASAP.I served this with a second course of sliced tomatoes, finely diced red onions, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and basil. I drizzled it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We finished the meal off with Pesce Oreganato which is absolutely fabulous and I promise to share that next week. We are all going to Malta together in April for our International Convention and I can't wait!!!
Okay, ladies, here it is...

Now don't shy away just because there might be some little fish in the recipe!
You will never know! They completely dissolve when you cook them.


Pasta with Cauliflower

One head of cauliflower

1 finely diced onion

Olive oil to coat pan

3-4 anchovies

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup currants

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1 cup grated Romano cheese

(This is divided into two 1/2 cup portions)

1/4 cup Marsala wine

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of butter

1 pound of your favorite pasta

(I like the bucatini for this dish)

Break up the cauliflower into florets. Boil them until a fork pierces them easily. Take them out and save the water to boil the pasta in the same pan.

In another pan, saute the onion in the olive oil, add the anchovies and with a fork, mash them into the oil. They will dissolve rather quickly. Add the pine nuts and currants and saute for about a minute. Add the cooked cauliflower and sort of mash them with a fork until they break up into bite size portions. (If I am feeding the grandbabies, I practically mash them up and I usually eliminate the nuts as well) Sprinkle the mixture with the breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese. It should be a rather thick mixture. Now pour in the wine and the water and let it simmer on low for about a minute or two.

Now boil the pasta until it is al dente. Drain pasta and pour back into the pan. Mix in the butter and the remaining 1/2 cup of Romano cheese. Now add the cauliflower mixture.
If you want to add a little pepper, fine but you shouldn't need any salt with all of that cheese!
Oh and we can't forget dessert! I made Biscottis di marmellata di agrumi di arancia. Here's a peak at what they look like!


Go ahead! Try one of the recipes! What do you have to lose? If not NOW, then WHEN?

LIVE a little!