Pasta with Seared Cauliflower

If you aren't one of the millions that has been to a store to get pasta in the last few weeks, I commend you! I am one of the sheep that has hopped onto this #carbload wagon, and I ain't mad at it. While I made this recipe a while ago, I think it's a good time to post now because the ingredients are ingredients you'll typically have at home and it is completely vegetarian. If you swap out the butter for ghee, you can also make it vegan.

This recipe is from a cookbook my friends Chris and Rose gave me, called Milk Street: Tuesday Nights, by Chris Kimball, and I love every single damn thing about this book. Every recipe is something that I want to be eating, it's like it was made for me. The range of the different types of food is great, and everything can be cooked in a timely manner. As Chris puts it, "culinary time is relative. It comes down to ingredients and how you define dinner." He argues that fast food doesn't need to be bad food, and this cookbook shows that.

I want to make a few notes before diving into the recipe:

• If you hate anchovies like me, do NOT omit them from this recipe. You do not taste the fish at all, it is simply adding some umami and salt to your dish.
• I would skip the first pistachio step - our pistachios turned out soft and I would have preferred to have a little crunch in there.

Ingredients:

12 ounces Campanella pasta or other short pasta
Kosher salt and ground pepper
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
1 small cauliflower head, cored and cut into 1 inch florets
8 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced anchovy fillets, plus 2 tablespoons anchovy oil
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons salted butter, divided
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Add the pasta and 2 tablespoons salt and cook until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain and set aside. Meanwhile in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil until shimmering. Add the pistachios and cook, stirring, until fragrant and bright green 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and heat over medium until shimmering. Add half of the cauliflower and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until light golden brown and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Return the pan to medium heat and repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining cauliflower and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

3. Return all of the cauliflower to the pan. Stir in the garlic, anchovies and oil, rosemary, pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons butter. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is softened and the anchovies have disintegrated, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the pasta cooking water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Toss in the pasta and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cook, tossing, until the sauce ha thickened and coats the pasta, about 1 minute.

4. Off heat, stir in the lemon juice and tall but 1 tablespoon of the pistachios. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the remaining pistachios, the parsley and lemon zest.