Roasted cauliflower pasta

Pasta with roasted cauliflower, olives, capers and bread crumbs

Adapted from “Olives & Oranges” by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox, a book with Mediterranean roots that divides recipes in to a slow-cook or quick-cook method. This one falls into the slow-cook method, but we’re not talking hours-long cooking, just a number of steps, some of which can be done ahead. I’ve made a number of recipes from this cookbook, and so far none have disappointed, despite the fact that they often called for an oddball combination of ingredients that made me wonder about whether it would be sublime or subpar.

Yummy green olives from Bill's Imported Foods

Ingredients:

2 medium heads of cauliflower, broken into florets

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup green olives

2 tablespoons capers

1 dried chili pepper

2 anchovy fillets

1 pound cooked pasta; penne worked fine

1 cup grated Parmesan

1/3 cup chopped parsley

Toasted bread crumbs

Crumb ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 dried red chilis, crumbled

3 cups fresh bread crumbs cut into 1-inch cubes

Method:

Toss cauliflower with 2 tablespoons oil, coarse salt and pepper. Roast at 400 until tender and browned, turning a few times, about 45 minutes, but possibly less; best to watch carefully. Set aside.

Toast bread crumbs on baking sheet for 20 minutes at 325. When cool enough to handle, put into a plastic bag and pound into substantial crumbs. Heat ¼ cup olive oil in large skillet. Add chilis and the 2 cloves chopped garlic and cook until just starting to brown. Add parsley and bread crumbs, cooking until oil is absorbed. Set aside. Note: bread crumbs and/or mixture can be made ahead. Refrigerate mixture if doing so.

Heat ¼ cup oil and butter in large deep pan. Add 1 clove minced garlic and cook about a minute until browned. Add olives, capers and chili; cook for a few minutes. Stir in anchovies and cook 1 minute. Stir in cauliflower. Add half the cheese and all the parsley. Add remaining cheese, bread crumbs, toss and serve.

Rating: The combination of starch on starch works really surprisingly well. A quite pleasant meal. The anchovies and olives make a nice background flavor without being too assertive.