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Driving on the outskirts of Gela in Sicily final summer time, we handed a truck, its open again stuffed with pea-green, electric-purple and white cauliflowers. Such vans are a well-recognized however all the time placing sight in Italy. Particularly this one, with its notably excessive wall of tricolour heads, just a few of which had toppled off and rolled into the highway, the place that they had 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, however it was another person within the automobile who summed up the scene: “Joker truck,” they stated. I didn’t perceive what they meant instantly, however once I did, all earlier descriptions – cumulus clouds, cream-coloured curds – disappeared, and all I might see had 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 once 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 a listing of Sicilian phrases which might be 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 concept 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 nearly cream, with the pasta.
It’s optionally available, however inspired, to high reshuffled cauliflower, onions and anchovy with toasted breadcrumbs. One of the best ways to toast them – both wonderful dry crumbs or softer ones – is to take action in a frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and a very good pinch of salt over a medium-low warmth. Use a picket spoon to maneuver them across the pan till they’re flippantly colored and odor like digestive biscuits. Even with crumbs, this dish isn’t 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 (optionally available)
30g flaked almonds or pine nuts (optionally available)
5 saffron strands
400g brief 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’re going to cook dinner additional in with the opposite substances. Carry from the water and put aside, maintaining 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 cook 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 a little bit cauliflower water and add this over the last minute, stirring so the combo goes smooth and sauce-like.
Convey the cauliflower water again to a boil, add the pasta and cook 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 means of, including some pasta cooking water if it appears dry.
When the pasta is al dente, drain or carry it instantly into the cauliflower pan, and toss and swish so the substances come collectively. Divide between plates and high with the toasted crumbs.