Driving on the outskirts of Gela in Sicily final summer time, we handed a truck, its open again filled with pea-green, electric-purple and white cauliflowers. Such vehicles are a well-known however all the time putting sight in Italy. Particularly this one, with its notably excessive wall of tricolour heads, a number of of which had toppled off and rolled into the highway, the place they’d met with a messy finish. We stopped for petrol and lemonade at a storage on the other facet of the highway. I believe I attempted to take an image, but it surely was another person within the automotive who summed up the scene: “Joker truck,” they mentioned. I didn’t perceive what they meant instantly, however after I did, all earlier descriptions – cumulus clouds, cream-coloured curds – disappeared, and all I might see have been inexperienced shirts, purple fits and white faces: a pile of Jokers from Batman.
Months later, and it’s nonetheless the very first thing that involves thoughts after I decide up a cauliflower. Even a freshly reduce one with cream curds and sculpted leaves from my pal Carla Tomasi’s backyard is a vegetable of nice magnificence, with one thing of Jack Nicholson about it.
The Sicilian and, extra particularly. the Palermitano title for this dish is vruócculi arriminati. Vruócculi is dialect for broccoli, however in Palermo and in addition in Gela, cavolfiore (cauliflower) is commonly referred to as broccoli. And what about arriminati? I just lately got here throughout an inventory of Sicilian phrases which are troublesome to translate, and arriminati is famous as being closest to rimescolati, which suggests combined once more or reshuffled, and is used to explain each enjoying playing cards and pasta. It’s an odd translation, I do know, “pasta with reshuffled cauliflower”, however a useful one, I believe, particularly in case your thought of shuffling is the granny shuffle: that’s, to throw all of them down and blend wildly. As a result of, like smash earlier than cucumber or whip earlier than cream, it emphasises the significance of the motion. The primary shuffle of the boiled cauliflower with oil, onion, anchovy; the second shuffle, of what’s now an virtually cream, with the pasta.
It’s non-compulsory, however inspired, to high reshuffled cauliflower, onions and anchovy with toasted breadcrumbs. One of the simplest ways to toast them – both superb dry crumbs or softer ones – is to take action in a frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and a superb pinch of salt over a medium-low warmth. Use a picket spoon to maneuver them across the pan till they’re calmly colored and odor like digestive biscuits. Even with crumbs, this dish will not be meant to be fairly, however releasing pasta, and actors, from that stress is an effective factor.
Pasta with cauliflower, onion and anchovy
Prep 5 min
Cook dinner 20 min
Serves 4
1 giant cauliflower
6 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
Salt
4-6 anchovy fillets
30g currants (non-compulsory)
30g flaked almonds or pine nuts (non-compulsory)
5 saffron strands
400g quick pasta – bucatini, casarecce, mezze maniche, fusilli
50g breadcrumbs
Trim and break the cauliflower into giant florets. Cook dinner them in well-salted, boiling water till simply tender – solely simply, as a result of they will prepare dinner additional in with the opposite elements. Elevate from the water and put aside, conserving the water for the pasta.
In a big frying pan over a medium-low flame, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the onion and salt, stirring till the onion is smooth. Add the anchovies, currants and almonds or pine nuts (if utilizing), and prepare dinner for a minute extra.
Add the cauliflower, stir, then add two ladlefuls of the cauliflower cooking water and simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve the saffron in somewhat cauliflower water and add this over the past minute, stirring so the combo goes smooth and sauce-like.
Convey the cauliflower water again to a boil, add the pasta and prepare dinner till al dente.
In the meantime, in one other pan, toast the breadcrumbs within the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of salt, till golden brown and smelling like digestive biscuits. Put the cauliflower combine again on the warmth to heat by, including some pasta cooking water if it appears dry.
When the pasta is al dente, drain or elevate it straight into the cauliflower pan, and toss and swish so the elements come collectively. Divide between plates and high with the toasted crumbs.
