Ingredients:

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
12 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, separated
1 pound of Linguine
Kosher salt or sea salt
Freshly ground Locatelli Romano cheese
Dorothea’s Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce

Steps:

1.    Fill a six quart pot with water, bring to a boil.
2.    Add the cauliflower and cook until fork-tender.
3.    In the meantime, pre-heat a large cast iron frying pan on high, then add the ¼ cup of olive oil.
4.    When the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat; add the garlic and sauté lightly.
5.    Remover the cauliflower from the boiling water, reserving the water for cooking the linguine.
6.    Add the cauliflower to the oil and garlic and mash it in the pan continuing to break it down until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes.
7.    Raise the heat, allowing the moisture from the cauliflower to burn off and the cauliflower to begin to brown.
8.    Continue this process, adding more cauliflower water when necessary to scrape up the burnt bottom and let it burn off again and again, until the mashed cauliflower takes on a light brown hue.
9.    In the meantime bring the remaining cauliflower water to a boil, add the linguine and cook according to directions on the box. Reserve about two cups of cauliflower water on the side for the sauce.
10.    After tasting the linguine to determine if it is al dente, drain it in a colander.
11.    Add the cooked linguine to the cauliflower sauce and mix thoroughly, adding the reserved water if too dry.
12.    Serve in bowls for people to add their own grated romano cheese and Dorothea’s Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce.

Note: This pasta dish is best accompanied by a loaf of fresh, crusty, Italian bread to sop up the leftover sauce and a chilled bottle of white wine, perhaps a Soave or a Verdicchio.

LEFTOVERS: This dish lends itself to a great leftover – Crispy, Fried, Leftover Linguine with Cauliflower Sauce.

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