A few weeks ago we got home from Southampton late on a Sunday evening. We were hungry, had nothing planned for dinner and found our take-out options uninspiring. So I went to the fridge and the pantry to make something from what we had on hand –which wasn’t much. And that late, make-do dinner has become a favorite meal. The ingredients are common and simple: pasta, garlic, cauliflower, olives, parmesan, parsley and some seasoning, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And it all comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Recipe
(serves 2 as a main course)
Ingredients
About 1/2 head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3 – 1/2 pounds (150-225g) of pasta (I like gemelli or fusilli with this dish.)
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste
About 12 black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped (I prefer the rich, wrinkly oil-cured ones.)
About 2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, for juicing
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F (218C). Break the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and scatter them on a baking sheet. Toss with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast until well browned, about 15 minutes.
3. While the cauliflower is roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is still just a little firmer than you’d like.
4. While the pasta is cooking, warm about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and pepper flakes, stir and cook until the garlic is just beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Take care not to burn the garlic. Remove the pan from the heat and add the olives. When the cauliflower is done, add it too.
5. When the pasta is ready, place the skillet back over medium heat. Ladle out about a cup of the pasta water and set it aside.
6. Add the pasta to the skillet along with about 1/3 cup (80ml) of the pasta water. Stir and cook until the pasta is el dente, adding pasta water if necessary to keep the pan from drying out. You want a shallow puddle of sauce at the bottom of the pan when you’re finished.
7. Just before you serve, mix in about 1/4 cup (60ml) of the cheese, the parsley, and a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
Serve immediately topped with an additional sprinkling of parmesan.
And enjoy!
