Authentic Italian recipe for the Sicilian cauliflower – Before starting with our recipe, we want to say that we’re writing this recipe from Italy because we’re Italian, Aunt Clà’s husband is from Sicily, and all his family still live there. That’s why we can say this recipe is 100% authentic.
Sicilian cauliflower: what is the protagonist of this recipe? Well, it’s not a secret; you can guess easily from the name! Yes, it’s really him, the cauliflower! Despite being an excellent vegetable, someone can be skeptical and reluctant to use it. So why did we choose this recipe? For 2 main reasons:
- because you will see that cauliflower is a versatile ingredient,
- for the origin of this recipe: the wonderful Sicily!
A typical Sicilian recipe
Sicilian cauliflower is a typical recipe of this wonderful island, which also gives its name to the recipe: Sicily. Sicily is one of the regions of Southern Italy where women are excellent cooks. In Sicily, women use this vegetable very often because it is generally low in cost.
Cuisine and territory are 2 factors that are closely linked to each other. For this reason, for you to better savor the taste of this recipe with your palate and your imagination, we want to tell you some curiosities about Sicily, the largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean, a land of sun and beautiful sea.
There are a lot of places to visit in Sicily and many typical foods to taste. In its hinterland, the hills are rich in history, and the land is generous for the many products it gives to its tireless farmers.
For example, all of us appreciate good EVO oil (Extra Virgin Olive oil obtained from mechanical processes and therefore maintains all the properties of the olive), highly scented citrus fruits with an unforgettable and unmistakable flavor, almond trees which in the flowering season between February and March paint the hills white and pink thus announcing the arrival of spring and the wines which have a “thousand” of aromas and flavors. All this transforms every Sicilian lunch or dinner into a unique moment.
There are many wonders of Sicily, but the real riches are the people: hospitable and generous people, able to make you feel at home even if perhaps they barely know you. In “real” Sicily, families spend much time together, sharing many moments of life. Lunches with simple menus like the one we describe and learn in this article encourage sharing, dialogue and happiness, making every day special.
How to know if cauliflower is bad or good and fresh?
How to know if cauliflower is bad or good and fresh? Do as good Sicilian cooks do and learn to distinguish if it’s fresh before buying it! Here’s how to choose good cauliflower.
A good cauliflower must have green and tender leaves, and the flower must be very compact, very white, and must not have any spots. If it does not have these characteristics, do not buy it because it is an old cauliflower that falls apart when cooked and does not remain “crunchy”.
How to cook cauliflower without smell?
How to cook cauliflower without smell? Here’s how to get rid of the smell of cabbage! What we are about to reveal to you are traditional tricks to eliminate, even if not completely, the bad smell that cauliflower gives off during cooking.
We can say that this is the only defect of this good vegetable protagonist of our recipe for cooking Sicilian Cauliflower.
We talked about tricks because there is more than one way, more than one secret, to cook odorless cauliflower.
Here they are:
1. put a large piece of bread in the cooking water, or
2. place a small bowl or small container with vinegar on top of the lid, or
3. put two tablespoons of wine or apple vinegar directly into the boiling water where you cook the cauliflower.
As I told you, these are not definitive remedies to eliminate the smell of cauliflower completely, but you will see the bad smell will no longer be so strong, and it will go away faster.
Cauliflower: a great ingredient!
Did you know that cauliflower is a vegetable that arrived in Italy from the Orient? Well, yes, it is a vegetable with a very delicate and versatile flavor. In fact, it lends itself to many preparations in the kitchen, both for a side dish and for a first course such as pasta or other first courses in broth, and second courses if prepared with eggs or cheese.
Aunt Claudia often says….
Cauliflower: one vegetable, many preparations!
Knowing that cauliflower is a versatile ingredient, could we have included just one recipe on this page? Absolutely not! Also, when we talk about Sicilian cauliflower, both a side dish and pasta with Sicilian cauliflower immediately come to mind.
The preparation base is the same as it is always our fantastic cauliflower but, given that Italian cuisine is very varied and full of different preparations, the preparation procedure is different. For this reason, we will describe and explain the preparation separately.
As in any good self-respecting lunch, let’s start with the first course and then move on to the side dish.
Sicilian Pasta and Cauliflower
Don’t be fooled by the ingredients’ simplicity; this recipe will really surprise you. Sicilian families often enjoy it in the family and because of its simple and fast execution, you will like it a lot too. 😉
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for 2 people:
- 180 grams or 6 oz of pasta
- about 250 grams or 9 oz of cauliflower
- 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- anchovies 4/6
- parsley as needed
- a teaspoon of black pepper
- breadcrumbs 3 tbsp
- a medium onion
- to taste, two or three tablespoons of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
These are the anchovies we’ve used. This is the Italian Amazon link where you can buy these high-quality anchovies, but in case you live too far, and the shipping cost is too high, you can also use high-quality anchovies you find in a shop near you.
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Procedure for preparing Sicilian pasta and cauliflower
All ready for the Sicilian Pasta and Cauliflower recipe…. let’s start together.
Boil the cauliflower in previously salted water, drain it with a slotted spoon, set aside the water, and cook the pasta. The cauliflower must not be too soft when cooked, “al dente”.
