Sea Shell Pasta with Cauliflower
Cavolfiore con Conchiglie
Region: Italy, Sicily
Category: Pasta with Sausage
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy

Most varieties of pasta, and there are said to be about seven hundred or more, are relatively recent inventions. The combination of pasta with vegetables also appears to be relatively recent. In Bartolomeo Scappi's Opera [dell'arte del cucinare], published in 1570, pasta is usually cooked in broth with rose water, saffron, and cinnamon, among the typical spices used, and the cauliflower was simply boiled alone and not necessarily eaten with pasta. This preparation was suggested to me by Elenora Consoli, a food journalist at La Sicilia newspaper in Catania. It is a very simple home-cooked preparation that serves time-pressed families well.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 6 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

1 whole small cauliflower (about 1 pound after being trimmed of leaves and stalks), broken apart into florets       Salt     1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil     1/2 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed and meat crumbled

1 medium-size onion, chopped       freshly ground black pepper to taste       ground cinnamon to taste 3/4 pound sea shell pasta

1. Boil the cauliflower florets in lightly salted water until a skewer can glide easily to their centers, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, saving the cooking water.

2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and brown the sausage meat with the onion, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to break the meat up. Add the cauliflower florets, season with pepper and cinnamon. Stir and cook for 5 or 6 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring the reserved cauliflower water to a boil and cook the pasta in it until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Stir well and serve.

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Posted: 01/10/2007