Linguine with Cauliflower Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 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 olive oil.
4.    When the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat; add the garlic and sauté lightly, do not let it brown.
5.    Remover the cauliflower from the boiling water, remove 4 cups of the water for developing the sauce and reserve the rest 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, by pushing the cauliflower to one side of the pan while adding some cauliflower water; scraping  up the burnt fond on the bottom of the pan and let it burn off again and again, until the mashed cauliflower takes on a nut 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.
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 some of 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, if there is any – Crispy, Fried, Leftover Linguine with Cauliflower Sauce.

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