Giulia's Spaghetti with cauliflower cream and anchovy breadcrumbs

⇐ Cooking

⇐ Recipes from special guests

Ingredients

Spaghetti - the recipe below is for 4 portions

1 cauliflower

1 onion

1 fresh chili or chili flakes

4 cloves of garlic

3 anchovies

8 tbsp breadcrumbs

Lemon or orange zest

Parsley

2 tbsp small capers (optional)

Method

For the cauliflower cream

1. Sauté the onion and two cloves of garlic until soft.
2. Add some finely chopped orange zest and the cauliflower roughly chopped.
3. Cover with water and add some salt.
4. Let simmer until the cauliflower is soft and blend the cauliflower. Add a little amount of water in order to get a cream of medium thickness.
5. Adjust the seasoning by adding freshly cracked pepper and salt if necessary. Set aside and keep warm.

For the anchovy breadcrumbs

1. Put some olive oil in a pan with one smashed garlic clove, half of the fresh chili chopped or a pinch of the chili flakes and gently start heating the oil on low.
2. Add the anchovies and let them melt into the oil.
3. Once the oil is nicely infused, discard the garlic clove and add the breadcrumbs, toasting them until they are nice and golden. Set aside.

For the spaghetti aglio e olio

1. Cook the spaghetti in salty water and prepare a pan with some oil, a smashed garlic clove and some chili. Over a low heat to infuse the oil as before.
2. When the spaghetti is almost cooked (one minute before more or less), drain saving a little of the water, and transfer them to the pan with the infused oil and add the capers (if you have them, this is optional).
3. Sauté on a high heat with a few spoons of the water it was cooked in.
4. When the pasta has absorbed all the water and is perfectly cooked, add some freshly chopped parsley.

Plating

1. Put some cauliflower cream as the base to the plate.
2. Add the spaghetti trying to make a nest.
3. Top with the anchovy breadcrumbs.
4. Freshly grated lemon zest can also be added on top.

Giulia A lockdown invention

italian pasta