Put the oil and the sliced onions in a pan and brown them well. At this point, add the cauliflower cut into small pieces. Brown well on one side, then using a plate, turn the cauliflower and put them back in the pan to brown on the other side.
Put it back on the plate and leave it aside; we’ll use it later.
Now prepare the breadcrumbs by adding the finely chopped parsley and
the garlic grated on the ceramic garlic grater. In the picture above, you see the saucer for grating the garlic. It is a versatile utensil that I find very useful because it can also be used for other foods that need to be bothered. It is also beautiful because it cheers up the kitchen, making it a bit international as it comes from southern Spain.
Below you can buy directly with a click thanks to the sponsored links #ad:
Now let’s prepare the breadcrumbs:
- add two or three anchovies cut into small pieces,
- add the black pepper
- add the finely chopped parsley: you can use a very sharp knife and pass it several times on a wooden cutting board until it becomes very fine
- put it in a pan with a spoonful of oil and brown it well; using a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon
- turn it several times until it has a golden color.
Now it’s ready, put it on a plate because we’ll use it to garnish the pasta. You will be very surprised by the strong flavor of the anchovies, which will have partially melted, fresh for the parsley and crunchy for the bread.
Cook the pasta in the cauliflower water, drain it after the cooking minutes indicated on the package, and put it in the pan with half the cauliflower. Sauté everything in a pan for a few minutes and add Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano to taste. Put the pasta on the plate and put the bread seasoned with parsley and garlic on top.
Is Sicilian Pasta and Cauliflower a gluten-free recipe?
Since there is pasta and breadcrumbs, it is easy to understand that the recipe for Sicilian pasta and cauliflower, as we have just proposed, is not a gluten-free recipe. However, no problem because just changing the type of pasta you use, choosing a kind of pasta that goes well with your food plan, as well as for breadcrumbs, you can enjoy this excellent traditional Sicilian food.
Sicilian cauliflower as a side dish
After preparing the Sicilian pasta and cauliflower, let’s also prepare the Sicilian cauliflower intended as a side dish and a complete second course. I would say a “poor” dish because it costs very little. Still, as you will see, it is very rich in properties as anchovies are rich in Omega 3 and therefore are an excellent source of proteins and fatty acids, suitable for those with arterial hypertension problems. Cauliflower has purifying properties, regenerates tissue, and promotes hemoglobin production; putting them together creates our second course.
Ingredients Sicilian cauliflower
Here are the ingredients necessary for the preparation of Sicilian Cauliflower.
- 400 grams or 14 oz of cauliflower
- a large onion and a shallot
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 50 grams or 1,76 oz anchovies in oil
- 4 slices of white bread
What is EVO oil?
You will notice that often, in this and in the next recipes that we will make together, I will write EVO oil; what is it? As I told you before, EVO oil is Extra Virgin Olive oil, an oil obtained by mechanical processes and therefore maintains all the properties of the olive. Obtained from olives alone, it is rich in precious nutrients, important for our health. Refined oils are mixed with olive oil, and this causes the product to lose quality.
On the other hand, extra virgin olive oil is pure “juice” of cold-pressed olives. EVO oil has significant benefits for our body; being full of antioxidants, it is a useful ally against the aging of our cells. I am referring to good Italian oil; sicilian and Lake Garda oil are our favorite oils, but other regions of Italy also supply us with fine oils, from Tuscany to Puglia, passing from Calabria to the Marches are all fine oils. Wherever you are, I advise you always to buy good oil, not only for the success of the dishes we will prepare together but also and above all, for your health.
Preparation of Sicilian Cauliflower
As in the previous recipe, clean the cauliflower and boil it in plenty of salted water.
Meanwhile, put the oil and the sliced onions in a pan; cook the onions for a few minutes, and add the oregano. When the cauliflower is cooked and it has a slotted spoon, put it in the pan with the onions.
Cut it into slices, raise the heat to brown it, and add half the anchovies.
On a very hot plate, brown the slices of bread on both sides by basting them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Put two slices of bread, the “sautéed” cauliflower, and the remaining anchovies on a plate. Put some anchovies on the bread and some on top of the cauliflower. The dish is ready.
Is Sicilian Cauliflower a gluten-free recipe?
The Sicilian cauliflower recipe as a side dish we have just proposed is not gluten-free. Still, it can become it if you change the type of bread used by replacing it with one that goes well with your food plan, and even celiacs and gluten intolerant can savor these traditional flavors.
A complete menu
We have just created an excellent typical Sicilian side dish. Still, now we ask ourselves: what would a Sicilian family accompany it with to make a complete second course? There are many choices for a typical Sicilian second course to complete our menu. You could prepare cod, fried in batter, in white with potatoes, or sautéed in a pan and blended with good white wine.
You could prepare calamari, sautéed in a pan and blended with white wine, or cooked on a grill, or simply a giant cuttlefish boiled in plenty of water and then served cut into slices with a drizzle of our precious EVO oil. Even fish in foil, or if you have time, prepare a Tuna Tartar. Your dish will turn into a Gourmet preparation. The choice is yours.
And now good cooking to you……Aunt Clà.
Italian recipe for the Sicilian cauliflower in Italian
Italian recipe for the Sicilian cauliflower: Pasta e Cavolfiore alla siciliana: 1 ingrediente semplice ma molte ottime ricette!