Recipe of the Week: Bucatini Pasta al Cavolfiore (Pasta with Cauliflower Sauce)
This exceptional sauce is a blend of many flavors: sweet raisins, sharp Pecorino cheese, chopped tomatoes, salty olives and crunchy almonds. It will give your palate pure pleasure every time you eat it. A quick and easy pasta dish traditionally made in Sicily, today you can find it all over Italy. Serves eight. (Chef tip: Keep nuts in the freezer to keep them fresh.)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head cauliflower (about 1 pound), trimmed
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 anchovy filets, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 pound Bucatini pasta
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons almonds, toasted chopped
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Trim the cauliflower and divide it into small florets. Add about a tablespoon of salt to the water and blanch cauliflower until it is tender but not mushy, about eight to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove the cauliflower and set it aside; save the water to cook the pasta in.
In a large 12-inch frying pan over medium-low heat, saute garlic, crushed pepper flakes, parsley and anchovies in olive oil, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
Add the blanched cauliflower, raisins and olives to skillet and turn heat to medium. Cook for a few minutes. Cook pasta in reserve boiling water until “al dente.” When pasta is just about done, drain it, reserving about a 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.
Add the cooked pasta to skillet containing the cauliflower sauce and toss with a large spoon until they are well combined. Add salt to taste and almonds, along with just enough pasta water, to keep the mixture moist but not soupy. Mix in the bread crumbs and Pecorino cheese. Serve immediately.