Dish of Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower
(click to enlarge)

Romanesco Cauliflower with Pasta


Italy / California
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 main
**
45 min
Prep		 You probably paid a small fortune for this fancy cauliflower, so we'll cook it very simply to emphasize the vegetable. Continuing with fancy, use a fancy curly pasta.




16
1
2
8
1
3
tt
tt
-----

oz
cl
T
oz
T
T


---

Romanesco (1)
Garlic
Herbs, Fresh (2)  
Pasta
Olive Oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper
-- Garnish
Parmesan

For the photo it's Fiorentine, but Creste di Gallo and many others are fine too - see our Italian Short Pasta page.

Prep   (15 min)
  1. Break ROMANESCO into small florets. Trim stems square and split them for even cooking.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop small.
  3. Chop HERBS, not too small.
Run   (30 min)
  1. Steam Romanesco Florets until just barely tender, about 9 minutes (less time for boiling) - don't overcook. Quench immediately in cold water and hold aside.
  2. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil and cook Pasta the usual way.
  3. When pasta is in the water, heat Olive Oil and Butter over moderate heat. Fry garlic until just tender, but not browned. Take off the flame and stir in Herbs. Keep warm.
  4. When Pasta is al dente, stir in Romanesco, just long enough to heat it through, then drain.
  5. Return Pasta mix to the empty pot and Stir in Oil mix. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.
  6. Serve hot, with grated Parmesan on the side.
NOTES:

  1. Romanesco:

      Yes, it is now officially Cauliflower, not Broccoli, by extensive analysis. Weight is for whole heads with short stems, which will yield about 12 ounces of florets. I steam the florets over the water that will be used for the pasta, but you can cook them in the salted pasta water and strain them out (greater risk of overcooking) before adding the pasta. For details see our Romanesco page.

  2. Herbs:

      Whatever you've got. For the photo I used fresh Oregano (Italians prefer Marjoram), Parsley and Summer Savory, but other mixes will work fine too.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
yhv_romcauli1 130302 orig   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.