Cauliflower pasta

This is a simple and very satisfying dish. Also very easy to make. The anchovies melt down into the oil and mix with the cauliflower to make a tasty sauce. It doesn't look like much, but it is delicious. 

The recipe gives enough for four people but I find I can share with one other, happily sharing eating a whole cauliflower, just reducing the amount of pasta by half. 

Cauliflower pasta 

Ingredients 

1 cauliflower 

250g penne 

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

1 tin anchovy fillets in olive oil 

1 fresh chilli (sliced) or generous pinch of dried chilli flakes 

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 

ground black pepper 

Method 

• Take a large frying pan and pour the oil from a tin of anchovy fillets into it, put it on a low heat, put the garlic and chilli along with a few grinds of pepper into the oil to infuse for a few minutes 
• Don’t add salt, as the anchovies are already salty 
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to the boil, put in the cauliflower whole or in pieces, and cook the cauliflower until cooked or about 5 minutes, then pick out the cauliflower and set aside, saving the water to use for cooking the pasta 
• Keep the water boiling and add the penne, while the penne are cooking finish the sauce. 
• Add the anchovy fillets to the pan 
• Add the cauliflower and stir and mash them into the oil then cook for 5 minutes, stirring in some parsley, adding water from the pasta cooking liquid if mixture seems to be getting dry. 
• Once the pasta is cooked, mix into the pan with the cauliflower. Season to taste, sprinkle over the rest of the chopped parsley, then serve.