Marin Sun Farm’s mixes up a mean assortment of pork sausage. I always pick up a pack or two when I visit the farmer’s market, and last week was no exception. With three links of their Spicy Italian sausage and two beautiful heads of cauliflower in hand, I made this simple and feisty pasta for dinner.
1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower, florets cut in quarters (about 3 cups worth)
3/4 – 1 lb of spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
3 garlic gloves, chopped
1 lb of small cut pasta, like penne, fusilli or ziti
1/2 parmesan, grated
Serves 4.
Bring a large stockpot full of salted water to a boil. Blanch cauliflower for 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove cauliflower and reserve water for pasta. Prepare pasta according to packaging directions.
In the meantime, heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Brown sausage, about 6-8 minutes. Spoon browned sausage into a bowl and set aside. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat out of the saute pan. Turn heat to medium high and saute cauliflower until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. (Stir infrequently so that the cauliflower browns nicely.) Turn off heat and stir in chopped garlic.
By now, your pasta should be just about done. Drain pasta, reserving some of the pasta water, and add to saute pan. Add 1/4 cup of parmesan and mix ingredients together. (The heat from the pasta and pan will gently cook the garlic). Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pasta water to loosen the mixture and help all of the ingredients meld together. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon pasta into individual serving bowls and top with additional Parmesan cheese.
{ 2 comments }
Okay, so I got a GIANT cauliflower in my first CSA box and it kind of traumatized me but after looking at this recipe I think I’m going to give it another shot…wish me luck!
Jillian, this looks fabulous! I never liked cauliflower until Erik roasted it for the first time in the oven. I bet you could go that route too. We will definitely have to give this a try soon.
Comments on this entry are closed.