Cauliflower Pasta With Anchovies and Bread Crumbs
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1pound bucatini or spaghetti
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- ½cup unsalted almonds, finely chopped
- 4slices white sandwich bread, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 5parsley sprigs, stems and leaves separated and finely chopped
- ½medium yellow onion, minced
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 4oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional)
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 to 4whole cloves
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1(12-ounce) bag frozen riced cauliflower or 12 ounces fresh riced cauliflower (about 3½ cups)
- 1(8-ounce) can tomato purée or passata
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
588 calories; 26 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 542 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Reserve 1½ cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Step 2
While the water is coming to a boil, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet on low. Add the finely chopped almonds and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Step 3
Add the bread, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Stir continually for 5 minutes until the bread is toasted. (Be careful to keep everything moving so the nuts do not burn.) Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley leaves. Transfer the mixture to a plate; thoroughly wipe out the skillet.
- Step 4
Place the skillet back on the stove and heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil on medium. Add the onion, garlic and minced parsley stems and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, just until the garlic is soft and onion is translucent. Add 1 teaspoon salt, the anchovies (if using), cinnamon and cloves. Press the anchovies into the pan while stirring until they melt.
- Step 5
Mix the tomato paste with ½ cup of boiling pasta water and add it to the skillet. Add the riced cauliflower and mix to combine, breaking up any large, frozen pieces with the back of your spoon.
- Step 6
Once the cauliflower begins to soften, stir in the tomato purée. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 additional minutes, until thickened.
- Step 7
Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water and then the drained pasta, tossing continuously to coat. Add more pasta water if needed to fully coat the pasta.
- Step 8
Empty the skillet into a large serving dish. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the pasta and top with a final drizzle of oil.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
John from Buffalo
Never tasted anything like it! Cloves added a nice woody flavor that wasn’t overpowering. Would recommend using homemade breadcrumbs for the topping and maybe a tad more salt. Also make sure you grab the cloves out before serving. Overall delicious dish!
Mx.Sofie
Haven't made this yet, but anchovies get the raw deal when listed as "optional" Anchovies are gold - but Americans are so afraid of the "fishy" flavor - which is better known as UMAMI. Yeah, it's amazing when you go get Worcestershire or Red Boat fish sauce and you realize a little goes a long way and gives you that tang, that complex saltiness from the sea, which salt alone will never provide.
John
If substituting capers (sounds interesting), would you handle them the same way as the anchovies in this recipe? I.e., press them into the pan? And how many capers would you substitute for the 4 anchovies?
Diana
1. Forget doing the bread with the almonds. I would use Panko next time OR, toast the bread in the oven so it gets crispy. Never happened in the skillet. 2. Forget the parsley STEMS! What a waste. 3. I added 8 anchovies. Why an extra teaspoon of salt? 4. Cut back cinnamon to 1/2 tsp. UGH! Couldn't find all the whole cloves in finished product! Maybe use 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground cloves. 6. Overall, sauce too thick making pasta/cauliflower mixture dry. Add more sauce to leftovers.
Lisa
Cauliflower rice, also known as riced cauliflower, is when you take a head of cauliflower, chop it up into bite-sized florets, and then either pulse it in a food processor, or grate it on a cheese grater until it breaks down and looks like the texture of rice.
Joe from Lansing
Delicious and authentic! We will make again (soon, and again)!!
Sarah
Wasn’t sure I’d made the right choice after all the time with fine chopping, but now I am eating this over the bowl by myself because it is too delicious to take the time to call the family to dinner. This is a keeper!
Mrs Cleaver
I made this exactly to directions and it was strangely lacking in oomph. Next time I will add more anchovies (I was an anchovy virgin) and an extra tablespoon of tomato paste AND some red pepper. Loved the texture of the riced cauliflower.
Nilo
Crazy dish, so many flavors, aromas and textures, loved it. I suspect though, that any Sicilian making this probably couldn't resist throwing a dash or two of red pepper. I also wonder where Sicilian friars, centuries ago, sourced their white sandwich bread.
Juliet
@ Bin, it's cooked cauliflower that you press through a tool called a ricer, usually used for making mashed potatoes. I believe you can buy frozen riced cauliflower too. So essentially it's cooked cauliflower in tiny little pieces.
Charlie A.
