Pasta and Cauliflower Stew Mediterranean Style

La storia di questo piatto

This is Italian home cooking in its quietest form: cauliflower and short pasta gathered into one pan, simmered together in the warmth of a Mediterranean kitchen. It is no grand heirloom recipe, only the kind of dish that tastes of ordinary days and open windows, where sweet onion, tomato and good olive oil do the talking.

Ingredienti

• 320 g Short pasta (penne or rigatoni)
• 600 g Fresh cauliflower
• 400 g Peeled tomatoes
• 100 g White onion
• 50 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 4 g Fine salt for the sauce
• 2 g Black pepper
• 250 ml Hot water for the stew
• 20 g Coarse salt for the pasta water
• 2 g Fresh or dried chili pepper
• 40 g Grated Pecorino Romano

Preparazione

1. Clean the onion and slice it thinly; peel the garlic and cut it into fine slivers. Pour the oil into a wide pan and heat over medium heat for about 1 minute, until a slice of onion sizzles gently in it. Add the onion, garlic and chili and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent and lightly golden at the edges: the garlic must not darken, or it will turn bitter.
2. Remove the leaves and the hard core of the cauliflower and cut it into florets about 3 cm across. Add them to the pan, raise the heat to medium-high and let them brown for 3 minutes, stirring so they are evenly coated in oil and develop some golden spots, which will add flavor and color to the dish.
3. Crush the peeled tomatoes by hand in a bowl, then pour them into the pan together with 250 ml of hot water, 4 g of fine salt and the pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, lower the heat to medium-low and cook with the lid partly covering for 20-22 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking that the bottom doesn't stick: if it dries out too much, add a ladle of hot water. The cauliflower should be very tender, almost mashable with a fork, and the sauce thick and enveloping. Taste and adjust the salt. Halfway through cooking, put a pot with 3 liters of water on the stove for the pasta.
4. When the water boils, add 20 g of coarse salt, add the pasta and cook for the time indicated on the package minus 2 minutes (about 8-10 minutes, depending on the shape). Before draining, set aside a cup of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the cauliflower and toss over medium heat for 2 minutes, adding the cooking water a little at a time until the dressing is creamy and the pasta has finished cooking in the sauce. Turn off the heat, sprinkle with the pecorino, toss and serve immediately (alternatively to pecorino, a handful of chopped parsley).