For the first post on Family Food, I’ve chosen one of the family’s favorites.

Italian sausage, Cauliflower and Orecchiette – hence the name, Caulifloricchiete.

Quick, simple and delicious.

You’ll need:

1# Italian Sausage (I like Hot Italian, but Sweet works just as well)

1# De Cecco Orecchiette

1 Whole Head of Garlic (Sliced thin as possible)

1 Whole Cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces

Fresh Parmigiano Reggiano (don’t even think about anything else)

1 Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley fine chopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the skins off the sausages (you can buy loose sausage meat, but it never seems to work as well) and sauté in 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Use a potato masher to break up the meat into chunky pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slice up all the garlic and add to pan – it seems like a lot but they become little garlic chips in the finished dish.

Add salt and generous cracked pepper and sauté low-medium scraping occasionally, until beautifully caramelized and a golden mahogany color.

Meanwhile cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to boil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When water is boiling, add orecchiette. Add cauliflower to sausage meat. Turn up heat and cover. Toss ingredients together from time to time until there is a little color on cauliflower. Add a ladle of boiling water from pasta pot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When orecchiette is done, drain and mix with sausage cauliflower sauté . The pasta and cauliflower should take about the same amount of time to cook.

Add chopped parsley, and grated parmigiano to garnish.