Pasta With Cauliflower

By Mark Bittman

Pasta With Cauliflower
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(1,015)
Comments
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This dish is derived from a Marcella Hazan recipe. It’s dead simple, and the cauliflower can be precooked a day ahead or so. Or, the whole thing can be made at once: cook the cauliflower in water, scoop it out and then, later, cook the pasta in the same water. It’s already boiling, and you want the taste of the cauliflower anyway, so why not? The cauliflower gets cooked more, in a skillet with toasted garlic, so don’t boil it to death, although you do want it to be tender. And in the original Minimalist recipe, from 2000, bread crumbs were added to the skillet along with the cauliflower, but since some pasta water is usually added to the skillet to keep the mixture saucy, the bread crumbs become soggy. Better, then, to stir the bread crumbs in at the very end. They should be very coarse and ideally homemade, and if they’re toasted in olive oil in a separate skillet before you toss them in, so much the better.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 or 4 servings
  • 1head cauliflower, about 1 pound
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • ¼cup olive oil
  • 1pound penne, fusilli or other cut pasta
  • 1cup coarse bread crumbs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

686 calories; 17 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 112 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 678 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Trim the cauliflower and divide it into florets. Add about a tablespoon of salt to the water and boil cauliflower until it is tender but not mushy. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove the cauliflower and set it aside. When it is cool enough to handle, chop it roughly into small pieces.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet over medium-low heat, sauté garlic in olive oil, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden. Start cooking pasta in same pot and same water as was used for the cauliflower.

  3. Step 3

    When the garlic is ready, add the cauliflower to skillet and turn heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally. When pasta is just about done — it should be 2 or 3 minutes short of the way you like it — drain it, reserving about a cup of cooking liquid.

  4. Step 4

    Add pasta to skillet containing the cauliflower, and toss with a large spoon until they are well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with just enough pasta water to keep the mixture moist but not soupy. When the mixture is hot and the pasta is tender and nicely glazed, mix in the bread crumbs.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,015 user ratings
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Comments

hankarnold@gmail.com

This is ok, but if you ROAST the cauliflower before cooking this you get a very pleasant nutty flavor...get it nice and brown!!

Carole

Toasted some dry panko in a little olive oil in a skillet first. Added a little lemon zest. Used about a 1/3 of a lb of pasta, to make it more veg than pasta. Delicious and easy. Will make again.

Joel

The addition of black, oil-cured olives, a sprinkling of
red pepper flakes and a few anchovies takes this recipe to another level of taste. You can find it in Lorenza De Medici's
The Renaissance of Italian Cooking.

Kathleen

I made this recipe and it was delicious! I opened it again just now and noticed that the picture certainly looks like there is shredded cheese on top??? I didn't notice this discrepancy before, most likely because we always sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano on our pasta dishes.

Oona

My family and I found this disappointing in flavor and texture. I might try the Hazan original, which only halves the cauliflower before boiling and includes anchovies, red pepper, and parsley.

Carol

I have made a variation of this combination for years; it's one of my favorite bites. I took advice from others' notes and roasted the cauliflower and reduced the amount of pasta for more veg. I would like to try olives next time.

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