Fabulous recipe! My mom made this for decades. She would just chop up a cauliflower and if we didn’t have a cauliflower sitting around she would just skip it. Sometimes she would make it without the tomatoes when she did that she would squeeze lemon on top to brighten the dish.
db
this was terrific! I used tinned ham instead of the anchovies and quinoa instead of the bucatini and my kids loved it — even Beverleigh!!
Richard
Buy a single roll.
Rebecca
I used the raw, sliced almonds I had on hand which made chopping them easier than starting with whole almonds. Delicious dish!
Michelle Feldman
I know you meant addition, not addiction, but it's one of those great resonant typos because the descriptions make this dish sound addictive as all get-out.
Brad
Surprisingly less flavorful than I expected. It’s as if the cauliflower rice diminished the tasty ingredients. Will not make again.
Kim
Great dish! Good enough for company. I used whole wheat spagetti but will play with other non-whole wheat pasta (buccatini, linguine, angle hair etc). Alot of preparation steps (I riced a head of cauliflower) but worth it. Much can be done a day ahead. BTW, anchovys make the dish. I used Napolean. Had to use chopsticks to get the fillets out of the jar they were packed so tight!.
Judy R.
Followed the directions exactly. The pasta was dry and lacking in flavor. Won't make again.
add some spice!
The store didn’t have tomato puree so I bought diced and roasted tomatoes with green chiles, highly recommend!
Amber #2
I used 2 cups of panko and it was too much; if you use panko, use substantially less. Used chopped fresh oregano instead of parsley in the crumbs. The pasta dish was dry after putting on the crumb topping, so I would make sure it is wet enough. Instead of anchovies, used chopped kalamata olives and a little bit of minced capers. I wish I had been able to use anchovies. IMO needs more tomato. Used a rounded tsp of ras el hanout instead of the cinnamon and cloves and it was a good effect.
Carrie
so good! I used leftover roasted cauliflower but otherwise made as is and it turned out amazing.
Joe
Even after doubling the tomato purée and anchovies to try to balance out the flavor and heeding prior comments to halve the cinnamon, this recipe was more than a disappointment. The sweetness of the spices left an unpleasant aftertaste to an already bland dish. My partner and I are loathe to waste food, but she still ended up tossing this out after a few bite. Would highly NOT recommend.
Antje
Delicious, but only after adding plenty of pepper (black and a pinch of cayenne). That felt like an odd omission.
Roger bogart
1tsp each lemon and orange zest grated.
Laura
With all the negative comments, I don’t know how this recipe received four stars. I agree with those who found it oddly bland despite the large number of ingredients. I omitted the cinnamon and cloves but don’t think this was the problem. Next time I will double the anchovies and garlic and cut back on the tomato which masked the other flavors. Maybe add a few red pepper flakes.
SHINES2
This was somehow both boring and gross. Would not make again.
Steph NYNJ
This was absolutely delicious with some crucial changes: double the anchovies (never omit them!), half the cinnamon, double the passata. I also used whole wheat bread and toasted it first and whirled it in the food processor before putting in the pan. Forget the whole parsley branches thing. I will used ground clove next time as I couldn't find it after cooking and then one of my bites found it and it was off-putting. Will make again!
DennisD
Cooked as written except used more anchovies and omitted the 1 t of salt in Step 4. I also ended up using almost two cups of the reserved pasta water to hit the right level of moistness in the final product. It took a bit to get the bread with the almonds toasted just right, but it turned out really well! It did take some extra time starting with a whole head of cauliflower that I riced and then roasted in the oven, but that was well worth it. Excellent dish!
Jill
Made this last night and thought it was quite tasty. I used fresh cauliflower cut into small florets rather than rice. I think that gives the dish a nice toothiness. I used anchovy paste and would add a bit more. A touch of acid would also brighten things up nicely. Will be fantastic with good fresh tomatoes when they're available. The breadcrumb topping is a lovely crunchy accent.
Cate
A guest of my daughter's came into the kitchen while I was prepping, told me he was a fabulous cook and insisted he make Pasta Puttanesca. (Turns out he was totally inebriated.) Out of pure curiosity I brought him black olives and capers, which were the only additional ingredients he needed. Anyhoo, after he chopped them, his wife came and retrieved him. I continued on with this recipe, tossing in the olives and capers with the onions. Delicious! Bread crumbs take this over the top.
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