Cauliflower alla Puttanesca

I think we can all agree that Puttanesca is one of those sauces that takes very little effort, but somehow always manages to always hit the spot. It’s the combination of savoury, fishy, salty, tangy, perky and sweet that comes together and just delivers. But you know what works with all those flavour profiles? Cauliflower. So I decided to throw some into my tomato sauce, and behold, it takes it to another dimension. This is made with puree to make it even speedier, but feel free to use pasta or a tin of tomatoes.

ingredients

serves 4

1 small head of cauliflower, broken into small florets, leaves reserved and chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
2 small dried chillies or ¼ -½ tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp capers
50g green pitted olives, chopped
6 tbsp tomato puree
75-100ml water
350g small pasta shape, ideally a shell or messicani
2 handfuls of parsley, chopped, to serve
Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

instructions

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the cauliflower 6-8 minutes until completely soft. Scoop out into a colander and allow to steam dry. Cook the leaves for 2 minutes, then drain separately. Add the pasta to the water and cook to al dente.

In a wide frying pan, warm up the olive oil and gently fry the garlic until soft and fragrant, then add the anchovies, mashing them into the oil until the melt away. Add the chilli, capers and olives and fry for one moment before adding the tomato puree. Fry for 5 minutes to bring all the flavours together, then add the water and bring to a simmer. 

Add the cooked cauliflower and use a potato masher to crush it into the sauce so you no longer have any larger pieces. Stir in the cooked leaves, followed by the cooked pasta and some pasta cooking water if it looks dry.

Simmer together, stirring, so the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Have a taste to check the seasoning, then scatter with the parsley and give it a little extra-virgin oil to finish.